Malcolm Gladwell discusses his upbringing as the child of English and Jamaican parents, and his own awareness of racial differences.

Malcolm Gladwell relates the reactions of his English and Jamaican grandparents to his parents' interracial marriage.

Malcolm Gladwell talks about the variations in race and "skin politics" in Jamaica and America among West Indians and African Americans.

Malcolm Gladwell and Henry Louis Gates Jr. discuss why family trees continue to be important, and how family history affects us today.

Malcolm Gladwell and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. discuss the factors that inform our identity — is it our experiences, our family history, society, or a combination of the three?

Louise Erdrich on why ancestral history is central to the existence of Native Americans, and why protecting that valuable history is so important.

Louise Erdrich talks about how she self-identifies, and her grandfather's influence on whether or not she belonged in the tribal nation.

Louise Erdrich discusses her grandfather's role in the fight against the American government's policy of Indian termination from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Louise Erdrich talks about the fractious relationship between European settlers and her American Indian ancestors.

Stephen Colbert relates stories within his own family about their ancestry in Canada.

Stephen Colbert talks about traditions and customs he's kept alive in his own family over the generations.

Stephen Colbert talks about what it means to be Irish in America, the legacy of British colonialism, and a surprising discovery about his wife's heritage.