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6.0 1h 29m

The Genius and the Boys

D Carleton Gajdusek won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of Prions - the particles that would emerge as the cause of Mad Cow disease - while working with a cannibal tribe on New Guinea. He was a star of the scientific world. Over his years working amongst the tribes of the South Seas, he adopted 57 kids, bringing them to a new life in Washington DC. His adoptions were hailed as wonderful fatherly beneficence. But, at the height of his career, rumours began to spread he was a paedophile. Gajdusek would argue that if sex with children was okay in their own cultures, he wasn't wrong to join in. How could a great mind like Gajdusek's lose insight so totally, and why would the scientific community to which he was a hero be so quick to leap to his defence and dismiss the allegations? (Storyville)

Top Cast

  • Bosse Lindquist

    Bosse Lindquist

    Narrator

  • Michael Alpers

    Michael Alpers

    Himself - Professor of Medicine - Expert on Kuru

  • Warwick Anderson

    Warwick Anderson

    Professor in Medical Anthropology

  • Sena Anua

    Sena Anua

    Medical Reporter - PNGIMR

  • Daniel Carleton Gajdusek

    Daniel Carleton Gajdusek

    Himself - Virologist - Anthropologist - Linguist - Author - etc

  • Robert Gajdusek

    Robert Gajdusek

    Brother

  • Robert Gallo

    Robert Gallo

    Himself - Director, Institute of Human Virology and Co-discoverer HIV

  • Oliver Sacks

    Oliver Sacks

    Himself - Professor of Neurology and Author

  • Lovisa Mbagintao

    Lovisa Mbagintao

    Secretary

Overview

D Carleton Gajdusek won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of Prions - the particles that would emerge as the cause of Mad Cow disease - while working with a cannibal tribe on New Guinea. He was a star of the scientific world. Over his years working amongst the tribes of the South Seas, he adopted 57 kids, bringing them to a new life in Washington DC. His adoptions were hailed as wonderful fatherly beneficence. But, at the height of his career, rumours began to spread he was a paedophile. Gajdusek would argue that if sex with children was okay in their own cultures, he wasn't wrong to join in. How could a great mind like Gajdusek's lose insight so totally, and why would the scientific community to which he was a hero be so quick to leap to his defence and dismiss the allegations? (Storyville)

Rating

6.0 / 10
2 Reviews
0 Popular

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