Join NOVA at Harvard Medical School for a screening of selected clips from Critical Condition and When Machines Prescribe paired with a panel discussion featuring filmmakers and experts from the film. The program will begin at 6PM and the screening and panel discussion will be followed by a catered reception.
In Critical Condition: Health in Black America, Oscar-nominated 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 medical algorithms were built using data based on old pseudoscience about racial differences and their continued use has harmed the health of Black patients.
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This event is co-organized by:
Major funding for Critical Condition: Health in Black America and When Machines Prescribe is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and The California Endowment. Additional funding is provided by the George D. Smith Fund, Inc., the PDB Foundation, and the Wilemal Fund. Major funding for NOVA and this programming is provided by Carlisle Companies, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the NOVA Science Trust with support from Margaret and Will Hearst and the Hoveida Family Foundation, and PBS viewers.
LOCATION:Walter Amphitheater (TMEC 246), Tosteson Medical Education Center STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTART:20250611T220000Z DTEND:20250612T000000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR