i too and impressed with your stories, which makes me all the more stunned that you so glibby glossed over hundreds if not thousands of what could only have been brutal, violent, de-humanizing, terrifying rapes?!

Hey hey, what is that nice acoustic guitar part at the start of this segment?! I need ittttttttttttt

this is interesting: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/02/28/valley-of-the-khans-experts-meet-in-dc/

I agree with Megan and eakramer. I was shocked and upset that this story was introduced as a "wonderful story." Yeah, it's a wonderful story about thousands of women being raped. Not only did the soldiers "save the pretty ones for the boss" (BARF) so he could rape them, but the soldiers must have raped the unpretty ones too. BTW, rape is still used in wars and conflicts all over the world today as a method of terrorizing the female population.

@Megan, you've given me a lot to think about.

As for the patient 0 of this Y mutation, is it likely that it was Genghis' father and Genghis and his brothers, who road in different directions I think, who spread it so thickly.

"slept with a whole lotta ladies" and "had many sexual partners" ?

The most successful biological father in human history was also the most successful rapist in human history.

Why avoid this fact?

Hello! I love love love Radiolab and this episode was definitely worth the rebroadcast. My only comment and concern is in your treatment of Genghis Khan's conquest of the women in the groups he conquered. I would say that, if he does in fact have 16 million living descendents, his conquest is a fairly clearly an example of successful genocide of numerous groups. He and his army killed the men, and he then subsequently fathered children with the women of those villages. To avoid acknowledging that many, if not most, of these sexual partnerships were through means of force or coercion is a dis-service to the mothers of his children, the people that were conquered and the legacy of that region through the present. I am definitely not asking for you to use this story as a platform about war crimes. However, the phenomenon you describe is not merely a scientific mystery, but very literally an example of how genocide and conquest play out even 1000 years later.
Thank you for your work and this excellent program!
Best,
Megan

Hi Jad and Robert and all the Radio Lab staff!
Just wanted to let you know that I've been using your podcasts all over the place in my 9th grade history class. We used the morality podcast in our ethics unit, your story on domesticated foxes when we talked about the switch from the paleolithic to the neolithic age, and now this one while we talk about the Mongols. Thanks for making school exciting for my students!!
Sincerely,
Blair

Can anyone tell me the name of the song/artist that plays when it's revealed that Genghis is the source of the genetic defect? It's some lo-fi drum thing. Any help is greatly appreciated!