Science History Podcast
76 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 77 ratingsMonthly interviews on important moments in the history of science.
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Episodes
Episode 76. Malaria & Reminiscences: Nobel Laureate Peter Agre
March 11, 2024 00:55 - 1 hour - 97.9 MBPeter Agre received the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of aquaporins. Peter is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and he also directed the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute until 2023. Today we discuss the history of malaria research, and Peter reflects on being a scientist. The interview is followed by Peter's keynote lecture for the University of Arizona One Health symposiu...
Episode 75. Retrospective: Oliver Sacks
February 11, 2024 06:07 - 1 hour - 78.9 MBIn 1994, while attending graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, I had the pleasure of seeing a lecture by Oliver Sacks in which he discussed his work on sleeping sickness and various other neurological disorders. He also discussed his thoughts on the economy of a life. Today's episode is that lecture in full, with all the insights and charm that was Oliver Sacks.
Episode 74. Novichok: Vil Mirzayanov
January 12, 2024 03:53 - 1 hour - 106 MBNovichok is the most deadly chemical weapon ever developed. With us to discuss the history of Novichok is Vil Mirzayanov. Vil worked in the secret Soviet chemical weapons laboratory that developed Novichok. He revealed its existence to the world in 1991 and was then arrested by the Russian counterintelligence service and prosecuted in a secret trial. He won his freedom with the help of an international group of scientists, including three who have appeared as guests on this podcast. He then ...
Episode 73. Pascual Jordan's Duplicity: Ryan Dahn
December 11, 2023 04:08 - 1 hour - 63.1 MBHow could a brilliant scientist and mathematician, an innovator in quantum theory, who worked closely with Jewish colleagues, become an ardent Nazi? How did this man, who has a field of mathematics named after him, escape the scrutiny of his colleagues? And what happened to him upon the collapse of Nazi Germany? The scientist who straddled this strange world of physics and Nazism was Pascual Jordan. With us to explain the history of Pascual Jordan is Ryan Dahn. Ryan is a writer, editor, scie...
Episode 72. Scientific Espionage: Eli Lake
November 12, 2023 04:09 - 1 hour - 97.3 MBMany of the most important secrets held in international contests are technological or scientific in nature, and wars are often settled due to technological superiority of one side over the other. This leads spy agencies to employ all manner of trickery and tools to obtain those secrets. With us to explore the history of scientific espionage is Eli Lake. Eli was a senior national security correspondent for The Daily Beast and Newsweek, and a syndicated columnist with Bloomberg. Eli is now ...
Episode 71. Retrospective: The Franck-Hertz Experiment
October 11, 2023 14:25 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MBA retrospective on the Franck-Hertz experiment, which resulted in James Franck and Gustav Hertz receiving the 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics. Image credit: By Infoczo - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35281920
Episode 70. Retrospective: James Franck
September 11, 2023 06:43 - 1 hour - 74.8 MBA retrospective on James Franck, recipient of the 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Episode 69. Ancient DNA: Maanasa Raghavan
August 11, 2023 21:39 - 1 hour - 67.1 MBThe ability to extract DNA from ancient fragments of biological material has revolutionized our understanding of recent evolutionary history, including human evolution and phylogeography. Analysis of ancient DNA in tandem with radiocarbon dating, along with traditional archeological techniques, has led to a flurry of discoveries. With us to discuss this research is Maanasa Raghavan. Maanasa is a Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Chicago.
Episode 68. Pandemics: Leslie Reperant
July 11, 2023 19:15 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBThe world just experienced a devastating pandemic, yet in the context of historical pandemics, COVID-19 was a relatively minor event in the history of disease. What do we know about the history of pandemics, including before written records, and what can we learn from this history? With us to answer these and other questions about the origins of epidemics and pandemics is Leslie Reperant. Leslie graduated with a doctorate of veterinary medicine at the National Veterinary School of Lyon, Fran...
