Podcast appearances and mentions of Sam Kean

We first aired this episode in 2012, but at the show we've been thinking a lot about resilience and repair so we wanted to play it for you again today. It's about a man who experienced maybe one of the most chilling traumas… twice. But then, it leads us to a story of generational repair. On the morning of August 6th, 1945, Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a work trip. He was walking to the office when the first atomic bomb was dropped about a mile away. He survived, and eventually managed to get himself onto a train back to his hometown... Nagasaki. The very next morning, as he tried to convince his boss that a single bomb could destroy a whole city, the second bomb dropped. Author Sam Kean tells Jad and Robert the incredible story of what happened to Tsutomu, explains how gamma rays shred DNA, and helps us understand how Tsutomu sidestepped a thousand year curse.Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.Leadership support for Radiolab's science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

In an episode first reported in 2017, we bring you a look up and down the US nuclear chain of command to find out who gets to authorize their use and who can stand in the way of Armageddon. President Richard Nixon once boasted that at any moment he could pick up a telephone and - in 20 minutes - kill 60 million people.  Such is the power of the US President over the nation's nuclear arsenal.  But what if you were the military officer on the receiving end of that phone call? Could you refuse the order?In this episode, we profile one Air Force Major who asked that question back in the 1970s and learn how the very act of asking it was so dangerous it derailed his career. We also pick up the question ourselves and pose it to veterans both high and low on the nuclear chain of command. Their responses reveal once and for all whether there are any legal checks and balances between us and a phone call for Armageddon.Special thanks to Elaine Scarry, Sam Kean, Ron Rosenbaum, Lisa Perry, Ryan Furtkamp, Robin Perry, Thom Woodroofe, Doreen de Brum, Jackie Conley, Sean Malloy, Ray Peter, Jack D'Annibale, Ryan Pettigrew at the Nixon Presidential Library and Samuel Rushay at the Truman Presidential Library.EPISODE CREDITS: Reported by - Latiff NasserProduced by - Annie McEwen and Simon Adlerwith help from - Arianne WackSignup for our newsletter! It comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.Leadership support for Radiolab's science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Ridge, Tennessee. Our home of Oak Ridge got its start as a major part of the monumental Manhattan Project, the nation's successful effort to build the first atomic bomb and end World War II. We talk a lot at AMSE and the K-25 Atomic History Center about the history of the Project, the science and engineering behind it, and the role of Oak Ridge and other locations in its successful outcome. But what is hard to teach is the atmosphere that surrounded that work. Our nation was at war, our soldiers and marines, our sailors and airmen, fighting and dying on the battlefields of Europe and Africa, on the islands of the Pacific, on the vast oceans, in the skies. Every family in America was touched by this war, a war against powers of fascism and militarism, of genocide and oppression.   And we were quite concerned that Nazi Germany was far ahead of us in the effort to build the atomic bomb. It became our focus to beat them in that race, and concurrently to do what we could to sabotage their efforts. I spoke on our podcast, AMSEcast, with award-winning author, Sam Kean, about his terrific book on this topic titled The Bastard Brigade: The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb. Here is Sam.

Puntata 143. Dopo due precisazioni sulla puntata 142 (15 cm di circonferenza!), proseguiamo con un follow-up sulla RAM minima dei Mac, con un parere su alcuni videogiochi, e con le offerte del "Single's Day" (GoPro, Magic Keyboard...). Infine parliamo di nuovo dei libri, riepilogando e approfondendo cosa era stato detto nella puntata precedente, includendo soprattutto "Il conte di Montecristo" di Alexandre Dumas, "Il fuoco interiore. Il sistema immunitario e l'origine delle malattie " di Alberto Mantovani, "Il cucchiaino scomparso e altre storie della tavola periodica degli elementi" di Sam Kean, "Come si sbriciola un biscotto?" di Joe Schwarcz, e "Storia della bambina perduta", il quarto volume de "L'amica geniale", di Elena Ferrante. • "Books" sul mio sito: https://miry1919.github.io/hugosite/books/ Canale Telegram: https://t.me/miry1919 CONTATTI Telegram: @miriananovella Instagram: @miry_geek X (Twitter): @Miry1919 Mastodon: @miriananovella@mastodon.social youtube.com/@miriananovella DONAZIONE libera su Satispay: https://miry1919.github.io/hugosite/donors/

