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

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, th... Read more

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Ranked #1

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Everything You Know About Phineas Gage Is Wrong

Everything You Know About Phineas Gage Is Wrong

Despite what you’ve heard, neuroscience’s most famous patient did not turn into a lying, drunken psychopath. He’s actual... Read more

11 Jul 2023

19mins

Ranked #2

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Why Do We Obsess Over Charles Darwin’s Health?

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 cel... Read more

27 Jun 2023

20mins

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Ranked #3

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The Seeds of Starvation

The Seeds of Starvation

During the Nazi invasion of Russia during World War II, nine Soviet scientists starved to death surrounded by millions o... Read more

20 Jun 2023

21mins

Ranked #4

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When Scientific Brilliance Isn’t Enough

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 ... Read more

13 Jun 2023

19mins

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Ranked #5

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The Curse of Knowing Too Much

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 ... Read more

6 Jun 2023

19mins

Ranked #6

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The Enigmas of Foreign Accent Syndrome

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,... Read more

30 May 2023

18mins

Ranked #7

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The World’s Only Natural Nuclear Reactor

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... Read more

23 May 2023

21mins

Ranked #8

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How New DNA Sleuthing Can Expose Dangerous Killers—and You

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 wel... Read more

16 May 2023

20mins

Ranked #9

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The Real Tragedy of Robert Oppenheimer

The Real Tragedy of Robert Oppenheimer

He coulda would shoulda been the next Einstein. Instead, Robert Oppenheimer fritted away his talents on trendy science a... Read more

9 May 2023

20mins

Ranked #10

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The Brilliant, Groundbreaking, and Wildly Overrated Leonardo da Vinci

The Brilliant, Groundbreaking, and Wildly Overrated Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was brilliant, groundbreaking—and especially with regard to his science—wildly overrated. All because ... Read more

2 May 2023

20mins

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