How do you feel about your neck? Maybe you only think about it when you’re sore from sleeping wrong or from sitting at a desk all day. But for centuries, humans have worried about their necks, decorated them with jewelry and clothes and ties, and exploited their weaknesses with knives and garrotes and guillotines. This hour, a look at necks — human and animal. Plus, the history and symbolism of the classic turtleneck.

GUESTS: 

• Kent Dunlap:  Professor of Biology at Trinity College, Hartford, and author of The Neck: A Natural and Cultural History

• Nancy MacDonell: Fashion journalist and fashion historian. She writes The Wall Street Journal column "Fashion with a Past.” Her new book is Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion

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Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Angelica Gajewski, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 12, 2025.

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