Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Wonder Cupboard asks what science is, how it works, and how it came to be. Elena Falco and Ian Bridgeman present a new topic on the history and philosophy of science every episode.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ history and philosophy of science • origins of scientific ideas and methods • social impacts of technology • health, medicine, and biology debates • aesthetics in theories and nature • science culture and symbolsThis podcast explores what science is, how it operates, and how it developed by using a mix of history of science and philosophy of science. Across episodes, the hosts take familiar objects, practices, and controversies—often drawn from everyday life—and use them as entry points into bigger questions about evidence, explanation, and the social role of scientific ideas. The tone suggested by the descriptions is curious and conversational, with room for humor while still focusing on how scientific knowledge gets made and understood.
A recurring theme is how scientific concepts and technologies emerge from particular cultural and historical circumstances and then reshape society in return. Topics include the development and impact of cooling and climate-control technologies, shifting attitudes toward health and the body, and the ways public habits are influenced by changing claims about what is “scientific.” The podcast also returns to questions at the boundary of science and philosophy, such as what it means for something to be alive, what numbers are, why science works as a method, and how to assess large speculative claims about reality.
Several episodes appear to focus on the symbols and institutions of science—its clothing, its languages and writing systems, and processes like peer review—highlighting how authority and credibility are built. Others look at contested or mistaken ideas (for example, alternative models of Earth’s shape) as a way to show that scientific consensus is historically complicated rather than inevitable. Biographical and story-driven elements show up as well, including profiles of influential figures and scientific partnerships, and occasional conversations with guest experts about how values (such as “beauty” in theories or nature) influence scientific thinking.
Overall, listeners can expect wide-ranging discussions that connect scientific developments to politics, power, aesthetics, and everyday life, while repeatedly circling back to foundational questions about how we decide what counts as knowledge.
| Episodes: |
018 – Sunbathing2020-Jul-31 55 minutes |
017 – Air Conditioning2020-Jun-29 56 minutes |
016 – Ice2020-Jun-04 74 minutes |
015 – Are Viruses Alive?2020-Apr-27 48 minutes |
014 – Beauty Part 2 with Simon Watt2020-Apr-04 69 minutes |
013 – Beauty Part 1 with Sabine Hossenfelder2020-Feb-04 51 minutes |
012 – Merry Christmas2019-Dec-26 23 minutes |
011 – Vaccines and Power2019-Dec-01 50 minutes |
010 – Do We Live in a Simulation?2019-Oct-13 59 minutes |
009 – Lab Coats2019-May-19 48 minutes |
008 – Valentine's Special: Mamie & Kenneth2019-Feb-14 27 minutes |
007 – What Are Numbers?2019-Jan-29 48 minutes |
006 – Mesmerism2018-Dec-12 69 minutes |
005 – What's the Language of Science?2018-Sep-11 38 minutes |
004 – Flat Earth2018-Aug-30 67 minutes |
003 – Sexy Plants2018-Jul-15 54 minutes |
002 – Why Does Science Work?2018-Mar-22 42 minutes |
001 – Galileo2018-Mar-19 57 minutes |