The Gift

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Without us realising, an enormous DNA database has been created online. It holds the secrets of your true identity and promises to reveal untold family connections. But what happens when online ancestry tests reveal more than you had bargained for? Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.

BBC Radio 4


    • Oct 16, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 24m AVG DURATION
    • 7 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Gift

    6. Secrets

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2023 28:16


    In this last episode, as Jenny's own results land in her inbox, she hears how at home DNA tests have brought family secrets - once thought long buried - out into the light.It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world. Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the truth of our heritage - perhaps even a future foretold in our genes.Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.Presenter: Jenny Kleeman Producer: Conor Garrett Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Executive Producer: Philip Sellars Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett

    5. Health

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2023 28:03


    How can life change when a home DNA test reveals you may be predisposed to serious illness?It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the truth of our heritage - perhaps even a future foretold in our genes.Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.Presenter: Jenny Kleeman Producer: Conor Garrett Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Executive Producer: Philip Sellars Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett

    4. Race

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2023 28:49


    The anxieties of navigating a newfound racial identity.It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the truth of our heritage - perhaps even a future foretold in our genes.Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.Presenter: Jenny Kleeman Producer: Conor Garrett Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Executive Producer: Philip Sellars Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett

    3. Mistakes

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2023 28:27


    The family that must turn detective to find the couple who had IVF at the same time as them.It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the truth of our heritage - perhaps even a future foretold in our genes.Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.Presenter: Jenny Kleeman Producer: Conor Garrett Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Executive Producer: Philip Sellars Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett

    2. Justice

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2023 28:16


    A son's quest to learn more about his late father unravels a mystery that's baffled US federal law enforcement for over four decades.It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the truth of our heritage - perhaps even a future foretold in our genes.Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.Presenter: Jenny Kleeman Producer: Conor Garrett Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Executive Producer: Philip Sellars Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett Archive courtesy CNN

    1. Fraud

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2023 28:21


    In this first episode, a scandal deep in the heart of London's Harley Street is exposed when a man in his eighties receives a DNA test Christmas present from his daughter.It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the truth of our heritage - perhaps even a future foretold in our genes.Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.Presenter: Jenny Kleeman Producer: Conor Garrett Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Executive Producer: Philip Sellars Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett

    Introducing The Gift

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2023 2:21


    Have you ever been curious enough to try and find out who you really are?Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after opening a box containing a DNA test.A new six-part documentary series from BBC Radio 4, coming to this feed weekly on Mondays from 11 September 2023.

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