BBC Radio 4, October 7 2022, and on BBC Sounds

Evolution breeds discrimination

An exploration of the darker side of humanity’s reaction to the discovery of ELS – where there is a new ‘other’, that difference can lead to fear and persecution, with far-reaching consequences.

In the first minutes of this episode, a question is posed… the answer is obvious: there is a chasm between recognising something as different and asserting one group or another as superior. That way, persecution lies.

We follow the ‘test case’ of Jacob, an ELS carrier (“Elser”), who apparently murdered a woman, Camilla, just because she wasn’t. Horrendous, and to hear his vitriolic bile and justification for this is sickening.

It’s a test case because it changed the law – he is sentenced to life, but as that would be a drop in the ocean for an Elser, that sentence is doubled. Absolutely fair, you say? Well the logic certainly tracks, but Jacob is not all he seems.

We follow his mother’s visits – she’s not an Elser – and by the time she no longer comes, somehow this excellently crafted piece leaves you emotional when this supposed vicious murderer with a terrifying ideology bids her a tearful farewell.

A question recurs concerning Camilla’s phone and for years, Jacob refuses to answer it. Then he does, and it changes everything. Compassion, importantly, isn’t just reserved for those who find themselves viewed as ‘inferior’. Everyone deserves it. Has Jacob done his time that fits his crime?

Verdict: When a life turns dramatically on one event and the consequences shake the world. 8/10

Claire Smith