In this episode, Will is joined by Jamie Moffa, a doctoral student in systems neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis. Jamie has been thinking and working in the science communication space, especially via the In Plain English podcast, which is aimed at bringing scientific knowledge and understanding to the general public. Show Notes: We think about this paper: Volk, S. C. (2024). Assessing the Outputs, Outcomes, and Impacts of Science Communication: A Quantitative Content Analysis of 128 Science Communication Projects. Science Communication, 10755470241253858. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10755470241253858 Will mentions this paper by C Thi. Nguyen: Nguyen, C. T. (2021). The seductions of clarity. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, 89, 227-255. https://philarchive.org/rec/NGUTSO-2 Will mentions this paper about color constancy and Crocs randomly...: Wallisch, P., & Karlovich, M. (2019). Disagreeing about Crocs and socks: Creating profoundly ambiguous color displays. arXiv preprint arXiv:1908.05736. Follow and reach out to Jamie, especially if you'd like to contribute to the In Plain English podcast! Jamie Moffa – https://copitslab.wustl.edu/people/jamie-moffa/ In Plain English Podcast – https://inplainenglishpod.org/ Our science communicator highlights: Nature and Nurture Podcast by Adam Omary –https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/NatureNurture Cass Eris – https://www.youtube.com/casseris Dr Neurofourier – https://www.youtube.com/c/Neurofourier SciShow by Complexly (Hank and John Green): https://www.youtube.com/@SciShow Science Night Podcast – https://www.scinight.com/episodes Ed Yong (no longer at the Atlantic!) – https://edyong.me/ The Violinist's Thumb by Sam Kean – https://samkean.com/books/the-violinists-thumb/ You can find Will on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/willngiam.bsky.social If you'd like to find out more about ReproducibiliTea, our grassroots initiative to build community in Open Science across institutions, check out https://reproducibilitea.org.

I read a lot. It fuels my writing, gives me a better view of the world, and is a great way to travel through time and space. Every once in a while, I run across a book that really hits me as a must-read. Episode two was about Sam Kean's book, The Disappearing Spoon; Episode eleven was about The Age of Wonder, by Richard Holmes; and Episode 255 was about William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways. In this program, I'm going to talk about Lynda Rutledge's novel, West with Giraffes, which I finished last night. Sabine recommended this one to me; as I closed the back cover, I realized that there were tears on my face. This is one great book. But there's more to the story of this episode. The book made me think about current events in the context of past events and made me realize that we're far better off now than we were in 1938—or any year hence. Those who feel otherwise and who look to the past to find “the good old days” won't find them, because they don't exist: “The Good Old Days” is a dangerous and misleading myth. Better days only lie ahead, in our collective future, and it is our job to make them real. Please have a listen—this is an important message. Note: Image copyright San Diego Zoo Global.

In this episode, Mr. Lowe interviews Mr. Kean about his 2010 book, The Disappearing Spoon: and Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements. Mr. Kean begins by deciphering the complex origins of the table in the 1860s and early 1870s and perfected by Russian chemist Dimitri Mendeleev.  Since its development and evolution over the past 150 years, the Periodic Table of the Elements continues to be one of the most important achievements to science.  This conversation helps illustrate the usefulness of understanding the basic science of the Periodic Table, and characteristics of its elements, when researching and studying history. 

In "What's Going On and Why Does it Matter?," Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance data, the H5N1 influenza outbreak in dairy cattle, and a CDC Health Alert on dengue virus.  Increased Risk of Dengue Virus Infections in the United States (Health Alert Network, CDC) Dr. Joseph Goldberger & the War on Pellagra (Office of NIH History & Stetten Museum, National Institutes of Health) Joseph Goldberger's Filth Parties (Sam Kean, Science History Institute) Sign up for CIDRAP's daily newsletter MORE EPISODES       SUPPORT THIS PODCAST

