I was bemused by the headlined stories over the past few weeks touting new genetic genealogy services, including the start-up, 23andME, launched by the wife of the founder of Google, and AfricanDNA, the brainchild of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. According to 23andME, its service will "shed...

How do we talk about human differences in a society that believes that "diversity" should be celebrated, but only if it's skin deep?

That conundrum has been on my mind because of the intense personal reaction that's bubbled to the surface in the weeks since my new book, Abraham's...