TrueSciPhi

Podcast Profile: The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

Site • RSS • Apple Podcasts
96 episodes
2019 to 2024
Median: 19 minutes
Collection: Science

Description (podcaster-provided):

Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):

This podcast, hosted by Sam Kean, dives into a wide array of historical and scientific stories, uncovering intriguing and often overlooked tales from our past. The content covers a broad spectrum of themes, with a significant focus on how science intersects with historical events, individual lives, and societal issues. Episodes explore the pivotal and sometimes controversial roles scientific developments have played in shaping history, from wartime innovations to medical advancements.

The podcast frequently delves into scientific mysteries and anomalies, such as bizarre natural phenomena and peculiar historical incidents involving scientists and their discoveries. It also sheds light on lesser-known but impactful scientific figures, examining their contributions and the often unsung legacy they left behind. By highlighting these stories, the podcast paints a detailed picture of the human side of science, including the triumphs, failures, and ethical dilemmas encountered along the way.

Historical episodes tend to focus on dramatic events or figures, ranging from sinister conspiracies and crimes to remarkable acts of innovation and self-sacrifice. The podcast does not shy away from controversial topics, addressing scandals, murders, and ethical breaches within the scientific community. It also delves into personal stories, examining how individual scientists' lives and psychologies influenced their work and legacy.

Themes of scientific principles being misused or misunderstood recur throughout the episodes. From medical mishaps and dangerous psychological experiments to the intricacies of genetics and the mischaracterizations of well-known figures, the podcast explores how scientific knowledge can be both a powerful tool and a source of human error.

In summary, this podcast offers a rich tapestry of narratives that blend science, history, and human interest, providing listeners with a deeper understanding of the often-hidden stories that have shaped the world of science and beyond.

Episodes:

The Mysterious Mote 2024-Jun-26 18 minutes

The Science of D-Day 2024-May-14 19 minutes

Can Plastic Surgery Keep You out of Prison? 2024-May-07 20 minutes

The Russian Roswell 2024-Apr-30 21 minutes

When Tenure Means Life and Death 2024-Apr-23 20 minutes

A Deadly Soup for Babies 2024-Apr-16 20 minutes

How the “Worst Serial Killer in Holland’s History” Went Free 2024-Apr-09 20 minutes

The Eclipse that Killed a King 2024-Apr-02 19 minutes

When Generosity Turns Pathological 2024-Mar-26 18 minutes

The Sex-Cult “Antichrist” Who Rocketed Us to Space (part 2) 2024-Mar-19 21 minutes

The Sex-Cult “Antichrist” Who Rocketed Us to Space (part 1) 2024-Mar-12 19 minutes

Don't Drink the Milk bonus episode - Milk: From mutations to mustaches 2024-Jan-16 42 minutes

Was Darwin a Murderer? 2023-Nov-14 20 minutes

Mass Psychosis in Food Science 2023-Nov-07 19 minutes

Accounting for Taste 2023-Oct-31 18 minutes

If Indiana Jones Were a Swindler 2023-Oct-24 19 minutes

The British Tobacco Empire 2023-Oct-17 19 minutes

"Moldy Mary," The Forgotten Mother of Penicillin 2023-Oct-10 21 minutes

The Most Exclusive Club in the World 2023-Oct-03 19 minutes

Death-Defying Science at 75,000 Feet 2023-Sep-26 20 minutes

Proving Einstein Right 2023-Sep-20 19 minutes

Einstein's Golden Moment 2023-Sep-12 20 minutes

Everything You Know About Phineas Gage Is Wrong 2023-Jul-11 19 minutes

Why Do We Obsess Over Charles Darwin’s Health? 2023-Jun-27 20 minutes

The Seeds of Starvation 2023-Jun-20 21 minutes

When Scientific Brilliance Isn’t Enough 2023-Jun-13 19 minutes

The Curse of Knowing Too Much 2023-Jun-06 19 minutes

The Enigmas of Foreign Accent Syndrome 2023-May-30 18 minutes

The World’s Only Natural Nuclear Reactor 2023-May-23 21 minutes

How New DNA Sleuthing Can Expose Dangerous Killers—and You 2023-May-16 20 minutes

The Real Tragedy of Robert Oppenheimer 2023-May-09 20 minutes

The Brilliant, Groundbreaking, and Wildly Overrated Leonardo da Vinci 2023-May-02 20 minutes