In this episode Dr's J and Santhosh take a break from their usual history and science to discuss their summer reading list of medical themed books! Along the way they cover reading rainbow, alternative names for viruses, pizza hut, Hans Zinsa,, Humpty Dumpty and neurosurgery, murine typhus, the transatlantic accent, plagues and generals, doctor to the supernatural, gothic medical horror mystery, genetically engineered tapeworms, futurama and more! So sit back and relax as we discuss our book recommendations for the period we dont release episodes!Further ReadingRats Lice and History by Hans ZinsserThe Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons by Sam KeanThe Icepick Surgeon by Sam KeanStrange Practice by Vivian ShawLeech by Hiron EnnesParasite by Mira GrantTRansformer by Nick LaneSupport Us spiritually, emotionally or financially here! or on ACAST+travelmedicinepodcast.comX/Twitter: @doctorjcomedy @toshyfroTiktok: DrjtoksmedicineGmail: travelmedicinepodcast@gmail.comSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/28uQe3cYGrTLhP6X0zyEhTFacebook: facebook.com/travelmedicinepodcastPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/travelmedicinepodcast Supporting us monthly has all sorts of perks! You get ad free episodes, bonus musical parody, behind the scenes conversations not available to regular folks and more!! Your support helps us to pay for more guest interviews, better equipment, and behind the scenes people who know what they are doing! https://plus.acast.com/s/travelmedicinepodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Faire fortune grâce à ses pets ! Devenir une vedette, l'un des artistes les mieux payés de son temps, et faire rire aux larmes des foules nombreuses, et même des têtes couronnées… Ça fait rêver non ? Eh ben, c'est l'histoire de l'incroyable succès de Joseph Pujol, le célèbre Pétomane du Moulin-Rouge !   Adhérez à cette chaîne pour obtenir des avantages : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN4TCCaX-gqBNkrUqXdgGRA/join   Script: Priscille Lamure https://savoirsdhistoire.wordpress.com/tag/priscille-lamure/ Inspiré de son texte: https://savoirsdhistoire.wordpress.com/2020/05/31/vivre-de-ses-pets-lincroyable-pari-du-petomane-joseph-pujol Pour soutenir la chaîne, au choix: 1. Cliquez sur le bouton « Adhérer » sous la vidéo. 2. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hndl Musique issue du site : epidemicsound.com Images provenant de https://www.storyblocks.com Abonnez-vous à la chaine: https://www.youtube.com/c/LHistoirenousledira Les vidéos sont utilisées à des fins éducatives selon l'article 107 du Copyright Act de 1976 sur le Fair-Use. Sources et pour aller plus loin: -Jean Hohain et François Caradec, Le Pétomane du Moulin Rouge, Paris, Fayard, 2000. -Jean Hohain et François Caradec, Le Pétomane, 1857–1945: sa vie – son œuvre. Paris: Jean Jacques Pauvert, 1967. -Ian MacNaughton, « Le Pétomane », 1979. -Pasquale Festa Campanile, « Il petomane » 1983. -Steve Ochs, « Le Pétomane: parti avec le vent » 2005. -« Le Pétomane », Wikipédia. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Pétomane -Antoine de Baecque, Le Club des péteurs, une anthologie malicieuse, Payot, 2016. -« À la Une - Le Pétomane du Moulin Rouge, un "musicien" atypique », RetroNews BnF. 25 mai 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nCk0gYrWqs -Alison Moore, « The spectacular anus of Joseph Pujol : Recovering the Pétomane's unique historic context », French Cultural Studies, vol. 24, no 1,‎ février 2013, p. 27-43. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0957155812466975 -Sam Kean, Les secrets de l'air qui nous entoure, Paris, Quanto Poche, 2023. -«Le Pétomane, fin de siècle fartiste». Planète. 1998. -« Pétomane », Wikipédia. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pétomane -C. Portier-Kaltenbach, « Joseph Pujol, le pétomane », Europe 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9AuRcTVsAQ -L'homme qui avait bâti une carrière artistique sur du vent, David Moginier, 6 juin 2000, Le Temps https://www.letemps.ch/societe/lhomme-avait-bati-une-carriere-artistique-vent -J. Dawson, Who Cut the Cheese? A Cultural History of the Fart. Berkeley, Ten Speed Press, 1999. -C4, Le magazine qui vous pend au nez, Du pet musical, par VO, https://web.archive.org/web/20231203150625/https://c4magazine.org/2008/11/10/du-pet-musical/ -A. Parmentier, « Pétomane : en quoi consiste ce métier historique qui a rendu célèbre Joseph Pujol ? », Geo, 29 mai 2023. https://www.geo.fr/histoire/petomane-en-quoi-consiste-ce-metier-historique-qui-a-rendu-celebre-joseph-pujol-214829 -https://tourisme-marseille.com/fiche/joseph-pujol-lincroyable-petomane-du-moulin-rouge-1887-1914-marseille/ Livres de Priscille Lamure Dans les oubliettes de l'Histoire (2021), Éditions du Trésor Drôles d'histoires ! (2018), Éditions du Trésor Autres références disponibles sur demande.   #histoire #documentaire #petomane #pet #fart

AMSE Science Report with Sam Kean

We're on a short break, but of course, you still need a dose of quirky history – so here's another podcast we think you'll love. The Disappearing Spoon is a topsy-turvy, science-y history podcast hosted by science writer Sam Kean. This episode tells the mysterious story of Soviet scientists who starved to death while surrounded by food during the Nazi invasion of Russia in World War II.

En nouvelle diffusion Les babouins, des coopérateurs stratégiques comme les humains À lʹinstar des humains, les babouins ont développé des stratégies complexes pour coopérer avec un ou plusieurs partenaires. Une étude parue dans la revue "Science Advances" (27.10.23) met en lumière cet esprit de coopération, un héritage clé de lʹévolution humaine vieux dʹau moins 30 millions dʹannées. Les secrets de lʹair qui nous entoure Dans ce dossier, Sarah Dirren sʹintéresse à lʹhistoire de cet élément si vital à toute la vie sur Terre: lʹair. De quoi est-il composé? Est-il le même quʹil y a 1000 ans? Combien pèse-t-il? Autant de questions abordées dans un livre réédité aux Éditions Quanto en juin 2023: "Les secrets de lʹair qui nous entoure" par Sam Kean. Tout sur les mites, de nos placards à nos bocaux Les mites, ces petits papillons qui se plaisent dans nos foyers, sont souvent connues pour leur appétit de fibres, notamment nos vêtements. Mais que savons-nous vraiment de ces discrètes colocataires ?

This week's episode sees the Say Reporters sharing lamentations about the raising cost of streaming and gaming subscriptions despite the offerings not really offering anything new or inventive to their value. From there Devon shares his experiences with 8bitdo and how his views of the company have changed and grown as they have perfected their offerings, up to and including their latest offering, a micro controller for use on the Nintendo Switch and PC. Sejohn then does a brief report on the latest true and dark history novel he has been spending his time with, "The Icepick Surgeon" by Sam Kean, and how its subject matter seems relevant as we try as a society to put trust in science again. Finally, we look at the staggering price difference between the standard and premium editions of "Mortal Kombat 1" and attempt to determine if paying an additional $50 is worth the advantage of getting to play the game proper five days early.

