"Who's Black and Why?" is the title of a fascinating new book about the origins of racism. Back in 1739, the Royal Academy of Sciences in the French city of Bordeaux announced a contest for the best essay on the sources of "blackness". The questions: what is the physical cause of "blackness" and African hair? What is the cause of "Black degeneration"? The result was 16 essays, written in French and Latin, from European authors who ranged from naturalists to physicians to theologians. Our guest Andrew Curran helped translate the essays, which lay bare the origins of anti-Black racism in the West. He joined us for Perspective.