We haven’t always been preoccupied with ideas of race. But from the 19th c onward, bogus science has been used to legitimise social hierarchies and political policies, with consequences that have resounded across the world. From the father of eugenics Francis Galton to surprising figures such as Marie Stopes, an astonishing array of people have mistakenly intertwined genetics with rightful identity. And it is still happening today: identity politics have created a new kind of tribalism, one that relies on eugenics for evidence. Smashing through the myths surrounding ancestry, interrogating eugenic theory and exposing the prejudices and misconceptions that have underpinned so much of our scientific theory has never been more important. In this fascinating documentary, Adam Rutherford delivers a masterclass in why our preoccupation with the genetics of race is meaningless for scientists. Drawing on remarkable historical detail and new scientific proof, he shows that the evidence for prejudices and assumptions is almost entirely incorrect, and that the differences between us are only skin deep.
This story has everything: war, politics, betrayal, scandal, murder and at its heart a cracking forensic science mystery. This is the story of Simon Fraser, the 11th Lord Lovat of the Highland, also known as the Fox. In the late 1660s, Simon Fraser was born in a house on the banks of a burn in th...
Sam Nightingale is an infectious diseases researcher and is currently treating patients with COVID-19. In this episode of Historic Questions he talks about this new form of coronavirus and how it might change our society. He also explains how humans responded to the emergence of AIDS in the late ...
Steve Wyler answers the big questions about how communities have responded to pandemics in the past and whether similar reactions can be seen in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