Show Notes: Mary Grabenstatter(1:40) Mary shares her story about why arts and crafts were important to her as a child. Hear about the origami birthday party and her favorite crafts! (3:20) Studying French and Film in college and working at Barnes & Noble her early adult years were filled with many experiences…starting with being a chemistry major. Hear about her adventures! (7:07) When The Hunger Games was first released, Jennifer Lawrence came to the bookstore. Hear how this event closed the whole store down! (7:50) At the age of 32, Mary learned to sew…she tells us how and why! And lovingly shares this special connection with her mom. (11:15) Within a two-year timeframe, Mary realized she loved sewing, quit her job in New York, started Needle Sharp…and learned her mom had cancer…so she moved back home. Learn also how Needle Sharp got its name – and why it caused her some unforeseen challenges. (14:05) She talks about the blind courage she found to move forward. (16:28) Mary shares her process for providing a subscription service for her company Needle Sharp  (18:20) What's it like to run into someone wearing one of her creations? She shares the excitement! (19:09) How have the last 10 years been the most challenging and rewarding in her life? She takes us on this journey. (20:12) Mary talks about her mom and how she was inspired by her and how she honors her legacy. (22:25) What words of advice does Mary have for beginning sewists? “Have a beginner's mind. (22:34) What's next, what's her dream? And will she ever design her own fabric? (25:36) And…what didn't I ask that she wanted to share? Hear about her favorite book Caesar's Last Breadth by Sam Kean (27:25) To contact Mary go to her website at needle-sharp.com and on Instagram @needlehsharp.If you know someone who has an outstanding story that should be shared on this podcast, drop Meg a note to Meg@sewandsopodcast.com or complete the form on our website. 