Episode 67. Lazaretto: David Barnes
June 11, 2023 23:13 - 1 hour - 94.4 MBBefore the advent of the germ theory of disease in the 1870s, quarantine provided one of the few effective means to prevent or alleviate epidemics. The Lazaretto quarantine station in Philadelphia illustrates the history of quarantine both before and after the discovery of pathogenic microbes. With us to explore the history of 18th and 19th century quarantine in Philadelphia, and what it meant for public health, is David Barnes. David teaches the history of medicine and public health at the ...
Episode 66. Climbing, Chemistry & Policy: Arlene Blum
May 12, 2023 04:29 - 1 hour - 58.8 MBWhat are the commonalities between scaling the world's highest peaks and tackling the most challenging pollution problems? What was it like to enter the worlds of climbing and chemistry as a woman in the 1960s and 70s? With us to answer these questions is Arlene Blum. Arlene completed a bachelor's degree at Reed College in 1966 and a PhD in biophysical chemistry at Berkeley in 1971. She was a pioneering alpinist early in her career and a founder of the Green Science Policy Institute later in...
Episode 65. Ideology & Science: Lee Jussim
April 11, 2023 19:50 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBAny intellectual endeavor runs the risk of bias. Today we explore ways in which political ideology interferes with scholarship, particularly in the social sciences, with a focus on social psychology. My guest is Lee Jussim, a distinguished professor of social psychology and the leader of the Social Perception Laboratory at Rutgers University. Lee is a prolific author and studies stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination; political radicalization; and other problems that impede science and s...
Episode 64. Environmental Diplomacy: Mark Lytle
March 17, 2023 06:10 - 1 hour - 83.2 MBThe world's environmental problems demand solutions for the common good, which in turn necessitate environmental diplomacy. With us to untangle the messy history of environmental diplomacy is Mark Lytle. In addition to his long tenure as a professor at Bard College, Mark has taught at Yale, Vassar, and University College Dublin. Mark's books include The Origins of the Iranian-American Alliance, 1941-1953, America’s Uncivil Wars: The Sixties Era from Elvis to the Fall of Richard Nixon, The Ge...
Episode 63. Paleoanthropology: Evan Hadingham
February 11, 2023 02:01 - 1 hour - 70.6 MBCertain fields of science attract broad interest because of what they tell us about humanity, and no field does this more directly than paleoanthropology. Today we explore the history of paleoanthropology with a focus on Louis and Mary Leakey, who made key discoveries at an inflection point of our understanding of human evolution. With us to discuss this history is Evan Hadingham. Evanis the Senior Science Editor of the award-winning PBS series NOVA. Today we discuss his new book, Discoverin...
Episode 62. Conservation Easement or Easy Pollution? Jaimi Dowdell and Andrea Januta
January 11, 2023 06:31 - 1 hour - 69.2 MBHow could a conservation easement be anything other than a great thing? With us to answer this question are Jaimi Dowdell and Andrea Januta, both of whom are investigative reporters and data journalists with Reuters. Jaimi and Andrea were part of the Reuters team that won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting. Today we discuss their Reuters special report entitled "How Boeing created a nature preserve that may also preserve pollution", published on July 20, 2022.
Episode 61. Foresight: Thomas Suddendorf
December 11, 2022 07:55 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBFor thousands of years, scholars have struggled with what it means to be human. One critical dimension of humanity is foresight, and with us to decipher the evolution of foresight is Thomas Suddendorf. Thomas is a professor at the University of Queensland, where he investigates mental capacities in young children and in animals to answer fundamental questions about the nature and evolution of the human mind. Thomas is the author of over 140 research articles and two books: The Gap: The scien...
Episode 60. Planetary Boundary Threats: Bethanie Carney Almroth
November 11, 2022 00:48 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBJohan Rockström and colleagues first proposed the concept in 2009 of planetary boundary threats and a safe operating space for humanity. This conceptual framework clarifies environmental problems that are of planetary significance, such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and stratospheric ozone depletion. The most recently articulated planetary boundary threat, or set of threats, relates to chemical pollution of the biosphere. With us to unpack planetary boundary threats as they relate t...
Episode 59. The Civilian Conservation Corps: Neil Maher
October 11, 2022 04:41 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBThe Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the ensuing worldwide Great Depression left families in economic shock and despair. International trade collapsed to less than half of its previous levels and unemployment skyrocketed. Into this devastating mess stepped Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who began his long presidency in 1933. FDR spearheaded a series of programs known as the New Deal to revive the United States. The most popular of these was the government work relief program called the Civilian Con...
Episode 58. Subtraction: Leidy Klotz
September 11, 2022 03:36 - 1 hour - 63.8 MBThe ways people think about matters both big and small, from climate change to daily tasks, impact the outcomes. Throughout the history of science and society, key insights arose through a thought process of simplification and subtraction, though the human tendency leans towards complication and addition. Today I discuss the power of subtraction with Leidy Klotz. Leidy is a professor at the University of Virginia, where he studies the science of design. He is the author of Subtract, publishe...
Episode 57. Bias: Jim Zimring
August 11, 2022 07:34 - 1 hour - 106 MBNo matter our claims to the contrary, we are all biased in our perceptions and beliefs. But bias is not random and its directions relate to our evolutionary history and culture, especially to how these interface with human sociality. With us to decipher bias is Jim Zimring. Jim is the author of What Science is and How it Really Works, published by Cambridge University Press in 2019, and Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort Our Thinking, published by Columbia University Press in 2022. Today ...
Episode 56. Marine Pollution: David Valentine
July 11, 2022 16:58 - 45 minutes - 41.3 MBThe oceans have been used as the dumping grounds for all manner of toxic waste. Outrage over such dumping led to the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 in the United States and the London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter in 1975. Today I discuss the dumping of DDT and other wastes off the coast of Southern California with Dave Valentine. Dave completed a BS in chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Californi...
Episode 55. DDT: Elena Conis
July 07, 2022 21:06 - 1 hour - 107 MBMany landmarks of environmental history share a connection with a single molecule: DDT. During and after the Second World War, it was broadcast into the environment at a scale that far surpassed the applications of any prior chemical. The public met this mass spraying of DDT with enthusiasm, as the war proved it to be highly effective against the vectors of malaria, yellow fever, typhus, and other insect-borne diseases. But these public health successes were short-lived as insects quickly ev...
Episode 54. Bohr’s Atom: John Heilbron
May 11, 2022 05:25 - 1 hour - 85.1 MBAt the start of the 20th century, physicists probed the structure of nature. Their discoveries changed our fundamental understanding of matter, of life, and of war. At the center of these discoveries stood the Danish physicist Niels Bohr. Bohr approached problems of atomic structure and quantum theory with a philosophical perspective and an ability to skirt paradoxes with his principle of complementarity. Perhaps as important as Bohr’s discoveries on the atom was his hosting of international...
Episode 53. Industrial Agriculture: Helen Anne Curry
April 11, 2022 01:36 - 1 hour - 103 MBThe advent of agriculture over 10,000 years ago forever altered the trajectory of humanity. Communities grew larger until cities and nations dotted the landscape, labor became specialized, new diseases emerged, civilizations flourished and vanished, warfare increased in scale and lethality, and people colonized every corner of the globe. Agriculture facilitated the exponential growth of the human population, which necessitated ever greater efficiency and productivity and eventually led to th...
Episode 52. Neurological Disorders: Sara Manning Peskin
March 11, 2022 04:39 - 1 hour - 71.4 MBThe brain is the most mysterious and complex organ of the body, and when things go awry, we may be confronted with personal tragedy and we may gain insights on what it means to be human. With us to discuss neurological disorders and the history of their discovery is Sara Manning Peskin. Sara completed an AB in biochemistry at Harvard University in 2009, an MS in cellular and molecular biology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2013, and an MD also at U Penn in 2015. She completed postgradu...
