Skin colour has been a source of distress among human beings for a long time. From racial schisms and stereotypes to whitening creams and tanning beds, the problems that arise from skin colour boil down to the different values that people ascribe to different shades of skin. We speak with anthropologist and paleobiologist Nina G. Jablonski, author of Skin: A Natural History and Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color, as she talks about the evolutionary background of skin colour, how our skin protects us, and why racial stereotypes are misconceived.