The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

Sam Kean, Bleav
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The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

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.

  1. The Birds and the Bees and the Frogs

    2D AGO

    The Birds and the Bees and the Frogs

    A young woman in the mid-1900s couldn’t take an at-home pregnancy test. Instead, she sent a vial of urine to a clinic, where a technician would, of all things, inject it into a frog, and hormones in the urine would cause the frog to lay eggs. This frog-based test was far faster, easier, and cleaner than any pregnancy test before, and it shifted power for family planning from doctors to women themselves.

    19 min
  2. The Would-Be Saint's Battle over Down Syndrome

    APR 8

    The Would-Be Saint's Battle over Down Syndrome

    After scientists had a handle on how many chromosomes humans have, other researchers began exploring whether certain ailments might be caused by chromosomal abnormalities. To this end, a French cardiologist discovered that Down syndrome was caused by the presence of an extra chromosome in humans. But a colleague stole credit for her work, and the battle over their legacies continues to this day, in part because the colleague is on track to become a certified Catholic saint.

    19 min
  3. The Battle over Human Chromosomes

    APR 1

    The Battle over Human Chromosomes

    It seems like a simple question: how many chromosomes do human beings have? But getting an accurate count proved surprisingly hard for much of last century. In fact, virtually every textbook once cited an incorrect number, until in 1956, a fiery Indonesian scientist finally determined the true count—and had to battle his boss over who would receive credit for this legacy-making discovery.

    19 min
  4. The Halley's Comet Panic

    MAR 25

    The Halley's Comet Panic

    The 1910 return of Halley’s comet was greeted with rapture around the world—at least at first. Due to irresponsible speculation by scientists about the theoretical dangers of a close encounter with a comet, many people grew terrified of Halley’s approach and took drastic measures. They fled their homes, hid out in wells or caves, even committed suicide. It’s a grave reminder of scientific communication gone very wrong.

    21 min
  5. The Winter when People Ate Tulips

    12/10/2024

    The Winter when People Ate Tulips

    It’s the 80th anniversary of the Dutch Hongerwinter during World War II, which led to widespread starvation, and an inadvertent breakthrough in treating deadly celiac disease. Podcast season finale below

    20 min
  6. Why Keep a Diary of a Toxic Snakebite?

    12/03/2024

    Why Keep a Diary of a Toxic Snakebite?

    After 40 years of studying snakes, Karl Schmidt finally suffered his first bite. And when he did, he kept a gruesome diary to document the suffering and danger—right up to the edge of death...

    17 min
  7. Machiavellian Microbes

    11/19/2024

    Machiavellian Microbes

    Parasites can force animals to do nefarious things by manipulating their minds—including, uncomfortably, the minds of human beings.

    19 min
  8. The Woman Who “Turned Back a Plague of Old Testament Proportions”

    11/12/2024

    The Woman Who “Turned Back a Plague of Old Testament Proportions”

    In refusing to approve the drug thalidomide, FDA scientist Frances Oldham Kelsey spared thousands of babies from deadly birth defects and revolutionized drug research. But was her legacy all good?

    19 min
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Hosts & Guests

3.9
out of 5
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About

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.

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