4. Taboo

The Gift

One man’s determination to find his mother reveals an unbearable secret.

It’s the perfect gift for the person who already has everything. It promises to tell you who you really are, and how you’re connected to the world. A present that will reveal your genetic past – but could also disrupt your future.

In the first series of The Gift, Jenny Kleeman looked at the extraordinary truths that can unravel when people take at-home DNA tests like Ancestry and 23andMe.

For the second series, Jenny is going deeper into the unintended consequences - the aftershocks - set in motion when people link up to the enormous global DNA database.

Reconnecting and rupturing families, uprooting identities, unearthing long-buried secrets - what happens after technology, genealogy and identity collide?

Presenter: Jenny Kleeman Producer: Conor Garrett Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Editor: Philip Sellars Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

The Gift is a BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4

Details of organisations providing support with mental health, adoption and feelings of despair are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline