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The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean


The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

ratings:
Length:
94 episodes
Language:
English
Format:
Podcast

Description

A topsy-turvy science-y history podcast by Sam Kean. I examine overlooked stories from our past: the dental superiority of hunter-gatherers, the crooked Nazis who saved thousands of American lives, the American immigrants who developed the most successful cancer screening tool in history, the sex lives of dinosaurs, and much, much more. These are charming little tales that never made the history books, but these small moments can be surprisingly powerful. These are the cases where history gets inverted, where the footnote becomes the real story.
Language:
English
Format:
Podcast

Episodes1 - 10 of 94 episodes

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Can Plastic Surgery Keep You out of Prison?

One doctor’s controversial crusade to keep men and women out of prison through nose job...

20 minutes
May 07, 2024

The Russian Roswell

In 1959, nine Russian hikers mysteriously died on a trek through the snowy wilderness—f...

21 minutes
Apr 30, 2024

When Tenure Means Life and Death

After a tenure dispute, mechanical engineer Valery Fabrikant murdered four colleagues i...

20 minutes
Apr 23, 2024

A Deadly Soup for Babies

Chemist Justus von Liebig was perhaps the most famous scientist in the world in the mid...

20 minutes
Apr 16, 2024

How the “Worst Serial Killer in Holland’s History” Went Free

Patient after patient died under the care of a single nurse in Holland. So why did so m...

20 minutes
Apr 09, 2024

The Eclipse that Killed a King

Rama IV of Siam (from the “King and I” musical) used an eclipse to save his kingdom fro...

19 minutes
Apr 02, 2024

When Generosity Turns Pathological

One Brazilian man’s brain damage transformed him into a selfless giver. So why did he i...

18 minutes
Mar 26, 2024

The Sex-Cult “Antichrist” Who Rocketed Us to Space (part 2)

Jack Parsons was a devil-worshipping FBI rat who led a sex cult and was bosom buddies w...

21 minutes
Mar 19, 2024

The Sex-Cult “Antichrist” Who Rocketed Us to Space (part 1)

Jack Parsons was a devil-worshiping FBI rat who led a sex cult and was bosom buddies wi...

19 minutes
Mar 12, 2024

Don't Drink the Milk bonus episode - Milk: From mutations to mustaches

Who put the cheese in your stuffed-crust pizza? Or cows on a Caribbean island? And when...

42 minutes
Jan 16, 2024