The hosts reflect on the project and what it means to store data in perpetuity.

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In this episode, we have a conversation with artist Kyriaki Goni, who imagines DNA-based data storage futures. Together we reflect on alternatives to current day big tech oligopolies. We recorded this conversation in September of 2023.

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A way of resisting (Athens Data Garden), 2020

(https://kyriakigoni.com/projects/data-garden)

The Mountain Islands Shall Mourn us Eternally (Dolomites Data Garden), 2022

(https://kyriakigoni.com/projects/the-mountain-islands-shall-mourn-us-eternally)

“Imagine storing all the world's archives in a box of seeds: As our appetite for data soars, Karin Ljubic Fister is pioneering a surprising storage facility with potential to grow” (https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22930560-400-imagine-storing-all-the-worlds-archives-in-a-box-of-seeds/)

“A French Teenager Turned the Bible and Quran into DNA and Injected Them into His Body” (https://www.livescience.com/64388-boy-encoded-and-injected-dna-bible-quran.html)

“Massive Attack are releasing an album in a new format: DNA”

https://www.wired.com/story/massive-attack-mezzanine-dna-album/

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In this episode, we chat with media archivist, Madeleine Mendell, about the deeper social narratives and aesthetic implications of using DNA as a storage medium. We recorded this conversation in September of 2023.

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“Harvard scientists pioneer storage of video inside DNA” (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jul/12/scientists-pioneer-a-new-revolution-in-biology-by-embeding-film-on-dna)

“NFSA preserves Cathy Freeman's Olympic win on DNA”

(https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/item/nfsa-preserves-cathy-freemans-olympic-win-dna)

Arch Mission Foundation (https://www.archmission.org/)

Joe Davis “Microvenus” (https://clotmag.com/biomedia/joe-davis)

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In this episode, we chat with Richard Pon, Former Director of the Centre for Health Genomics and Informatics at the University of Calgary. In 2018, he gave us a tour of the University Core DNA Services lab to get a close-up look at synthetic DNA creation. 

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University of Calgary Centre for Health Genomics and Informatics (https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/research/cat/health-genomics)

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In this episode, we hear from Stephane Lemaire from Biomemory, a company developing biosourced DNA-based data storage technology. This conversation was recorded in January of 2024, prior to Biomemory’s acquisition of Catalog.

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Biomemory (https://www.biomemory.com/)

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In this episode, we speak with Dave Turek from Catalog, a company at the forefront of DNA-based data storage and computation. We conducted this interview in October of 2022. Since then, Catalog has been acquired by Biomemory, whom we’ll hear from in the next episode.

***

Catalog, now Biomemory (https://www.biomemory.com/)

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In this episode, we hear from Siraj Nour Elahmadi from Atlas Data Storage, who brings us up to speed with developments in DNA-based data storage technology and the current concerns related to artificial intelligence. This interview was recorded in June of 2026.

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Atlas Data Storage (https://www.atlasds.com)

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In this episode, Jeff Nivala, a researcher working in computing and biotechnology, explains the science behind DNA-based data storage. This conversation was recorded in September of 2023.

***

“With a ‘hello,’ Microsoft and UW demonstrate first fully automated DNA data storage” (https://www.washington.edu/news/2019/03/21/first-fully-automated-dna-data-storage/)

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In this episode, we speak with Linda Tadic, founder and CEO of Digital Bedrock. As an archivist, she explains the move from analog, to digital, to the current day promise of DNA-based data storage. We recorded this interview in September of 2023.

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Digital Bedrock (https://www.digitalbedrock.com/)

DNA Data Storage Alliance (https://www.snia.org/groups/snia-dna-technology-affiliate)

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In this episode, we hear from Steven Gonzalez, an ethnographer of data centres. He talks about the environmental costs of data storage infrastructure, and the potential DNA offers to the industry and the planet. We recorded this interview in September of 2023. 

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Data Garden project (https://cyrus.website/data-garden/)

Grow Your Own Cloud (https://growyourown.cloud/)

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Welcome to The Backup Plan, a podcast series exploring the possibilities and problems associated with the use of DNA as a data storage medium.

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