Season Three of Finding Your Roots



Season Three of Finding Your Roots Find more genealogy blogs at FamilyTree.comFinding Your Roots is one of a handful of TV shows that focuses on genealogy and family history. It is hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. Here is a quick recap of the episodes from Season 3 of Finding Your Roots.

Season 3 was delayed due to something that happened in Season 2. Ben Affleck, who was in one of the episodes in Season 2, learned that he had an ancestor who was a slave owner. This embarrassed him greatly. To make a long story short, it appears that Ben Affleck may have pressured producers to leave that information out of the episode. Based on this, PBS decided to delay Season 3 until the program hired a fact checker.

Today, ten episodes from Season 3 have been released. Some people might be able to watch them from the PBS website.

“The Stories We Tell” featured political organizer Donna Brazile, actor Ty Burrell, and artist Kara Walker. The episode delved into the unsolved mysteries behind their family stories. Each learned how the legacy of slavery shaped their identities.

“The Irish Factor” featured Soledad O’Brian, Bill O’Reilly and Bill Maher. The episode explored the shared Irish ancestry that all three of them have and explored how each of them has been deeply influenced by their Irish roots.

“In Search of Freedom” featured Maya Rudolph, Shonda Rhimes, and Keenen Ivory Wayans. The episode explored how their ancestors struggled for freedom and how each of these cultural trailblazers gained a new understanding of how they fit into this proud trajectory.

“Tragedy + Time = Comedy” featured three of America’s funniest men – Jimmy Kimmel, Normal Lear, and Bill Hader. The episode uncovers a history of tragedies and triumphs.

“Visionaries” featured business mogul Richard Branson, architect Maya Lin, and architect Frank Gehry. The episode shows how their ancestors took audacious risks to create great opportunities and how their luck, ingenuity, and chutzpah was passed onto these three visionaries.

“War Stories” featured Patricia Arquette, Julianne Moore, and John McCain. The episode uncovers a long family history of military service in their families and explores how this has instilled them with an enduring spirit of strength and integrity.

“Family Reunions” featured Sean Combs and LL Cool J. Family mysteries were uncovered through the use of DNA technology.

“The Pioneers” featured Neil Patrick harris, Gloria Steinem, and Sandra Cisneros. Each of them are connected to pioneers who broke new ground and paved their way for their modern day descendants to continue shaping our culture.

“The Long Way Home” featured Julianna Marguiles, author Azar Nafisi, and Lidia Bastianich. These three women are bound together by their ancestors’ singular and deeply human desire to preserve their most cherished traditions.

Related Articles at FamilyTree.com:

* Why the New Season of Finding Your Roots is On Hold

* Ben Affleck was Embarrassed by an Ancestor

* Celebrities on “WDYTYA” and “Finding Your Roots”

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