Best Sciencehistory Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 90. Physicists as Biologists: William Lanouette 1:15:35

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23d ago1:15:35

1:15:35

In prior episodes, I have interviewed many people about the history of physics and physics-adjacent topics such as nuclear disarmament. Many of the physicists we have discussed also made forays into biology. Today I explore this transition of physicists working in biology with William Lanouette. Bill is a writer and public policy analyst who has sp…

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Episode 89. Göttingen Physics: Tim Salditt, Kurt Schönhammer, & Sarah Köster 1:15:39

2M ago1:15:39

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Prior to the rise of Nazism, the University of Göttingen hosted most of the top physicists in the world, either as resident or visiting scientists. With us to discuss the history of physics in Göttingen are Tim Salditt, Kurt Schönhammer, and Sarah Köster. In this conversation over tea at the University of Göttingen, we discuss how Göttingen became …

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Episode 88. Polymerase Chain Reaction: Henry Erlich 1:40:48

3M ago1:40:48

1:40:48

The history of science is punctuated by moments of technological innovation that produce a paradigm shift and a subsequent flurry of discovery. A recent technological innovation that generated diverse discoveries, ranging from a profound shift in our understanding of the origin of humanity to a seismic change in the criminal justice system, is the …

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Episode 87. Meitner's Atom: Marissa Moss 1:11:04

4M ago1:11:04

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Lise Meitner was the most important female physicist of the 20th century. She made fundamental discoveries on the atom, including, most famously, being the first to discover the idea of fission. This she did as she puzzled over experimental results generated by her colleague Otto Hahn. Hahn, but not Meitner, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry fo…

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Episode 86. Quantum Mechanics: Jim Baggott 2:15:56

5M ago2:15:56

2:15:56

Humanity's understanding of the universe radically altered with the advent of quantum mechanics in the early 20th century. The theory of quantum mechanics describes how nature behaves at or below the scale of atoms, and the road to that theory was littered with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. With us to discuss the development of quantum mechan…

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Episode 85. SWOPSI: Joel Primack & Robert Jaffe 1:43:49

6M ago1:43:49

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Societal problems big and small typically have a scientific element, often in a central way, yet most scientists are not directly involved in policy. My guests sought to change that in 1969 when they created the Stanford Workshops on Social and Political Issues, or SWOPSI. SWOPSI was founded by three students, two of whom are with us today: Joel Pr…

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Episode 84. The Academy: Bret Stephens 1:51:22

7M ago1:51:22

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Institutions of higher education, especially in the United States, have received a great deal of attention over the past two generations regarding their ideological march to the left, and the impacts, real or imagined, on society at large. Criticism of American universities has sharpened since Oct. 7, 2023, as the Hamas attack on Israel was closely…

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Episode 83. Hebrew: Shalom Goldman 1:45:37

8M ago1:45:37

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What was the Western World's understanding of the origins of humanity prior to the Enlightenment? Why did Christopher Columbus have a Hebrew speaker on his voyages of exploration? Why did the American universities founded before the Revolution have Hebrew in their curriculum? What role did linguistics play in the late 19th century modernization of …

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Episode 82. Jerusalem Archeology: Jodi Magness 1:42:51

9M ago1:42:51

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Archeology is the science that most directly connects us with our past, and no city in the world has been subject to more archeological interest than Jerusalem. With us to explore the archeology of Jerusalem is Jodi Magness. Jodi is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since 2002, she has been the Kenan Distinguished Professor for…

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Episode 81. Nuclear Disarmament: Steve Fetter 1:40:27

10M ago1:40:27

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Today I speak with Steve Fetter about his work on a variety of nuclear disarmament efforts, including the Black Sea Experiment, nuclear archeology, the risks associated with a single person having the ability to start a nuclear war, ballistic missile defense, the weaponization of space, nuclear energy, and climate change. Steve received an SB in ph…

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Episode 80. Soviet Nuclear Program: Thomas Cochran 2:07:46

11M ago2:07:46

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Today we focus on the Soviet nuclear program with Thomas Cochran. Tom directed nuclear disarmament projects at the Natural Resources Defense Council from 1973 until his retirement in 2016. He has received numerous awards for his work on nuclear disarmament, including the public service award from the Federation of American Scientists and the Szilar…

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Episode 79. Endocrine Disruption: Patricia Hunt 44:57

12M ago44:57

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Today we explore the history of the field of endocrine disruption with Patricia Hunt. Pat is a Regents Professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences at Washington State University. She is a distinguished researcher and the recipient of many awards; additionally, she works at the forefront of initiatives to communicate complex scientific findings…

