PBS''s Journey of Man featuring Spencer Wells

Introduction

I have always been intrigued by the special demands of acting invisibly on radio, concentrating a character into his voice. Narration has an extra limitation - too much personality can be at odds with the story being told. Journey of Man was a test of my modesty; I was not required to be a character — not even my own — rather a disembodied voice. Nothing had to distract from the shapes and moods of the circus athletes of the Cirque du Soleil Company.

Discussion

The Journey of Man focuses on the research of geneticist Dr. Spencer Wells, who wants to prove his theory that the global migration of man began with a tribe of Africans who, battered by famine and drought, left their home literally searching for greener pastures some 60,000 years ago. Wells leaves his laboratory behind and sets out on a research mission in whom he attempts to trace the common genetic thread which connects such varied travellers as the Aborigines of Australia, the Bushmen of Nambia, and the Native Peoples of North America.

PBS Program

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American non-profit public broadcasting television service with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership.However, its operations are largely funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Its headquarters are in Arlington, Virginia.

PBS is the most prominent provider of programming to U.S. public television stations, distributing series such as The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Masterpiece, and Frontline. Since the mid-2000s, Roper polls commissioned by PBS have consistently placed the service as America's most trusted national institution.

Journey of Man answers the question "Where do we all come from?" Today, some six billion people are spread across the planet. But there was a time - not so long ago - when the ...