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Isabelle and David explore a bit about dyslexia, dyscalculia, and all the ways we walk around accommodating ourselves without knowing it. From making ADHD pasta, to thinking about ourselves in behavioral terms and moving from being driven by feelings to being able to make choices, the question really is, when do you want to learn how to swim? When you're in a pool, or when you're thrown into the ocean? -----Isabelle describes hanging out with a dear friend (who she hopes will be a guest on the podcast soon) who late in life was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum and also with a mild form of dyscalculia and dyslexia; her handwriting is all over the place, and she may have a mild form (not officially diagnosed), but realizing that she may be accommodating a lot more than she realized, and now she thinks that she may have a moderate form of dyscalculia, and her numbers and analog time switch on her. David wants to give her a hug; neurodiversity is our brains working differently, and we can get hung up on the pathology of it, but all things like slow processing, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and all of it—it changes how we think about attention cycles and how to attend and how to use accommodations. Some kids have ADHD symptoms, then they get glasses and suddenly they lose the ADHD symptoms. But they were blurting things out because they weren't seeing prompts and once they could see them, they could move through it better. So many of us just move forward going “it's just me” because we don't want to talk about the broken or damaged parts of us and we think it's just going to be hard. This is where it gets complicated, the part of this that David gets stuck with—neurodivergence, dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, autism—that's your brain all the time. That's not your brain breaking. For David, ADHD is part of his brain all the time, but it makes things awesome. We don't say “that's ADHD pasta, you like that pasta, huh?” Because he's experimenting with cooking. We could say, that's creative, or we could say that's impulsive. For people who have to learn differently, we're creative, out of the box thinking, problem solving is through the roof. They're not symptoms, they're behaviors. We gotta normalize people and experiences, often times it's used as an excuse. “I can't, because my ADHD, or it's out of control all the time.” Isabelle also has ADHD pasta, which is the spices she gathers that's different every week and it's so interesting, even the way she frames it. Friend was telling her about how to take the reading comprehension test; she would read the passage, then read the question, then re-read the passage to answer every question. And friend pointed out that some people are able to read the passage and keep that in their working memory as they then answer the questions. It's a fleeting moment of talking with her, that makes it feel like someone gets what it's like to do it the way you do it, and what it might be like to be neurotypical. A near peer mentor, especially someone who is doing well. We're caught in that damaged place where we think it's just our fault and we're bad at the thing everyone else can do. The way that David has always thought about it, is that it could be working memory, or it could be that when you read the questions, you get structure about where to put everything else. We have incredible visual and spatial memory, David gets caught in how we organize stuff, and there's this incredible guy Barkeley, who does a lot of great work, and he talks about it in a medical model where he talks about it with a symptoms and problems. David talks really fast—it's either a symptom of ADHD or a behavior with ADHD. One is about sickness and one is just a thing. Isabelle is reminded of Sam Kean's “Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons” and his glorious tangents and neurodivergent-friendly, fact-filled writing style, and she takes away that we commonly think our prefrontal cortex makes a decision and then our motor neurons follow it. Like if she wants to reach for the coffee cup, she decides to reach for the coffee cup, and then does the movement to reach for it. But your body actually reaches for the coffee cup before you consciously decide you are reaching for the coffee cup. Our brain and explanation for what we do is always lagging to the motions and things we're doing. David's turn to the do the Isabelle moment: whoa. The behavior comes first, our thoughts about it come second. Same with emotions, they come first, the thoughts come second. David's first training was behavioral psychology, he thinks we're stimulus and response creatures, but we really like to imagine we make a lot of conscious choices, when we don't. Nine times out of ten we think we make decisions, but we are on autopilot and don't look at the menu at the fast food restaurant, we know what we're getting already. We have to practice the habits we want to institute in our lives when it doesn't matter. We need to initiate the routines, habits, and rituals when there's low stakes, no time pressure, and nobody holding me accountable? WHAT?!  Thinking about accommodations: when do you want to learn how to swim? Do you want to learn how to swim in a swimming pool, or jumping off a ship? That's what military training is in a way, you make it automatic so that the behavior is going to happen when you're in that zone. As David points out, they also intentionally desentisize people to threats and vulnerabilities so they don't get derailed when practicing the automated parts. So getting rid of threats is negatively reinforcing, which is removing the thing that's painful as you go so you get relief. Other forms of negative reinforcement are the beeping going away when you buckle your seatbelt, or the sweet silence when the annoying alarm clock sound goes away when you hit the snooze button. Isabelle wonders if that connects to medication or caffeine, is it habit building because it gives a sense of calm? David counters: medication or not, any successful intervention dramatically increases self-esteem, dramatically makes the person feel better; it is naturally reinforcing because you're able to feel the difference in your pain points. Reinforcement is just increasing the frequency of the thing that came before it. When we're taking medications or doing any accommodations that work, we are more accurately appraising our performance, we are not motivated by feelings, we are motivated by behaviors, which is very different, and it creates a more tangible grasp on time. If you're going to be motivated by behavior v. emotion, it's reintroducing choice—what if folx who are neurodivergent, what if it's just there less of a hold, ‘no no no, explain it all, make it all make sense' that lives in us. More neurodivergent ways of thinking, like a horse with no reins—don't get why anyone would need them? Imagine half the world is rockets with tail fins and they shoot off and people come down with parachute. And every once in a while, there is a rocket with no fins on it, and that's David. It's terrifying, but also goes everywhere, and you may be dodging it, the point is that accommodations, the medications, are fins for the rockets. We're going to self-medicate with emotions, with anxiety, anger, excitement, shame, OR you can have that medication, you can take that coffee, you can go for that run, and then you increase that stimulation but you get to pick the feeling it's attached to. Without accommodations, we're just going to move from one threat to the next. With accommodations, we'll face a threat and then have 30 minutes to pass before the next threat arises. And in terms of use incorporating something in our habits and then seeing what it results in 20 years down the road. If David hadn't found medication (for him), he wouldn't have likely met his partner, finished college, gone to grad school, he wouldn't have the job he now has and he wouldn't be talking to Isabelle right now. But it's not woe is me, he would've been awesome, he may have been a stand up, a carpenter, doing drywall, but it gave him choices. Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons by Sam Kean Mary RoachDAVID'S DEFINITIONSDyslexia: (from Mayo Clinic): a learning [difference] that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding). Also called a reading disability, dyslexia is a result of individual differences in areas of the brain that process language. For more on this, check out the Black and Dyslexic podcast hosted by Winifred A. Winston and LeDerick Horne. Dyscalculia (from understood.org): a learning disability in math. People with dyscalculia have trouble with math at many levels. They often struggle with key concepts like bigger vs. smaller. And they can have a hard time doing basic math problems and more abstract math.Negative reinforcement: Feeling relief as the thing you are pained by goes away. Like the beeping before you actually buckle the seatbelt, the stimulus (of the beep sound) is removed. Or when you wake up and turn off the alarm clock and get sweet silence—that's negative reinforcement. Reinforcement: Increases the frequency of the thing that came before it. Not necessarily good or bad, feeling good or bad, just ta-dah! You do it more. -----Cover Art by: Sol VázquezTechnical Support by: Bobby Richards—————

