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Eugenics: Science's Greatest Scandal

Season 1
Eugenics was the abhorrent theory that humans could be improved by selective breeding. So-called ‘faults’ could be bred away; any 'detrimental' elements eradicated. Its origins lie with well-respected British medical practitioners; the Nazis put the hideous ideas into practice. Science expert Angela Saini and disability rights activist Adam Pearson look at the history and legacy of Eugenics.
20192 episodes
16+
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Episodes

  1. S1 E1 - Episode 1
    October 1, 2019
    59min
    16+
    Eugenic beliefs, considered abhorrent today, permeated the British establishment at the start of the last century. This led to eugenics influencing government policies, resulting in thousands of disabled people being locked up for decades. It shaped immigration law, education and even town planning. How did eugenics eventually feed into the racist ideologies of Nazi Germany?
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  2. S1 E2 - Episode 2
    October 8, 2019
    59min
    16+
    It’s thought that eugenics disappeared after the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust, but eugenic practices, such as the sterilization of the poor, continued on a global scale for many more years. Do eugenic-style attitudes towards the poor and disabled continue? And could breakthroughs in medicine, such as screening and gene editing, plus prejudice against the disabled, bring a form of eugenics back?
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Subtitles
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Directors
Andrew Smith
Producers
Andrew Smith
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