Other

BBC World Service News Internet

The Documentary

Documentaries

Factual

The Documentary Podcast

Investigating global developments, issues and affairs.

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service East Asia

The Documentary: DNA and me

Sophia Smith-Galer

14/07/2020 GMT

DNA and me

BBC World Service - The Documentary, DNA and me

What do at-home DNA test kits tell us about our identity?

Want to know who you really are? Take an at-home DNA test, just like over 26 million others have around the globe. But the question is: why?
 
For many, it’s just a bit of fun; for others it might be for medical insight. But for everyone, it promises to tell you who you really are – and for many, those results might come as a surprise. For BBC reporter Sophia Smith Galer and her father, an innocent at-home kit led to a series of shocking discoveries about their family.
 
From discovering her true biological grandfather to a superstar relative, understanding their family background won’t ever be the same again. With so many stories like theirs emerging around the globe, are at-home DNA test kits now the ultimate palm-reader, setting the paths for our future and sense of sef? Do we assume too much of what is still early science – and how much is our identity, really, controlled by our genes anyway?
 
Sophia explores what this new scientific determination offers, and what other stories that are emerging around the world like her and her father’s tell us about how we build a sense of identity today in 2020. 
 
Presenter/producer: Sophia Smith-Galer

(Photo: Sophia Smith-Galer. Credit: Lai Jones)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Documentary

DNA and me

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service News Internet

About BBC World Service