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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 several siblings proved to be brilliant scientists as well. But Leonard never quite measured up as a mediocre military officer and two-bit politician. In h
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 a vial of urine to a clinic, where a technician would, of all things, inject it into a frog, and hormones in the urine would cause the frog to lay egg
The Would-Be Saint's Battle over Down Syndrome
After scientists had a handle on how many chromosomes humans have, other researchers began exploring whether certain ailments might be caused by chromosomal abnormalities. To this end, a French cardiologist discovered that Down syndrome was
The Battle over Human Chromosomes
It seems like a simple question: how many chromosomes do human beings have? But getting an accurate count proved surprisingly hard for much of last century. In fact, virtually every textbook once cited an incorrect number, until in 1956, a
The Halley's Comet Panic
The 1910 return of Halley’s comet was greeted with rapture around the world—at least at first. Due to irresponsible speculation by scientists about the theoretical dangers of a close encounter with a comet, many people grew terrified of Hal
The Winter when People Ate Tulips
It’s the 80th anniversary of the Dutch Hongerwinter during World War II, which led to widespread starvation, and an inadvertent breakthrough in treating deadly celiac disease. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" f
Why Keep a Diary of a Toxic Snakebite?
After 40 years of studying snakes, Karl Schmidt finally suffered his first bite. And when he did, he kept a gruesome diary to document the suffering and danger—right up to the edge of death... Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use
Machiavellian Microbes
Parasites can force animals to do nefarious things by manipulating their minds—including, uncomfortably, the minds of human beings. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Adv
The Woman Who “Turned Back a Plague of Old Testament Proportions”
In refusing to approve the drug thalidomide, FDA scientist Frances Oldham Kelsey spared thousands of babies from deadly birth defects and revolutionized drug research. But was her legacy all good? Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and
The Doom Lurking inside Trees
Japanese physicist Fusa Miyake has sparked a revolution in archaeology by studying radioactive tree rings—work that also terrifies astronomers, who fear it foretells doom for our civilization. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use
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 for CPR dummies, saving millions of lives and inspiring artists from Pablo Picasso to Michael Jackson—all while remaining completely unknown. Our Spo
Savant Idiots
In the early 1800s, the first Egyptian mummies in Europe served as a crucial test for evolution—a test that, according to people then, evolution flunked. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https
When Mummymania Swept the World
In the 1800s, mummies found their way into everything from fertilizer to food, and were especially prized as medicine. Mummymania was a strange time... Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https:/
The Sadder Side of the Nobel Prizes
How did a man who developed a Nobel Prize–worthy idea (green-fluorescing protein, GFP) end up driving a shuttle van for a living, and missing the Prize completely? Therein lies a sad story... Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use m
The Scientific Way to Fool a Nazi
Physicist Gyorgy Hevesy had a talent for tricks and stunts—including one that prevented Nazi stormtroopers from stealing a gold Nobel Prize. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenread
The Mysterious Mote
A summer bonus episode: Russ Schnell's professors mocked him for believing that plants somehow caused hailstorms. He not only proved them wrong, but uncovered profound connections between life, earth, and the air above... Our Sponsors: * Ch
The Science of D-Day
Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, a look at the surprisingly important role science played in shaping—and remaking—an invasion that could have easily been a disaster... Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my co
Can Plastic Surgery Keep You out of Prison?
One doctor’s controversial crusade to keep men and women out of prison through nose jobs, eye lifts, and other plastic surgery. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Adverti
The Russian Roswell
In 1959, nine Russian hikers mysteriously died on a trek through the snowy wilderness—fueling a half-century of hysterical conspiracies. Has science finally cracked the case? Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" fo
When Tenure Means Life and Death
After a tenure dispute, mechanical engineer Valery Fabrikant murdered four colleagues in cold blood at his university in Montreal. So why is he still allowed to publish scientific papers? Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my co
A Deadly Soup for Babies
Chemist Justus von Liebig was perhaps the most famous scientist in the world in the mid-1800s—but quickly became infamous for his role in the killing of four starving infants. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" f
How the “Worst Serial Killer in Holland’s History” Went Free
Patient after patient died under the care of a single nurse in Holland. So why did so many statisticians think Lucia de Berk was innocent? Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader
The Eclipse that Killed a King
Rama IV of Siam (from the “King and I” musical) used an eclipse to save his kingdom from greedy colonial powers. But it cost him his own life in the end. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https
When Generosity Turns Pathological
One Brazilian man’s brain damage transformed him into a selfless giver. So why did he infuriate so many people—and what does his case say about the biological roots of generosity? Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoo
The Sex-Cult “Antichrist” Who Rocketed Us to Space (part 2)
Jack Parsons was a devil-worshipping FBI rat who led a sex cult and was bosom buddies with L. Ron Hubbard. He was also one of the most important rocket scientists in history. (Episode 2 of 2) Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use m
The Sex-Cult “Antichrist” Who Rocketed Us to Space (part 1)
Jack Parsons was a devil-worshiping FBI rat who led a sex cult and was bosom buddies with L. Ron Hubbard. He was also one of the most important rocket scientists in history. (Episode 1 of 2) Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my
Don't Drink the Milk bonus episode - Milk: From mutations to mustaches
Who put the cheese in your stuffed-crust pizza? Or cows on a Caribbean island? And when more than half the world's population can't actually digest milk, is it really essential for a healthy diet? On a trip through time and taste—to dairy-o
Was Darwin a Murderer?
In 1878, two Paris dandies murdered an old woman—and blamed Charles Darwin for their crime. But the wild scandal that followed only solidified Darwin as the greatest scientist of his age... Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my
Mass Psychosis in Food Science
Americans happily ate monosodium glutamate for decades. Then one (possibly fake) letter sparked mass hysteria over “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”, and the bogus MSG scare was born... Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Sp
Accounting for Taste
Scientists have confirmed five basic human tastes—sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. But is that all? Debate now rages about adding a sixth or seventh or even eighth(!) to the Big Five... Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use m
