Ranked #1
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
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19mins
Ranked #2
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
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20mins
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Ranked #3
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
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21mins
Ranked #4
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
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19mins
Ranked #5
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
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19mins
Ranked #6
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
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18mins
Ranked #7
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
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21mins
Ranked #8
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
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20mins
Ranked #9
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
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20mins
Ranked #10
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
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20mins