The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean cover image

The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

Latest episodes

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Sep 20, 2023 • 20min

Proving Einstein Right

Albert Einstein’s relativity was just another theory at first, speculative and unproven—until Arthur Eddington and a special eclipse. Meet the weirdo scientist who made Einstein into *Einstein*...Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Sep 12, 2023 • 20min

Einstein's Golden Moment

This podcast explores Albert Einstein's confirmation of his theory of relativity, the failed attempts to find the hypothetical planet Vulcan, the experiment that challenged Newton's laws of motion, Einstein's revolutionary contributions to science, and his emotional experience while solving the mystery of Mercury's orbit.
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Jul 11, 2023 • 19min

Everything You Know About Phineas Gage Is Wrong

Phineas Gage's story challenges misconceptions as he demonstrates resiliency and overcomes trauma. The podcast explores his life in Chile, his declining health and behavioral changes, and his lasting impact on neuroscience and the understanding of the brain's connection to personality and self-identity.
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Jun 27, 2023 • 21min

Why Do We Obsess Over Charles Darwin’s Health?

Is it serious historical work? Respectable gossip? Blatantly prying into people’s lives? Retro-diagnosing historical celebrities like Darwin and Lincoln and Hitler and Poe is all of the above and more...Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Jun 20, 2023 • 21min

The Seeds of Starvation

During the Nazi invasion of Russia during World War II, nine Soviet scientists starved to death surrounded by millions of delicious fruits, seeds, and nuts. Were they mad? No. They wanted to save humankind from doomsday...Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Jun 13, 2023 • 20min

When Scientific Brilliance Isn’t Enough

William Halford thought he had a surefire vaccine to stop herpes. And he wasn’t going to let anything—laws, ethics, his patients’ well-being—stop him from saving the world...Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Jun 6, 2023 • 19min

The Curse of Knowing Too Much

Paul Stoutenburgh knew more atomic secrets than anyone on Earth. So was that why he killed himself? And if not, why was the government (seemingly) so uninterested in getting to the bottom of his death?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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May 30, 2023 • 18min

The Enigmas of Foreign Accent Syndrome

Can you really collapse and wake up speaking a totally new language? Not quite. But “foreign accent syndrome” is a real, frightening—and bizarre—neurological disorder...Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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May 23, 2023 • 22min

The World’s Only Natural Nuclear Reactor

What a bizarre site in Africa—a 1.7-billion-year-old, completely natural nuclear reactor—says about the future of energy production on planet Earth...Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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May 16, 2023 • 20min

How New DNA Sleuthing Can Expose Dangerous Killers—and You

Genetic genealogy can catch brutal killers. It can also unmask affairs, secret adoptions, and other dark secrets. As well as expose you—yes, you—to the unholy alliance of Big Tech and shady police work...Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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