Show of the week: Tales From the Organ Trade
David Cronenberg narrates this unblinking documentary on the black-market trade in human organs.
The black-market trade in human organs is a $500 million global business that’s easy to condemn. But what if you’d spent years on dialysis and your kidneys were shutting down? Or what if selling a kidney could liberate your family from a slum? Film director David Cronenberg narrates this unblinking documentary, which tracks the organ trade from Filipino villages where every man bears a kidney-removal scar to hospital beds where desperate patients weigh breaking the law. The stories might just scramble your own moral calculus. Monday, Nov. 4, at 9 p.m., HBO
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
A lemon-shaped exoplanet is squeezing what we know about planet formationUnder the radar It may be made from a former star
-
Political cartoons for January 4Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a resolution to learn a new language, and new names in Hades and on battleships
-
The ultimate films of 2025 by genreThe Week Recommends From comedies to thrillers, documentaries to animations, 2025 featured some unforgettable film moments