Episode 44: Genie the Feral Child, Part One - Wild Child

What happens when you grow up without light, sound, or social interaction of any kind? What does that kind of extreme deprivation do to the developing brain of a child? These were the questions that faced researchers upon the discovery of Susan Wiley, known as "Genie", a deeply abused child who had spent most of her life locked in a small room with only her paranoid father's outbursts and furtive meals snuck in by her mother for human contact. Genie became famous as a case of horrific childhood neglect, but later became notable as an example of how research interests, unbounded by rigorous guardrails, can go terribly, terribly wrong.