“Nếu không có tư cách, khoa học sẽ bị diệt vong, và các nhà khoa học thiếu đạo đức thường tạo ra một nền khoa học tồi tệ.” – EinsteinTập 2 của bộ sách Phía Sau Tội Ác Nhân Danh Khoa Học tiếp tục kể những câu chuyện kịch tính về mặt tối của khoa học. Những câu chuyện diễn ra trải dài từ buổi bình minh của khoa học vào những năm 1600 đến những tội ác công nghệ cao của sau này. Nếu thành thật với bản thân, chúng ta đều đã từng rơi vào hố sâu của sự ám ảnh trước đây hoặc bẻ cong các quy tắc để theo đuổi một thứ mà chúng ta thèm muốn. Chúng ta có xu hướng coi khoa học là tiến bộ, một động lực cho những điều tốt đẹp trên thế giới. Thường điều đó đúng, nhưng không phải luôn đúng.Albert Einstein đã từng nói, “Hầu hết mọi người đều nói rằng chính trí tuệ mới tạo nên một nhà khoa học vĩ đại. Họ đã sai: đó là tính cách”.Nhiều người cho rằng những người thông minh hơn thì có hiểu biết và có đạo đức hơn; tuy nhiên, bằng chứng thực tế lại cho thấy một điều ngược lại, vì những người thông minh cho rằng họ đủ thông minh để trốn tránh việc bị bắt. Hãy nhớ lại những đặc điểm tương tự trong một chiếc xe ô tô, có những chiếc xe thông minh cũng giống như có một động cơ khổng lồ với rất nhiều mã lực thô. Bạn có thể đến đích nhanh hơn, nhưng nếu tay lái (tức là đạo đức của bạn) không ổn định, thì khả năng xảy ra một vụ lật xe đột ngột là rất cao. Đạo đức cũng giúp chúng ta định hướng cuộc sống và ngăn chúng ta bước vào những con đường nguy hiểm nhất định ngay từ thời điểm đầu tiên.Với lối viết thông minh, nhạy bén cùng sự kết hợp nhân văn giữa sự hài hước và lòng trắc ẩn đối với lịch sử của những cuộc đời kỳ lạ, Sam Kean đã tạo ra một cuốn sách tuyệt vời, một cuộc thảo luận thú vị về ý nghĩa của sự tiến bộ thực sự và cái giá phải trả của nó là một cái nhìn sâu sắc về lịch sử và tương lai.--Về Fonos:Fonos là Ứng dụng âm thanh số - Với hơn 3.000+ nội dung gồm Sách nói có bản quyền, Ebook, Tóm tắt sách, Thiền định, Truyện ngủ, Nhạc chủ đề, Truyện thiếu nhi. Tất cả chương 1 đều miễn phí, tải app ngay: https://fonos.link/PCFonos--Tìm hiểu thêm về Fonos: https://fonos.vn/Theo dõi Facebook Fonos: https://www.facebook.com/fonosvietnam/

Sam Kean is a prolific author that has a unique talent for sharing the stories of science.  Trained in physics, Kean's work describes seminal events in science using a deeply researched narrative style that transforms textbook information into better-than-fiction stories of discovery. In today's episode guest co-host Gracelyn Byrd joins the podcast to discuss the state of science communication, how we can do better as scientists and science institutions, and discuss how today's events may be reflected in time. Sam Kean on Twitter:  @Sam_Kean

As part of Season 2, we're introducing new "mini" episodes that will come out in between the meatier episodes each month. To learn more about what we have in store for Season 2, head to our website! www.brainblownpodcast.com ________________________________________ Have you ever wondered how someone with a missing body part could feel discomfort even in its absence? Not just discomfort, but even searing pain at times? Well so did a bunch of medical professionals back in the 1900s. Luckily there is a solution, and it's quite creative if we do say so ourselves. :) Click the button below to give it a listen! And if you've got any wild human tendencies or unanswered thoughts on the brain, send us an email and we just might make an episode on it. Resources: The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons by Sam Kean

“Nếu không có tư cách, khoa học sẽ bị diệt vong, và các nhà khoa học thiếu đạo đức thường tạo ra một nền khoa học tồi tệ.” - Einstein Bộ sách Phía Sau Tội Ác Nhân Danh Khoa Học kết hợp những câu chuyện kịch tính về khoa học cùng sự hồi hộp bất hợp pháp trong những câu chuyện tội phạm có thật. Những câu chuyện trải dài từ buổi bình minh của khoa học vào những năm 1600 đến những tội ác công nghệ cao của sau này, và chúng diễn ra khắp mọi nơi trên thế giới. Như người ta nói, kiểu cách trong đạo đức thay đổi thậm chí còn nhanh hơn kiểu cách thời trang trong quần áo, và nó sẽ khiến chúng ta phải dừng lại để biết rằng mọi người trong tương lai có thể sẽ tố cáo chúng ta vì những điều mà chúng ta thậm chí chưa bao giờ nghĩ đến. Thật không công bằng khi lên án những người trong quá khứ vì không đáp ứng được các tiêu chuẩn ngày nay, nhưng các nhà sử học đã ghi chép rằng Galileo, Newton, Bernoulli, Dalton, Mendel, và những người khác đều thao túng các thí nghiệm và/hoặc giả mạo dữ liệu theo những cách có thể khiến họ bị sa thải từ bất kỳ phòng thí nghiệm tự trọng nào ngày nay. Nhưng sẽ công bằng khi đánh giá một người vì đã vi phạm các tiêu chuẩn của thời đại của họ.Với lối viết thông minh, nhạy bén cùng sự kết hợp nhân văn giữa sự hài hước và lòng trắc ẩn đối với lịch sử của những cuộc đời kỳ lạ, Sam Kean đã tạo ra một cuốn sách tuyệt vời, một cuộc thảo luận thú vị về ý nghĩa của sự tiến bộ thực sự và cái giá phải trả của nó là một cái nhìn sâu sắc về lịch sử và tương lai.--Về Fonos:Fonos là ứng dụng sách nói có bản quyền. Trên ứng dụng Fonos, bạn có thể nghe định dạng sách nói của những cuốn sách nổi tiếng nhất từ các tác giả trong nước và quốc tế. Ngoài ra, bạn được sử dụng miễn phí nội dung Premium khi đăng ký trở thành Hội viên của Fonos: Tóm tắt sách, Ebook, Thiền định, Truyện ngủ, Nhạc chủ đề, Sách nói miễn phí cho Hội viên.--Tải ứng dụng Fonos tại: https://fonos.app.link/tai-fonosTìm hiểu về Fonos: https://fonos.vn/Theo dõi Facebook Fonos: https://www.facebook.com/fonosvietnam/Theo dõi Instagram Fonos: https://www.instagram.com/fonosvietnam/Đọc các bài viết thú vị về sách, tác giả sách, những thông tin hữu ích để phát triển bản thân: http://blog.fonos.vn/

