S1 E1: Harry Connick, Jr./Branford Marsalis
Their European immigrant ancestors blazed unconventional trails in America, from capturing British ships for the American Revolution to crossing racial barriers in slave-era Louisiana.
53 minutes
Dr Henry Louis Gates Jr explores race, culture, and identity through genealogy and genetics, helping people to trace their ancestral histories.
Cast: Anderson Cooper, Kevin Bacon, Valerie Jarrett
Director: Jesse Sweet, Hazel Gurland, Phil Bertelsen
S1 E2: Cory Booker/John Lewis
This program features two African-American politicians from different generations and opposite backgrounds.
53 minutes
S1 E3: Barbara Walters/Geoffrey Canada
What's in a name? Well, a lot, at least when it comes to piecing together family history.
53 minutes
S1 E4: Kevin Bacon/Kyra Sedgwick
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick are both famous actors and both descend from prominent American families that have been in this country since its inception. They both have ancestors who were early opponents of slavery.
53 minutes
S1 E5: Angela Buchdahl/Rick Warren/Yasir Qadhi
Pastor Rick Warren, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Sheik Yasir Qadhi, clerics of three different faiths, all have complex family histories that profoundly shaped their religious beliefs.
53 minutes
S1 E6: Maggie Gyllenhaal/Robert Downey, Jr.
Many Americans descend from a variety of European ethnicities, with ancestral roots across every country in Europe.
53 minutes
S1 E7: Samuel L. Jackson/Condoleezza Rice/Ruth Simmons
Samuel L. Jackson, Condoleezza Rice and Brown University president, Ruth Simmons, have each climbed to the pinnacle of their profession, yet each started life as a second-class citizen in the Jim Crow south.
53 minutes
S1 E8: Sanjay Gupta/Margaret Cho/Martha Stewart
The three guests in this episode are all children of first- or second-generation immigrants and share the peculiar burdens of that heritage.
53 minutes
S1 E9: John Legend/Wanda Sykes/Margarett Cooper
Most African Americans struggle to trace their ancestors beyond Emancipation; slavery erased names and family ties with brutal efficiency. What about the descendants of the few free black people who evaded bondage during that terrible time?
53 minutes
S1 E10: Michelle Rodriguez/Adrian Grenier/Linda Chavez
Michelle Rodriguez, Adrian Grenier and Linda Chavez all share Spanish colonial roots, yet each views their own identity very differently.
53 minutes