24 min

Ep.1 - Head To Toe - Skin Casenotes

    • Science

When you’re talking about the history of skin, what is the line between beauty and health? In this episode we examine how doctors treatments of the skin in the past were often as concerned with aesthetics as they were with curing disease. We also uncover the medicalisation of class, race and gender that was explored through the medium of the skin.

And we finish up with some particularly disgusting recipes – including crocodile dung and toads!

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with our latest podcasts, videos and events. Subscribe here: https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/sign-our-heritage-newsletter

Website: www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage
Twitter: twitter.com/RCPEHeritage

Credits

Researcher and presenter: Laura Burgess has been a volunteer with RCPE Heritage since 2021 after completing her MA in History from UNC Charlotte.

Editor and producer: Sarah E Hayward completed her PhD in Museums and Heritage Studies at Kingston University London in 2023. She has been a volunteer with RCPE Heritage since 2021. She has a passion for archival research and she loves to explore creative ways to assemble and share the hidden stories she uncovers.

Researcher and presenter: Olivia Howarth is a volunteer with RCPE Heritage, a recently qualified archivist, heritage enthusiast and self-proclaimed lifetime nerd with an interest in medical history.

Guest historian clip: Dr Mary Fissell is professor in the Department of the History of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University.

When you’re talking about the history of skin, what is the line between beauty and health? In this episode we examine how doctors treatments of the skin in the past were often as concerned with aesthetics as they were with curing disease. We also uncover the medicalisation of class, race and gender that was explored through the medium of the skin.

And we finish up with some particularly disgusting recipes – including crocodile dung and toads!

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with our latest podcasts, videos and events. Subscribe here: https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/sign-our-heritage-newsletter

Website: www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage
Twitter: twitter.com/RCPEHeritage

Credits

Researcher and presenter: Laura Burgess has been a volunteer with RCPE Heritage since 2021 after completing her MA in History from UNC Charlotte.

Editor and producer: Sarah E Hayward completed her PhD in Museums and Heritage Studies at Kingston University London in 2023. She has been a volunteer with RCPE Heritage since 2021. She has a passion for archival research and she loves to explore creative ways to assemble and share the hidden stories she uncovers.

Researcher and presenter: Olivia Howarth is a volunteer with RCPE Heritage, a recently qualified archivist, heritage enthusiast and self-proclaimed lifetime nerd with an interest in medical history.

Guest historian clip: Dr Mary Fissell is professor in the Department of the History of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University.

24 min

Top Podcasts In Science

The Infinite Monkey Cage
BBC Radio 4
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
Sean Carroll | Wondery
Ologies with Alie Ward
Alie Ward
Making Sense with Sam Harris
Sam Harris
BBC Inside Science
BBC Radio 4
Radiolab
WNYC Studios