After some time traveling, and understanding why we all look so different, it’s time we look at the age old question: Why aren’t Black people aging? Through all of the beauty products, and magazines that promote youth, Black people never really seem to age. It’s cultural at this point with its cornerstone being JET magazine’s 1970 “Black Don’t Crack”

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“Black Don’t Crack” is an adage that assumes that Black people age slower. This episode addresses the genetics behind physical characteristics we associate with aging such as skin (wrinkles and folds), hair loss, memory and telomere length (cellular aging). The science is supplemented by the story of Mrs. Irma Shaw, a 94 year old Black Guyanese woman living in Queens, NY. In “Magic School Bus” -esque vignettes, this episode also uses fictional skits to demonstrate how our cells age over time.

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These questions are answered with the help of our guests anthropologist Dr. Tina Lasisi and fellow geneti-“SIS” Dr. Marquitta White.

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In Those Genes is an educational podcast that contains explicit language that might be be difficult for some to hear. No worries, we got you! You can still get all the facts dropped in our cleaned transcript we affectionately call The Nucleus here, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Htc1qZSTH9g3lF9EydHhZEsdxjs4W90R/view?usp=sharing

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As a reminder this season airs every OTHER week.

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Want to learn more about the guests on this episode? Check out their work below.

Dr.Tina Lasisi @TinaLasisi (Twitter), https://www.tinalasisi.com/

Dr. Marquitta White, learn more about Dr. White’s work here, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marquitta-White

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Want to unpack this episode with other In Those Genes Family and like minded folks? If so, be sure to come to our after show, In Our DNA ( https://kinkofa.com/inourdna/ ), hosted by our good friends over at Kinkofa (https://kinkofa.com/ ) every other Wednesday (the week following an episode drop) at 7:30PM EST. Register here, https://lu.ma/INOURDNA !

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Kinkofa is the future of genealogy. Connect to culturally-relevant tools, resources, and support needed to uncover your unique #familyhistory. Join their community here, https://kinkofa.com/community/ !

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Making a podcast ain’t cheap. And as an independently funded podcast, we depend on our community to sustain us. Please consider donating $5, $10, or $20 to In Those Genes through our PayPal or commit to a monthly donation through our Patreon, if you’re able.

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PayPal: https://paypal.me/inthosegenes

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If a monetary donation isn’t in the cards you can support us by -- rating and writing a review of the podcast, following us on social media, and sharing this podcast with everyone you know!

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No matter how you show your support, thank you fam <3 We appreciate you. You can formally join the family by visiting www.inthosegenes.com and signing up to get email updates including our Nucleotide Newsletter.

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