This is a story about the strange intersection of DNA and digital audio, science and song.
Background: I’ve been fascinated by DNA mapping and identifying relatives since the Human Genome Project was declared complete in 2003. Once Ancestry started offering DNA testing and matches, I was an early adopter. These days, on Ancestry, I have a mere 87,520 genetic relatives, with the most distant one being a half third cousin once removed.
Of those masses, I know 28 people — from my parents, brother, nephew and a couple dozen close cousins. After that, things get murky. Still, I’ve enjoyed getting messages from distant cousins through the years and figuring out the connection…