On March 27, 2008 at 10:00 p.m. (after “Lost“) the Public Broadcasting Company will launch a four week series on racial/ethnic inequities in America’s health care system. The series, entitled Unnatural Causes: is Inequality Making us Sick, will unfold in four one hour presentations.

The makers of this documentary series ask some provocative questions. Why does the United States, one of the richest countries on the planet rank 29th in life expectancy, even worse than very poor countries like Costa Rica and Chile? How does lack of neighborhood infrastructure spread disease just as surely as germs and viruses? Why, at every level are communities of color worse off than their white counterparts?

The first installment, In Sickness and in Wealth, examines how socioeconomic status affects health.

In week two, When the Bough Breaks looks at the infant mortality rate among African-Americans, while Becoming American reveals asks why the health of poor Mexican American immigrants erodes when they come to America.

The third week presents Bad Sugar and Place Matters that asks how your surrounding built environment can get inside your body just like smog and toxic waste.

The series ends with two segments. Collateral Damage and Not Just a Paycheck demonstrate how a legacy of poverty affects health and the very direct impact that factory closures have on an individuals and community’s health.