100 Objects #18: Hair Relaxer

Somewhere between 85 to 95 percent of Black women in the United States have used a chemical hair relaxer at least once in their lifetime. It is a ubiquitous American product with a complicated legacy: it built Black wealth and opened economic doors, but also taught generations to see their hair as a problem to be solved. And now research is revealing a physical cost. Roman Mars and producer Priscilla Alabi explore how a single product became a mirror for all of America's contradictions.

Host: Roman Mars

Producers: Priscilla Alabi, Brenna Daldorph, Isaac Fisher, Ellie Lightfoot

EPs: Annie Brown, Courtney Harrell, Kathy Tu