Using genealogical detective work and cutting-edge DNA analysis, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. guides influential guests deep into the branches of their family trees, revealing surprising stories of love, hardship, and triumph that transcend borders and merge to form an American root system fortified by its diversity.

Renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. weaves together genealogical detective work with cutting-edge DNA analysis to trace the ancestry of a diverse array of trailblazing public figures. The result is a captivating cross-section of history, illustrating that diversity is both America's strength and its constant.

This 10-part series, with the renowned cultural critic and Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., delves into the genealogy and genetics of famous Americans, combining history and science in a fascinating exploration of race, family and identity in today's America. Professor Gates shakes loose captivating stories and surprises in the family trees of Kevin Bacon, Robert Downey, Jr., Branford Marsalis, John Legend, Martha Stewart, Barbara Walters and...

Trace the histories of these three guests. Tina Fey's fifth great-grandfather survived a terrible massacre and became a hero in the Greek War of Independence. David Sedaris' ancestors were also touched by the Greek War of Independence. George Stephanopoulos' family was willing to sacrifice themselves in the struggle against the Nazi occupation of Greece during World War II.

Discover your Native American heritage, for you, for your children, and for their children after them. Learn how to obtain your tribal membership, obtain a CDIB, and more.

DNA testing companies are trending nationally, with over 30 million Americans hoping to receive clues to family origins and forecasts of their future health -- not knowing the results can be misleading, or not considering that family secrets can tear apart relationships. The biggest risk, however, may be what these companies do with our information once they have it, so this program objectively explores the promise and peril of consumer DNA testing....

200,000 years ago we took our first steps in Africa. Today there are seven billion of us living across the planet. How did our ancestors spread from continent to continent? This is a global detective story, featuring the latest archaeological discoveries and genetic research. On each continent, we track down the earliest members of our species, Homo sapiens. Who were these First Peoples? What drove them to the ends of the earth?

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. finds out who we are and where we come from.

Irina Zonabend seeks to re-establish family connections broken by the Holocaust and buried behind the Iron Curtain. Her search takes her to her grandfather's original home in Ciechocek, Poland, where all traces of the Jewish community that was annihilated have been erased.

Christmas in My Heart: Concert violinist Beth tutors the daughter of reclusive Country music star Sean to prep her for the holiday concert. They are joined through the connective power of music. My Christmas Family Tree: When Vanessa receives the results from her Family Tree DNA test, she discovers a family she didn't know existed and travels to their home for Christmas.