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

The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

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  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.

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.

 

#132

Forensic Pseudoscience

When the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, the two most scientific detectives in the w... more

05 May 2026

18 MINS

18:24

05 May 2026


#131

Manhattan Project Propaganda

The Smyth Report is the strangest book ever written on atomic bombs—as well as highly effe... more

28 Apr 2026

17 MINS

17:46

28 Apr 2026


#130

Back-Breaking Science

When a British sub sank with all hands, JBS Haldane volunteered to investigate by experime... more

21 Apr 2026

18 MINS

18:05

21 Apr 2026


#129

The Canaries in the Submarine

There’s only one thing Dr. John Haldane loved more than running dangerous experiments on h... more

14 Apr 2026

17 MINS

17:13

14 Apr 2026


#128

Charles Lindbergh, Lab Rat

When Charles Lindbergh's sister-in-law developed heart trouble, he teamed up with a No... more

07 Apr 2026

19 MINS

19:10

07 Apr 2026


#127

The Publicity Stunt that Sparked the Scopes Monkey Trial

Exactly a century ago, teacher John Scopes was charged with the “crime” of teaching evolut... more

16 Dec 2025

18 MINS

18:59

16 Dec 2025


#126

The Great Balloon Escape

Astronomer Jules Janssen was desperate to escape the siege of Paris in 1870 and observe an... more

09 Dec 2025

18 MINS

18:07

09 Dec 2025


#125

The Corny, Cringy, Very Bad Television Show that Just Might Save Your Life

In the 1970s, paramedic units were illegal in the United States. One (very bad) television... more

02 Dec 2025

18 MINS

18:28

02 Dec 2025


#124

Bringing an Extinct Owl Back to Life

The work of Richard Meinertzhagen helped convince biologists that the Forest Owlet of Indi... more

18 Nov 2025

19 MINS

19:23

18 Nov 2025


#123

Trickster, Birder, Soldier, Spy

He was a brilliant ornithologist—and a spy so colorful that James Bond was based on him. R... more

11 Nov 2025

18 MINS

18:03

11 Nov 2025


#122

Why Not Just Rename the “Hitler Beetle”?

Taxonomy has a sadly ugly history of naming species after despicable people—even Adolf Hit... more

04 Nov 2025

19 MINS

19:18

04 Nov 2025


#121

John James Fraudubon

The eagle that made John James Audubon famous, the Bird of Washington was nothing but an e... more

28 Oct 2025

18 MINS

18:17

28 Oct 2025