This time on The Children’s Hour, we explore the skin we are in. We are joined by Dr. Holly McGee and Dr. Nina Jablonski, who have written a book to explain the cultural and social history of skin color called It’s Just Skin, Silly. Then we meet Dr. Adnan Mir, a pediatric dermatologist who helps us understand even more about our skin from a medical point of view. This episode comes with a learning guide filled with activities to learn more.

Skin is the largest organ on our bodies, and it does much more than cover us. In this episode of The Children’s Hour, we explore how skin works, why it comes in different colors, and why everyone’s skin deserves care and respect. Kids from the Kids Crew ask thoughtful questions as scientists, historians, and doctors help us understand skin from the inside out.

Dr. Holly McGee and Dr. Nina Jablonski, wrote a book for kids called It’s Just Skin, Silly! They join us to discuss how we think about our skin. The kids have questions about where skin color comes from, how skin color has changed over time, and the unnecessary meaning that some people place on the color of skin. We explore why discrimination based on skin color is still happening.

Skin is an organ – it protects our insides from the outside. Dr. Adnan Mir, a pediatric dermatologist, helps us learn about the science of skin. We discuss the function of the dermis and epidermis, why we should use sunscreen, and how frequently we shed our skin!  

While skin color is controlled by the amount of melanin in our epidermis, the social, cultural, and historical view of skin color has changed over time. We know that skin color has nothing to do with a person’s character, intelligence, skills, physical abilities, or whether of not someone belongs in our communities. But some people still cling to racist ideas about each other, based purely on skin color. This can have real consequences in the world, from unjust hiring practices to negative interactions with law enforcement based purely on race. Learn more in our learning guide, and try some of the activities.

This episode was produced by Katie Stone, with production help from Christina Stella, Eli Henley, Gus Tafoya, Sarah Gabrielli, McKenzie Graunke, and Thaniel Lentz. Live engineering was provided by Chad Scheer at the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our Learning Guide was written by Amber Shiel. 

The Children’s Hour radio show is distributed by Native Voice One: The Native American Radio Network.

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