Spring update and "Innate" trailer 2023-Feb-06 4 minutes

Death Squared 2022-Nov-29 20 minutes

Death by Nutrition 2022-Nov-22 20 minutes

The Roadside Apocalypse 2022-Nov-15 20 minutes

The Blind Visionary 2022-Nov-08 21 minutes

The Scariest Paradise on Earth 2022-Nov-01 18 minutes

The Naked Shibboleth 2022-Oct-25 20 minutes

The Debaucherous Legacy of Johnny Appleseed 2022-Oct-18 21 minutes

The Most Evil Molecule 2022-Oct-11 18 minutes

The Life-Saving Rat Poison 2022-Oct-04 21 minutes

The Making of a Lobotomist 2022-Sep-27 18 minutes

Icepick Surgeon bonus excerpt on the making of the Unabomber 2022-Jul-12 20 minutes

The Murderer Who Made Movies Possible 2022-May-10 21 minutes

Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and the Irish Giant 2022-May-03 18 minutes

The Screwiest—and Perhaps Most Original—Idea of the 20th Century 2022-Apr-26 20 minutes

The Bird with Four Sexes 2022-Apr-19 19 minutes

When the Brain Deceives Itself 2022-Apr-12 18 minutes

Stephen Hawking and the Black Hole Mistake that Made His Career 2022-Apr-05 20 minutes

Albert Einstein and the Worst Prediction in the History of Science 2022-Mar-29 18 minutes

How to Be Smarter than Isaac Newton 2022-Mar-22 17 minutes

Claude Monet and Bee Purple 2022-Mar-15 19 minutes

The Unsung Heroes of Darwin’s Evolution 2022-Mar-08 20 minutes

The Sinister Angel Singers of Rome 2021-Dec-07 18 minutes

The Murderous Origins of the American Medical Association 2021-Nov-30 20 minutes

The Big ‘What If’ of Cancer 2021-Nov-23 20 minutes

The Harvard Medical School Janitor Who Solved a Murder 2021-Nov-16 21 minutes

Burn After Watching 2021-Nov-09 20 minutes

History’s First Car Crash Victim 2021-Nov-02 14 minutes

Real Life Zombies 2021-Oct-26 17 minutes

How Climate Change Will Remake the Human Body 2021-Oct-19 19 minutes

The ‘Mary Poppins’ Cancer 2021-Oct-12 18 minutes

Kangaroo (and Pig and Monkey and Dog and Donkey) Courts 2021-Oct-05 19 minutes

Icepick Surgeon audiobook excerpt 2021-Jul-13 18 minutes

The Anatomy Riots 2021-Jun-01 17 minutes

When a Hole in the Head Is Good for You 2021-May-25 16 minutes

When Mosquitos Cured Insanity 2021-May-18 17 minutes

The Death of the Lord God Bird 2021-May-11 19 minutes

Chewing it Over—and Over and Over and Over 2021-May-04 17 minutes

What's the Longest Word in the English Language? 2021-Apr-27 18 minutes

Why Don't We Have a Male Birth Control Pill Yet? 2021-Apr-20 17 minutes

Bonus interview with WNYC's Science Diction 2021-Apr-16 26 minutes

Marie Curie's (Nearly Disastrous) Trip to America 2021-Apr-13 17 minutes

The Most Important Lost Fossils in History 2021-Apr-06 19 minutes

The World’s First Global Vaccine Supply Chain Was Orphan Children 2021-Mar-30 20 minutes

The Joys, and Pains, of Operating on Yourself 2020-Nov-30 17 minutes

A School Shooting for Science 2020-Nov-13 18 minutes

Star Wars, Death Rays, and Donald Trump 2020-Oct-15 19 minutes

Vitamin G 2020-Oct-01 19 minutes

The CIA’s Drug-Fueled Orgies and You 2020-Sep-15 18 minutes

From Siberia with (Manipulative) Love 2020-Sep-01 19 minutes

The Man Who Couldn’t Read Numbers 2020-Aug-17 14 minutes

The Teflon Bomb 2020-Aug-06 19 minutes

Chocolate Cake & Atomic Bombs 2020-Aug-01 19 minutes

The Ice Island Murder 2020-Jul-14 19 minutes

Our Slimy Nazi Saviors 2020-Jul-07 16 minutes

Are Braces a Health Disaster? 2020-Jun-23 19 minutes

The Science Immigrants Who Saved Millions 2020-Jun-09 19 minutes

Tyrannosaurus sex 2020-Jun-02 18 minutes

The Lost Dinosaurs of Central Park 2020-May-22 18 minutes

Exposing Nazi Medical Atrocities 2020-May-11 19 minutes

Glove at First Sight 2020-Apr-27 18 minutes

Galileo and Art, part 2 2020-Apr-20 17 minutes

Galileo and Art, part 1 2020-Apr-20 19 minutes

Tea Test Tempest 2019-Oct-26 13 minutes