In 1970 a mother walked into a Los Angeles welfare office trailed by a girl who looked six or seven but was actually thirteen. This episode traces the life of the child known by the pseudonym Genie, who survived a childhood of extreme isolation and became the center of one of the most controversial scientific studies of the 20th century.

Drawing on medical records and linguistic case studies, we explore cognitive development, language acquisition and the ethical boundaries of studying a deeply vulnerable person.

• The psychological fractures of her parents and the confinement that kept her strapped and silent for years.
• Her accidental discovery, the arrest of her parents, and her unprecedented medical and developmental profile.
• How her case became a natural test of the critical period hypothesis in the Chomsky-Lenne ...