Episode 51. Ecological Economics: Herman Daly
February 11, 2022 04:09 - 1 hour - 88.2 MBNothing is so intertwined with human success and folly as economics. The economy, for better or for worse, drives much of our fate from our household budget to our national policies to the outbreak of war. But economic activity also has profound effects on the environment and a close inspection of economics opens the question of whether humans can live sustainably on the only planet we have. The field of economics that focuses on sustainability and the environmental costs of economic activit...
Episode 50. Space & the Sixties: Neil Maher
January 11, 2022 01:41 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBThe 60s hosted the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, which occurred in the midst of the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and civil unrest. How did the culture wars of the 1960s relate to the space race, especially in the United States? How did the Civil Rights Movement, the New Left, environmentalism, the women’s movement, and the Hippie counterculture influence NASA, and vice versa? With us to answer these questions is Neil Maher. Neil received a B.A. in history from Dart...
Episode 49. Armament & Disarmament: Richard Garwin
December 11, 2021 19:22 - 3 hours - 215 MBToday’s episode marks the four-year anniversary of the Science History Podcast, where we have explored all manner of science and relevant policy spanning from gravitational waves to bioterrorism. So it is fitting that today’s guest, Dick Garwin, has worked on just about every major scientific and technology problem with a defense application since just after the Second World War, ranging from the first thermonuclear weapon in 1951 all the way to the U.S. response to pandemics. Today we discu...
Episode 48. Nuclear Disarmament: Zia Mian
November 11, 2021 21:52 - 2 hours - 147 MBToday we explore the history of nuclear disarmament with Zia Mian. Zia is a physicist and co-director of Princeton’s Program on Science and Global Security, part of the School of Public and International Affairs, where he has worked since 1997. His research interests include issues of nuclear arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament, and international peace and security. Zia is co-editor of the journal Science & Global Security, and he is the co-author of Unmaking the Bomb, published b...
Episode 47. The Demarcation Problem: Michael Gordin
October 10, 2021 21:30 - 1 hour - 96.1 MBHow do we distinguish real science from hogwash? How does real science evolve over time into pseudoscience? Why will science always be plagued with sister movements on the fringe that make us cringe? With us to explore these topics and their relationship to the demarcation problem is Michael Gordin. Michael is the Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History and the director of the Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts at Princeton University. He specializes in the history of mo...
Episode 46. Unsettled Research: Mark Lytle
September 11, 2021 03:51 - 2 hours - 140 MBUncertainty is inherent to science and exploited by those who wish to stymie regulations that would promote environmental quality and public health. Chemical companies, oil companies, tobacco companies, and many others, kept their products on the marketplace and promoted consumerism by stressing the unsettled nature of research. With us to explore this history, and how it relates to the environment and public health, is Mark Lytle. Mark is among those historians seeking to develop the field ...
Episode 45. Wildlife Biology: George Schaller
August 11, 2021 01:40 - 1 hour - 57.2 MBThe study of wildlife has a history full of adventures in remote corners of the Earth, discoveries of remarkable behaviors, and achievements in conservation. George Schaller is a pioneer of the field, with seven decades of work spanning from the Arctic to the Tropics. George was born in Germany in 1933 and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. He received a BS degree from the University of Alaska in 1955 and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1962. He then held posit...
Episode 44. Chemical Sense & Nonsense: Joe Schwarcz
July 11, 2021 03:44 - 1 hour - 93 MBThe history of science is punctuated by both the greatest achievements and the greatest tragedies of human endeavors. The development of organic chemistry illustrates this dichotomy, as some scientists improved the human condition while others facilitated the horrors of genocide. The guise of chemistry also has served as a useful front for fraudsters. With us to illuminate chemical accidents, brilliant discoveries, searing evils, and the use and misuse of organic chemistry is Joe Schwarcz. J...
