Dr Skin
Retinol is all over social media, beauty shelves, advertising. But its early origins were much uglier than most people know.
The creams, serums and pills that millions rely on today to make themselves look younger have a dark past. In the 1950s in America, a doctor arrived at a prison in Philadelphia. His name was Albert Kligman. What he saw before him when he looked around the prison were test subjects. In his words, “acres of skin”. He set up a testing programme and started working with some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in America. But his commercial operation at the jail would stretch far beyond cosmetics.
This season of World of Secrets contains strong language, as well as references to medical testing, suicide and the Holocaust.
Dr Skin is a Samizdat Audio production for the BBC World Service.
Presenter: Alzo Slade
Series producer: Tom Fuller
Series editor: Joe Sykes
Sound design: Richard Ward
Commissioning senior producers: Anne Dixey and Sarah Green
Commissioning editor: Jon Manel
On radio
Broadcasts
- Wed 18 Nov 202604:32GMTBBC World Service
- Wed 18 Nov 202613:32GMTBBC World Service except Australasia, East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Wed 18 Nov 202618:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Wed 18 Nov 202623:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sat 21 Nov 202609:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia
- Sat 21 Nov 202616:32GMTBBC World Service News Internet
- Sat 21 Nov 202623:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
Podcast
![]()
World of Secrets
Global investigations from the BBC
