I'm Natalie Moore. I fell in love with soap operas when I was just five years old, and I still

watch them. Their television's longest scripted series and have zero reruns. Now let me tell you,

soap operas aren't just some silly art form. They are significant. In this season of making,

Stories Without End from WBEZ Chicago.

Join me as I share how the genre began, their social impact, and why these stories endure.

Listen wherever you get your podcast.

From WBEZ Chicago, this is NERD. I'm Tricia Bobita.

And I am Greta Johnson. This week, Tricia is talking with

Rebecca Scloot, who is the author of a book called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which

if you haven't read it, that is okay because now there's an HBO movie based on it.

The story centers around a young journalist named Rebecca Scloot, who's trying to figure out

the real personal story behind the Gila cells. These are Henrietta Lack cells, which were harvested without her permission when she had cancer

in the 1950s.

They became the backbone of a lot of modern medical science.

Rebecca set out to find the real family, including Deborah Lacks, Henrietta's daughter,

and together they tried to find the truth about Henrietta's life.

Here's a scene from the HBO film, where Deborah, played by Oprah,

is talking to Rebecca Scloot, played by Rose Byrne, for the first time.

Yeah, who's this? Hi, my name's Rebecca Scloot. How are you? Mm-hmm. Dr. Petillo actually gave me your... How's he doing?

He's fine.

I'm not sure exactly how much he told you about what I'm trying to do.

Just as you was going to ask me some questions about my mama sales.

...