Notably, it takes a narrative turn with several vignettes on the dinosaurs, mammals, birds, and other creatures that made their way through the asteroid impact (or...you know... not). This makes it more captivating and fun to read in the same way as Sam Kean's books or other more engaging science authors. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/you-betterknow4/message

Notably, it takes a narrative turn with several vignettes on the dinosaurs, mammals, birds, and other creatures that made their way through the asteroid impact (or...you know... not). This makes it more captivating and fun to read in the same way as Sam Kean's books or other more engaging science authors. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/you-betterknow4/message

Science Diction - No Spoilers! From WNYC Radio and Science Friday, this podcast is equal parts etymology and science. Newsletter turned podcast, every week host Johanna Mayer dived deep into a single word and the science behind it. Some words or ideas are clearly science-forward (Myers-Briggs, Ambergris, Mercury) but others are not (honeymoon, serendipity, etc). No matter what the subject, the show found the history and science behind the term. A lot of the words covered are interesting stories that don't meet the standard flashy news criteria and so otherwise would be stories that go untold. Facts, trends, predictions, and interviews are weaved together with the interruptions of music or ads. The show has 4.7 out of 5 and 588 Ratings. You may have caught the past tense and I have to confirm your future fears. The podcast said goodbye in April of 2022 with a mini-recap episode that looked back at all the show had done. During its run, a total of 42 episodes were published. On average they are about 17 minutes long. My favorites, which I recommend listening to first, were “Vocal Fry: Why I'm Not Getting A Voice Coach” and “Hydrox: How A Cookie Got A Name So Bad.” The episode on vocal fry is a must-listen! I won't go on my usual vocal fry rant but it isn't “hard on your ears.” It's a natural occurrence in women AND men (although women are almost exclusively judged for it) that can change the meaning of words in many different languages. The host was often criticized for her vocal fry but uses the opportunity to educate others on the topic. Honestly listening through I didn't notice anything. Similar pods: Surprisingly Brilliant, Distillations | Science History Institute, and Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast by Sam Kean. Sources: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/science-diction-1032503https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/science-diction/id1500919715 ★ Support this podcast ★

Icepicks and Nazis and Tesla, oh my! Lots of murder to unpack in this here fine podast episode. Enjoy! Movie/Show Pairings: Ex Machina Ratched Spiderhead Song Pairing: Icepick Lobotomy - Cannibal Corpse

Author Sam Kean discusses his book The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science. (2021) https://www.amazon.com/Icepick-Surgeon-Sabotage-Dastardly-Perpetrated-ebook/dp/B08P1L67SW/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=sam+kean&qid=1630421417&sr=8-1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do you get when you cross a human and an ape? This is what Soviet Era scientist Ilya Ivanov tried to find out, and it. gets. weird; like inseminating a woman with ape sperm weird. So, let's talk about it! Digressions include Transhumanism and the Hunger Games! Sources A. E. Samaan, From a "Race of Masters" to a "Master Race": 1948 to 1848(2013) Eric Michael Johnson, Scientific Ethics and Stalin's Ape-Man Superwarriors (2011) Ivan Cenzi, The Strange History of Men Going Nuts for Monkey Testicle Transplants (2021) Julian Huxley, Transhumanism, 1957 Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, Global Gag Rule Threatens Reproductive Health in Kenya: Study, (2020) Matthew Gault, The Soviet Union's Crazy ‘Planet of the Apes', (2014) Paul Weindling, Julian Huxley and the Continuity of Eugenics in Twentieth-century Britain, (2015)) Pawel Wargan, A Dream of Soviet Ape‑Men (2013) Sam Kean, The Soviet Era's Deadliest Scientist Is Regaining Popularity in Russia (2017) Stephanie Pain, Blasts from the past: The Soviet ape-man scandal (2008) The Open Society Foundation, What Is the Global Gag Rule? (2019) Wulf D. Hund, Racist King Kong Fantasies. From Shakespeare's Monster to Stalin's Ape-Man (2011)

The Disappearing Spoon, a podcast collaboration between the Science History Institute and New York Times best-selling author Sam Kean, returns for its third season on March 8, 2022. To celebrate, our producer, Padmini Parthasarathy, sat down with Kean to talk about his book The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code. This interview is a great companion piece for the new season of The Disappearing Spoon, which tackles all sorts of strange and interesting stories about the geniuses we know well—from Einstein and his great scientific blunder that turned out to be correct, to Monet and the cataracts that almost made him put down his brush forever. Listen as Kean talks about violin protégé Niccolo Paganini, whose genes were both a blessing and a curse, the scientific arms race that led to the mapping of the human genome, and the sometimes-murky lines between human and non-human. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Parthasarathy Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Photo: Wikimedia Commons