Episode 43. Number Theory: Bryden Cais
June 11, 2021 14:50 - 1 hour - 108 MBThe history of mathematics extends back millennia. The needs of trade, taxation, and time-keeping drove the development of principles of arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, which had already acquired some sophistication by 5,000 years ago. Perhaps most fundamental to the development of mathematics has been discoveries on the nature of numbers themselves, or what mathematicians refer to as Number Theory. Today’s topic is the history and development of Number Theory, viewed through the lens of ...
Episode 42. Euclid’s Elements: David Acheson
May 11, 2021 01:21 - 1 hour - 98.2 MBThe most important book in the history of mathematics is Euclid’s Elements. The book – really 13 short books bound together into a single treatise – dates to approximately 300 BC, and is credited to the Greek mathematician Euclid of Alexandria. It is apparently a compendium and expansion of the work of previous Greek mathematicians, such as Pythagoras, Hippocrates of Chios, and Eudoxus of Cnidus. The Elements is the oldest surviving logical treatment of mathematics as a discipline, and its t...
Episode 41. Galileo’s Dialogue: John Heilbron
April 11, 2021 00:45 - 1 hour - 76.3 MBGalileo occupies an inflection point in the history of science and society. Born in 1564, Galileo changed the trajectory of science though his work in astronomy, physics and related fields. He invented various clever devices, and he used the telescope to push the boundaries of knowledge about our solar system and Earth’s place in it. Galileo’s discoveries, and the manner in which he presented them in his 1632 book Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, hurled his fate into the judg...
Episode 40. H.M.S. Challenger: Doug Macdougall
March 11, 2021 03:38 - 1 hour - 70.3 MBThe creation of a new discipline based upon a single scientific expedition is a rare occurrence, but this is what resulted from the 1872-1876 expedition of H.M.S. Challenger. With us to explain the history and significance of the Challenger Expedition is Doug Macdougall. Doug is a geochemist who received a BS in geology from the University of Toronto, an MS in geology from McMaster University, and a PhD in Earth Sciences from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of Calif...
Episode 39. Reproductive Health: Shanna Swan
February 11, 2021 03:32 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MBIn the early 1990s, scientists discovered that sperm counts in industrialized countries had declined precipitously over the previous half century. It turns out that the incidence of other reproductive health problems beyond male infertility also increased in the latter part of the 20th century and into the 21st century. With us to discuss human reproductive health, and how it has changed in part due to exposure to pollutants, is Shanna Swan. Shanna received her BS in mathematics at the City ...
Episode 38. Falsifiability: Sean Carroll
January 11, 2021 04:20 - 1 hour - 119 MBThe boundaries of science are clear, and can be demarcated by the concept of falsifiability. Or so we learn in our science classes. But with some areas of science, falsifiability is not the critical feature, and may be impossible on theoretical or empirical grounds. Worrying about falsifiability might even get in the way of interesting ideas. With us to discuss the history of problems in science and falsifiability is Sean Carroll, a leading physicist and science communicator. Sean received a...
Episode 37. Environmental Health: Linda Birnbaum
December 11, 2020 04:22 - 1 hour - 94.6 MBHuman health and environmental health are inextricably linked. We are negatively impacted by the same pollutants that harm other organisms, and we all live in a sea of synthetic chemicals that are part of our food supply, personal care products, the built environment, and just about every aspect of our lives. With us to gain a better understanding of the history of environmental health, especially the impact of pollutants on human health, is Linda Birnbaum. Linda received a B.A. in biology f...
Episode 36. Dark Money: David Michaels
November 11, 2020 06:08 - 1 hour - 130 MBHow is it that corporations routinely and successfully obfuscate science and seed public doubt on issues of paramount importance, ranging from climate change to health effects of tobacco and pesticides? Who are the scientists for hire whose job is to muddy the waters on important policy issues? Why doesn’t our government protect us from nefarious corporations that threaten our health and the environment, and how can we change regulatory ethics to favor the public interest? With us to answe...
