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Born Equal?

Documentary series. Andrew Marr explores Darwin's impact on politics and society, including how the theory of natural selection has been used to justify oppression.

Andrew Marr discovers something surprising about his own evolutionary history as this epic series continues with an exploration of Darwin's impact on politics and society.

Under the banner of Survival of the Fittest, Darwin's theory of natural selection has been used to justify imperial expansion and the oppression of indigenous peoples; to inform the science of eugenics - the selective breeding of humans which was implemented in the United States in the early 20th century; and to provide a veneer of scientific respectability to Nazi plans to create an Aryan master race. It was also used quite explicitly to explain the twisted logic of the final solution.

But Andrew Marr also finds a kind of redemption for Darwin's theory of evolution. After the Second World War, it was a founding idea behind the democratic, anti-racist values of the United Nations. More recently, it has also been used to help eliminate a fatal genetic disease from the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. Marr goes on to consider the difficult social and political choices presented by predictive DNA testing - the final frontier of Darwin's Dangerous Idea.

1 hour

Credit

Role Contributor
Presenter Andrew Marr

Broadcasts

  • Thu 12 Mar 2009 21:00
  • Tue 17 Mar 2009 19:00
  • Tue 24 Mar 2009 03:40
  • Wed 29 Apr 2009 21:00
  • Thu 1 Oct 2009 19:00
  • Wed 4 Aug 2010 22:30
  • Thu 27 Sep 2018 20:00
  • Fri 28 Sep 2018 02:25