It might seem as though the way we think about race now is how we’ve always thought about it—but it isn’t. Race was born out of the Enlightenment in Europe, along with the invention of modern western science. And it was tied to the politics of the age—imperialism and later slavery. This episode traces the origins of race science to the Enlightenment, examines how the Bible influenced racial theories, and considers how we still have a hard time letting go of the idea of race.
About Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race“Origin Stories” is Episode 1 of Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race, a podcast and magazine project that explores the historical roots and persistent legacies of racism in American science and medicine. Published through Distillations, the Science History Institute’s highly acclaimed digital content platform, the project examines the scientific origins of support for racist theories, practices, and policies. Innate is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
CreditsHosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago
Senior Producer: Mariel Carr
Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez
Assistant Producer: Padmini Ragunath
Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer
"Innate Theme" composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.
Special thanks to our colleagues, Jacqueline Boytim and James Voelkel, for their help with this episode.
Archaeology under the Blinding Light of Race, by Michael Blakey
Breathing Race into the Machine: the Surprising Career of the Spirometer from Plantation to Genetics, by Lundy Braun
Divine Variations: How Christian Thought Became Racial Science, by Terence Keel
Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-first Century, by Dorothy Roberts
"Jesus Loves the little Children," song by Cedarmont Kids
Medicalizing Blackness: Making Racial Differences in the Atlantic World, 1780-1840, by Rana Hogarth
The Nuremberg Chronicle, by Hartmann Schedel
Superior: The Return of Race Science, by Angela Saini
Find the full transcript here.
High-Tech and Amish: Using 21st-century medicine to maintain a 300-year-old way of life.
Political Science: Out of the Lab and into the Streets
Rethinking Ink: Lasers, Tattoo Removal, and Second Chances
Making Senses: How Biohackers Are Using Artificial Perceptions to Enhance Reality
The Smell of Shame: How Deodorant Became Omnipresent in America
Fizzy Water: The Unnatural History of a Carbonated Drink
Second Skin: The Unexpected Origin of the Sports Bra
(Natural) Childbirth
Best of 2016: Insiders vs. Outsiders in Medicine
Human-Centered Therapy . . . with Robots
This Is Not Your Great-Grandfather’s Taxidermy
Babes of Science, a Guest Episode
The Ancient Chemistry Inside Your Taco
Power in the Blood: When Religion and Medicine Meet in Your Veins
Do You Need That Kidney? Rethinking the Ethics of Organ Transplants
DDT: The Britney Spears of Chemicals
Is Space the Place? Trying to Save Humanity by Mining Asteroids
Sex and Gender: What We Know and Don’t Know
Stealing Industry Secrets: Not as Easy as You Think
Genetic Engineering and Organic Farming: An Unexpected Marriage
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Irish Songs with Ken Murray
History Obscura
Historycal: Words that Shaped the World
Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra
The Rest Is History