Documentary Style
TopicalThe Gene: An Intimate History
Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee's acclaimed book brought to life by Ken Burns. Explains genetics from Mendel to CRISPR through personal stories while confronting the promise and peril of gene editing.
Year
2020
Type
series
Episodes
2
Language
English
Director
Barak Goodman
Genres
Summary
Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee's acclaimed book The Gene becomes a four-hour documentary that makes complex genetic science accessible through storytelling.
The series traces genetics from Gregor Mendel's 19th-century pea plant experiments through the race to sequence the human genome to CRISPR gene editing. Along the way, it confronts the darkest chapter in genetic history—the eugenics movement that inspired Nazi experiments. The series weaves together personal stories of families battling genetic diseases with the scientists racing to find cures.
A sweeping examination of how genetic science is transforming medicine while exploring the profound ethical questions CRISPR raises: Which diseases should we cure? Should we enhance human abilities.