Faces of America S01E04 · Know Thyself

Overview

Know Thyself takes up the search for the guests’ ancestries where the historical record leaves off and links their distinctive family histories to the broader history of “the family of man.” Combining the documented stories of some of the guests’ last known ancestors with DNA evidence, the series travel backward through time to reveal both distant relatives and surprising shared ancestral connections. Elizabeth Alexander learns that she is a direct descendent of Charlemagne, and that her paternal roots are not only European, but Jewish. Meryl Streep and Mike Nichols discover that they are distant cousins, as do Yo-Yo Ma and Eva Longoria. Interwoven with these stories and others is the journey of the host, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. as he and his father and brother undertake an historic project to have their entire genomes mapped, and thereby to learn everything they possibly can about their own family. This episode offers a compelling and thought-provoking meditation on the importance of ancestry, the meaning of family and the role of both in creating identity.

Torrents

Subtitles

Episodes

1. 1 1. Our American Stories2010-02-10 · 1h 0mDirector Mike Nichols' family escapes Nazi Germany; Japanese Americans were imprisoned, including forebears of skater Kristi Yamaguchi; an encounter changes the life of cellist Yo-
2. 2 2. Becoming American2010-02-17 · 1h 0mBecoming American explores the many journeys to becoming American that defined the “Century of Immigration” (1820s – 1924) and transformed the United States from a sleepy agrarian
3. 3 3. Making America2010-02-24 · 1h 0mMaking America tells the story of the peopling of the New World, of how land came to define the settling and identity of America, and of how the guests’ ancestors were part of this
4. 4 4. Know Thyself2010-03-03 · 1h 0mKnow Thyself takes up the search for the guests’ ancestries where the historical record leaves off and links their distinctive family histories to the broader history of “the famil