Episode 35. The Pentagon Papers: Daniel Ellsberg
October 11, 2020 01:35 - 2 hours - 74.5 MBWhistleblowers are admired or vilified. They are saviors of democracy or traitors to their country. They confront those in power and drive the news, and some, such as Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, are household names. But one man is their inspiration, the person who made whistleblowing a phenomenon of modern times, and his name is Daniel Ellsberg. Ellsberg was born in 1931 in Chicago and grew up in Detroit. He graduated with honors from Harvard with an AB in economics in 1952, and then...
Episode 34. The Chemical Age: Pete Myers & Frank von Hippel
September 11, 2020 02:53 - 1 hour - 189 MBPete Myers interviews me about my new book, The Chemical Age, published this month by the University of Chicago Press.
Episode 33. Industrial Denial: Barbara Freese
August 11, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 31.8 MBWhy is it that decades after scientists discover problems of paramount importance, such as global climate change or lead pollution, those problems still persist? Why do corporations get away with producing products that harm human health or the environment? How do corporations shape our society, our politics, and even our psychology? With us to untangle these questions is my guest, Barbara Freese. Barbara is an author, energy policy advocate, and environmental attorney. After earning a law ...
Episode 32. Materials Science: Ainissa Ramirez
July 11, 2020 04:00 - 48 minutes - 22.4 MBDiscoveries in basic science often translate into material goods, and frequently in surprising ways. Material goods, in turn, facilitate scientific progress. Therefore, science and technology advance in tandem. Today we delve into the history of materials science with the help of Ainissa Ramirez. Ainissa is a scientist and science communicator, and the author of The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another, published by MIT Press.
Episode 31. Science & Poetry: Dava Sobel
June 11, 2020 01:48 - 1 hour - 29.7 MBToday we explore what mathematicians would refer to as the non-trivial intersection between science and poetry. Guiding us through these overlapping sets is a person uniquely suited to the task, the science writer Dava Sobel. Dava is the author of prominent and best-selling science history books, including Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter, The Planets, A More Perfect Heaven, and The Glass Universe. She is also the editor of Meter, the poetry series in Scientific American. Dava began her career ...
Episode 30. Global Amphibian Declines: David Wake
May 11, 2020 01:22 - 1 hour - 27.5 MBFrogs have hopped around this planet for 200 million years. In comparison, anatomically modern humans have only been around for 200 thousand years. But the last half century has seen a tragic loss in amphibian biodiversity around the world. It seems especially striking that a group of animals that predate the dinosaurs have been devastated by modern human activities. With us today to discuss the history of discoveries in the area of amphibian declines is David Wake. David graduated from Paci...
Episode 29. Green Chemistry: Terry Collins
April 11, 2020 03:10 - 1 hour - 47.4 MBChemistry has given the world the incredible diversity of fuels, pharmaceuticals, and household products that we rely on every day, along with tremendous advances in fighting infectious diseases and ensuring an abundant food supply. But the products of chemistry also include tens of thousands of toxic compounds that compromise human health, degrade the environment, and drive species to extinction. The advent of the modern environmental movement in the 1960s and 1970s produced a new field of ...
Episode 28. Environmentalism: Paul Ehrlich
March 11, 2020 03:14 - 1 hour - 30.2 MBRachel Carson alerted the world to the dangers of pollution with the publication of her book Silent Spring in 1962, and in the process, she helped to launch the environmental movement. My guest, Paul Ehrlich, alerted the world to the dangers of human population growth and resource consumption with the publication of his book The Population Bomb in 1968, and in the process, he accelerated the environmental movement. He has played a major role in that movement ever since, authoring dozens of i...
Episode 27. Biodiversity: Thomas Lovejoy
February 11, 2020 19:08 - 41 minutes - 18.8 MBGlobal biodiversity is in the midst of a mass extinction driven by rapid human population growth and over-consumption of resources. These forces drive habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, climate change, and the many other proximate causes of species losses. The study of these forces, and how they can be mitigated to preserve biodiversity, is the responsibility of scientists engaged in the field of conservation biology. My guest, Thomas Lovejoy, is a founding scientist of this field, a...