> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.cascadepbs.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Decoding Our Past Through DNA
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/show/finding-your-roots/episode/finding-your-roots-decoding-our-past-through-dna/
- Published: 2024-04-02T23:11:42.000Z
- Updated: 2025-08-20T14:26:42.000Z
- Description: DNA analysis challenges guests’ ideas about their family’s history and their identities.
- Author: Cascade PBS Staff
- Tags: Finding Your Roots, Season 2, Episode 10, #ZZZ_Episode_921a08e8-9484-4e5d-9618-525b96a921e1, #episode, #ZZZ_Show_855aaf88-37bb-4949-872a-c4646a613145, #v1.16

Deval Patrick is the first African-American governor of Massachusetts and Jessica Alba is an actress who proudly embraces her Mexican-American heritage. But cutting-edge DNA analysis reveals that the family trees contain a far more diverse range of cultures and races. DNA is used to delve deeper into the families of other guests in the series, including Valerie Jarrett and Henry Louis Gates Jr.