A new Chedd-Angier-Lewis broadcast series

After some three and a half billion years of life’s evolving on this planet – and after almost three million years since people recognizable as human first walked its surface – a new human burst upon the scene, apparently unannounced.

It was us.

Until then our ancestors had shared the planet with other human species. But soon there was only us, possessors of something that gave us unprecedented power over our environment and everything else alive. That something was – is – the Human Spark.

What is the nature of human uniqueness? Where did the Human Spark ignite, and when? And perhaps most tantalizingly, why?

In a three-part series to be broadcast on PBS in 2009, Alan Alda takes these questions personally, visiting with dozens of scientists on three continents, and participating directly in many experiments – including the detailed examination of his own brain.

Alda is uniquely qualified for this role. As an actor and author, and as the long-time host of the PBS series Scientific American Frontiers, he has a passion for both the humanities and science. He is bringing his trademark humor and curiosity to face-to-face conversations with leading researchers seeking the Human Spark, from archeologists finding clues in the fossilized bones and tools of our ancestors; to primatologists studying our nearest living relatives to explore what we have in common and what sets us apart; to neuroscientists peering into his mind with the latest brain scanning technologies.

While Alda and the production team set out on this exploration with little expectation of actually finding the Human Spark – but also expecting a fascinating time looking for it – to our surprise we have discovered a consensus that is homing in on what makes humans unique:

For all our faults, for all our acts of inhumanity, most humans, for most of the time, care about each other: we connect. In that apparent banality lies our species’ profound power.

In the first program, What made Homo… sapiens? (w.t.), Alda witnesses the dazzling debut of the Human Spark in the spectacular artwork dating back some 30,000 years painted on the walls of caves in France. He explores the world or our predecessors in Europe, the Neanderthals, who until we came along had done just fine. The central question of this program is what did we possess that the Neanderthals didn’t – and where did it come from? Finding the answer involves research as disparate as scanning Neanderthal teeth in a giant particle accelerator, to reading the genes of Neanderthals unearthed from a cave in Spain; from finding out why long distance running gave us large brains, to reconstructing the weaponry that made possible  – and relatively safe – the hunting of large animals; from unearthing a 100,000 year old skull, to discovering the beads that are the first evidence of our species’ fascination with social status – and a powerful new means of communication.

In the second program, Chimps aren’t Us (w.t.), Alan joins researchers studying our fellow apes – mainly chimpanzees, our closest living relatives – to discover both what we share with them, and what we have that has evolved since we went our separate ways. Alan observes and participates in experiments that reveal chimps’ immense skills – including prodigious feats of learning by association – but also striking indifference to how things work. He sees how chimps use tools and have culture  – but also how those tools and cultures are very different from ours. He witnesses chimps showing signs of empathy and cooperation, but also sees how limited these characteristically human qualities are.  And, in an unexpected twist, he sees how in many areas of social understanding, dogs – separated from humans by tens of millions of years of evolution – are considerably better than our nearest relatives.

In the third program, Inside Alan’s Brain, we literally peer into Alda’s head with a variety of high-tech imaging techniques to see if we can find his own Human Spark. We discover the unique circuitry that provides us with what is our most prized ability, language – and with the insight provided by a family whose members have profound problems with speech, we untangle the complex story of the FOXP2 gene, which appears to have provided us with at least some of the brain mechanisms needed for language. We find out what areas of Alan’s brain allow him to use complex tools and understand the minds of others, both essential human attributes. Alda will participate in tests of babies as young as three months for their ability to make moral judgments. And we’ll discover in Alan’s brain a critical network that works best when he’s just doing nothing. This program will include contributions from three well-know scientists and authors: Steven Pinker (The Stuff of Thought), Dan Gilbert (Stumbling on Happiness) and Paul Bloom (Descartes’ Baby).

The Human Spark is a production of The Chedd-Angier-Lewis Production Company for Thirteen/WNET New York. Executive Producer for Thirteen: Jared Lipworth. Executive Producer and Series Producer for Chedd-Angier-Lewis: Graham Chedd. Director: Larry Engel. Major funding is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Sloan Foundation and the Templeton Foundation. The series premiere on PBS is anticipated for 2009.