Critical Condition Outreach and Events
Explore the outreach toolkit, view upcoming screening events, and browse support materials for two NOVA films – Critical Condition: Health in Black America and When Machines Prescribe.
In Critical Condition: Health in Black America, Oscar-nominated and Emmy award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson investigates the dramatic health disparities in the US, even as scientists confirm that there are no meaningful genetic differences between races. From the deep history of pseudoscientific beliefs about race that still permeate modern medicine, to the latest research on how experiencing discrimination can directly damage the body’s DNA and biology, Critical Condition reveals the factors behind the health crisis facing Black Americans.
The accompanying short documentary, When Machines Prescribe, produced by Llew Smith and Kelly Thomson, investigates the use of race in clinical algorithms. Designed to weigh factors like symptoms, medical history, and test results to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients, some common medical algorithms were built using data based on old pseudoscience about racial differences and their continued use has harmed the health of Black patients.
Critical Condition and When Machines Prescribe are both available to stream on NOVA's website and the PBS app.
Engage your community with the Critical Condition Outreach Toolkit
We invite you to use the Critical Condition outreach toolkit to organize screenings and community discussions about racial health disparities, the factors that contribute to them, and the use of race in clinical algorithms. These events can be organized by any community organization to engage local medical professionals, scientists, medical institutions, public health officials, and others in conversations that explore racial health disparity causes, impacts, and solutions.
Critical Condition: Health in Black America Outreach Toolkit — COMING SOON in June 2025
Interested in hosting an event about the documentary? Please complete the form below with details about the community event you would like to organize.
Submit community event information here!
Upcoming Events for Critical Condition and When Machines Prescribe
- September 18, 2025
- Critical Condition: Health in Black America Screening and Panel Discussion
- @ Howard University Hospital, Washington D.C.
- 6 to 8:30 PM
- Register here
- September 23, 2025
- Critical Condition and When Machines Prescribe Screening and Panel Discussion
- @ Harvard University Science Center, Cambridge, MA
- 4 to 6:30 PM
- Register here
- September 24, 2025
- How to tell stories about health equity – A conversation with the filmmakers of Critical Condition: Health in Black America
- @ Harvard P.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
- 1 to 1:50 PM
- Register here