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Episode 78. Szilard After The War: William Lanouette 46:56

1y ago46:56

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In episode 77, I interviewed William Lanouette about Leo Szilard's work on the atom bomb, with a discussion of the roles that Szilard played until the end of World War II. Today, in part two of my interview with Bill, we focus on Szilard's achievements after the war. Bill is a writer and public policy analyst who has specialized in the history of n…

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Episode 77. Szilard's Chain Reaction: William Lanouette 1:44:37

1y ago1:44:37

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Perhaps the most overlooked scientist who played critical roles in the development of the atomic bomb was Leo Szilard. With us to explore Szilard's numerous contributions to science and society is William Lanouette. Bill is a writer and public policy analyst who has specialized in the history of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. He received an A.…

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Episode 76. Malaria & Reminiscences: Nobel Laureate Peter Agre 1:46:56

1y ago1:46:56

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Peter Agre received the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of aquaporins. Peter is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and he also directed the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute until 2023. Today we discuss the history of malaria researc…

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Episode 75. Retrospective: Oliver Sacks 1:26:12

1+ y ago1:26:12

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In 1994, while attending graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, I had the pleasure of seeing a lecture by Oliver Sacks in which he discussed his work on sleeping sickness and various other neurological disorders. He also discussed his thoughts on the economy of a life. Today's episode is that lecture in full, with all the insigh…

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Episode 74. Novichok: Vil Mirzayanov 1:55:36

1+ y ago1:55:36

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Novichok is the most deadly chemical weapon ever developed. With us to discuss the history of Novichok is Vil Mirzayanov. Vil worked in the secret Soviet chemical weapons laboratory that developed Novichok. He revealed its existence to the world in 1991 and was then arrested by the Russian counterintelligence service and prosecuted in a secret tria…

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Episode 73. Pascual Jordan's Duplicity: Ryan Dahn 1:08:56

1+ y ago1:08:56

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How could a brilliant scientist and mathematician, an innovator in quantum theory, who worked closely with Jewish colleagues, become an ardent Nazi? How did this man, who has a field of mathematics named after him, escape the scrutiny of his colleagues? And what happened to him upon the collapse of Nazi Germany? The scientist who straddled this str…

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Episode 72. Scientific Espionage: Eli Lake 1:46:14

1+ y ago1:46:14

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Many of the most important secrets held in international contests are technological or scientific in nature, and wars are often settled due to technological superiority of one side over the other. This leads spy agencies to employ all manner of trickery and tools to obtain those secrets. With us to explore the history of scientific espionage is Eli…

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Episode 71. Retrospective: The Franck-Hertz Experiment 38:20

1+ y ago38:20

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A retrospective on the Franck-Hertz experiment, which resulted in James Franck and Gustav Hertz receiving the 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics. Image credit: By Infoczo - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35281920By Frank A. von Hippel

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Episode 70. Retrospective: James Franck 1:21:44

1+ y ago1:21:44

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A retrospective on James Franck, recipient of the 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics.By Frank A. von Hippel

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Episode 69. Ancient DNA: Maanasa Raghavan 1:13:21

2y ago1:13:21

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The ability to extract DNA from ancient fragments of biological material has revolutionized our understanding of recent evolutionary history, including human evolution and phylogeography. Analysis of ancient DNA in tandem with radiocarbon dating, along with traditional archeological techniques, has led to a flurry of discoveries. With us to discuss…

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Episode 68. Pandemics: Leslie Reperant 1:10:02

2y ago1:10:02

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The world just experienced a devastating pandemic, yet in the context of historical pandemics, COVID-19 was a relatively minor event in the history of disease. What do we know about the history of pandemics, including before written records, and what can we learn from this history? With us to answer these and other questions about the origins of ep…

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Episode 67. Lazaretto: David Barnes 1:43:09

2y ago1:43:09

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Before the advent of the germ theory of disease in the 1870s, quarantine provided one of the few effective means to prevent or alleviate epidemics. The Lazaretto quarantine station in Philadelphia illustrates the history of quarantine both before and after the discovery of pathogenic microbes. With us to explore the history of 18th and 19th century…

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Episode 66. Climbing, Chemistry & Policy: Arlene Blum 1:04:11

2y ago1:04:11

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What are the commonalities between scaling the world's highest peaks and tackling the most challenging pollution problems? What was it like to enter the worlds of climbing and chemistry as a woman in the 1960s and 70s? With us to answer these questions is Arlene Blum. Arlene completed a bachelor's degree at Reed College in 1966 and a PhD in biophys…