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The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

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Sam Kean, Bleav

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.

#114

Jake Leg Blues

It was one the largest epidemics in American history: 30,000 people paralyzed over a few m... more

Yesterday

20 MINS

20:20

Yesterday

#113

The Worst of Times, the Asbestos Times

Asbestos was once considered a miracle substance—a wonder of the modern age, due to its ro... more

06 May 2025

17 MINS

17:47

06 May 2025

#112

Human Photosynthesis

Rickets was once a devastating disease: up to 90 percent of the children showed symptoms i... more

29 Apr 2025

18 MINS

18:56

29 Apr 2025

#111

The Sad Story of Darwin’s Self-Procleimed “Stupidest” Child

Leonard Darwin had a lot to live up to. He was the son of the legendary Charles, and sever... more

22 Apr 2025

18 MINS

18:30

22 Apr 2025

#110

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 ... more

15 Apr 2025

18 MINS

18:33

15 Apr 2025

#109

The Would-Be Saint's Battle over Down Syndrome

After scientists had a handle on how many chromosomes humans have, other researchers began... more

08 Apr 2025

18 MINS

18:44

08 Apr 2025

#108

The Battle over Human Chromosomes

It seems like a simple question: how many chromosomes do human beings have? But getting an... more

01 Apr 2025

18 MINS

18:52

01 Apr 2025

#107

The Halley's Comet Panic

The 1910 return of Halley’s comet was greeted with rapture around the world—at least at fi... more

25 Mar 2025

20 MINS

20:32

25 Mar 2025

#106

The Winter when People Ate Tulips

It’s the 80th anniversary of the Dutch Hongerwinter during World War II, which led to wide... more

10 Dec 2024

19 MINS

19:30

10 Dec 2024

#105

Why Keep a Diary of a Toxic Snakebite?

After 40 years of studying snakes, Karl Schmidt finally suffered his first bite. And when ... more

03 Dec 2024

17 MINS

17:09

03 Dec 2024

#104

Machiavellian Microbes

Parasites can force animals to do nefarious things by manipulating their minds—including, ... more

19 Nov 2024

18 MINS

18:38

19 Nov 2024

#103

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

In refusing to approve the drug thalidomide, FDA scientist Frances Oldham Kelsey spared th... more

12 Nov 2024

19 MINS

19:15

12 Nov 2024

#102

The Doom Lurking inside Trees

Japanese physicist Fusa Miyake has sparked a revolution in archaeology by studying radioac... more

04 Nov 2024

17 MINS

17:51

04 Nov 2024

#101

The Mona Lisa of the Seine

A woman who drowned in Paris became one of the most famous faces in the world as the model... more

29 Oct 2024

18 MINS

18:14

29 Oct 2024

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#114

Jake Leg Blues

#113

The Worst of Times, the Asbestos Times

#112

Human Photosynthesis

#111

The Sad Story of Darwin’s Self-Procleimed “Stupidest” Child

#110

The Birds and the Bees and the Frogs

#109

The Would-Be Saint's Battle over Down Syndrome

#108

The Battle over Human Chromosomes

#107

The Halley's Comet Panic

#106

The Winter when People Ate Tulips

#105

Why Keep a Diary of a Toxic Snakebite?

#104

Machiavellian Microbes

#103

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

#102

The Doom Lurking inside Trees

#101

The Mona Lisa of the Seine