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about Alessandro Moreschi, the so-called Angel of Rome. His voice earned him fame and money. So what's the secret behind the voice? What was his trick? It turns out that his trick can also make you taller and prevent baldness. The only catch: it requires castration. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about the strange origin story of the American Medical Association. The creation of this powerful medical society can be traced back to a duel between two doctors at Transylvania University in Kentucky. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about Hermann Muller, a geneticist who in the 1920s discovered that radiation causes genetic mutations. This discovery happened around the same time that other geneticists were starting to link cancer with genetic mutations. Had both of these parties communicated they would have gotten a 50-year head start in cancer research. So why didn't scientists make this realization sooner? It turns out that Muller was a real jerk. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

On this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about a murder mystery that rocked Boston in 1849. Harvard University alum and physician George Parkman had gone missing. The last place he was seen alive was at the Harvard medical building, which had plenty of bodies, but police couldn't find Parkman's there. That is until a janitor intervened and implicated a medical school professor. The ensuing murder trial was a media circus equivalent to the O. J. Simpson trial. And just like that trial, it also familiarized the layperson with forensic and anatomical sciences. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Photo: Wellcome Collection

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean breaks down the history of nitrocellulose. This thick, transparent liquid was the world's first plastic and could be shaped into anything, including billiard balls and photography film. With nitrocellulose film, you could run reels of pictures together quickly, which gave birth to the first movies. The only fatal flaw with this plastic is that it's also extremely combustible—so much so that it can burn underwater once it gets going. This led to notable tragedies in movie theaters, as well as in hospitals that used nitrocellulose X-rays such as the Cleveland Clinic Hospital, where 122 people died in a fire in 1929. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about Mary Ward, a budding naturalist and astronomer from Ireland. She spent a lot of time observing plants and animals through a microscope and published a book of detailed sketches that dazzled readers and colleagues in the 1800s. However, her career was cut short by a strange curiosity of that time period: the automobile. They weren't the same cars that are around today, but her death was the first car death recorded in history, and it foreshadowed the carnage the automobile continues to leave behind. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about memory fugues, a psychological disorder that wipes out biographical information from people's brains. It is estimated that roughly 1 in 100,000 people seeking help for mental disorders have them. This disorder happens worldwide and it usually afflicts people in their 20s. Scientists have only recently started to piece together what is going on in the brains of those impaired by it. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

Join host Dr. Brandy Schillace for a night of dastardly deeds perpetrated in the name of science with Sam Kean, author of The Icepick Surgeon! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer with host Davey Berris, where science fact meets science fiction. Episode recorded live on August 26th, 2021. To join future broadcasts check out our Book Club schedule at https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/. Follow us on Twitter (@peculiarBC), Facebook (facebook.com/groups/peculiarbooksclub), Instragram (@thepeculiarbookclub), and Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/c/PeculiarBookClub)! For show merchandise, including T-Shirts, Coffee Mugs, and More, visit our shop at https://peculiarbookclubstore.com/collections/all.

On this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean delves deep into the science behind the evolution of animal and human bodies. Like animals, human bodies have also evolved to adhere to the demands of ever-changing climates. This raises a question: how will human bodies respond to climate change? Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

In this episode librarians Andy, Briony, Keri, and Sam talk about their most recent spooky, scary, suspenseful, horror, and otherwise Halloween reads! In this episode we talked about: The Jealousy Man and Other Stories by Jo Nesbø When Things Get Dark: Stories inspired by Shirley Jackson edited by Ellen Datlow The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science by Sam Kean The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw Cackle by Rachel Harrison Reprieve by James Han Mattson The Trees by Percival Everett When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow by Christina Henry Survive the Night by Riley Sager Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar We also mentioned: Suicide Woods by Benjamin Percy Growing Things and Other Stories by Paul Tremblay The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean

In this episode of Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean discusses the horrors of a particular genetic disease that was, literally, sweeping through London in the 1700s. In 1666, the Great Fire of London consumed about 13,000 homes and caused the modern equivalent about $1.3 billion in damage. After the Great Fire, London officials made chimneys mandatory in all homes and buildings. All these new chimneys meant there was a big demand for sweepers. Who did they employ to clean these narrow, soot-filled chimneys you ask? Very young boys. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

The Disappearing Spoon, a podcast collaboration between the Science History Institute and New York Times best-selling author Sam Kean, returns for its second season on October 5, 2021. To celebrate, our producer, Rigoberto Hernandez, sat down with Kean to talk about his new book The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science. This interview is a great companion piece for The Disappearing Spoon series since some of the stories in the book relate directly to some of the stories in the upcoming season. In this interview Kean talks about some of the case studies in his book, including how Thomas Edison shifted his ethics on the death penalty because of a grudge, how a part-time chemist from Philadelphia became an unlikely spy, and how an American doctor purposefully infected people in Guatemala with venereal diseases—all in the name of science. Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

The Doughnut. A giant circular low-rise office block in west Cheltenham; it is, jokingly I'm sure, said to look from above like a giant bullseye. Here, the men and women of GCHQ go to work every day. Here they listen to the world. Here they keep tabs. And here, in 2013, their secrets spilled out to the world. This is the story of Edward Snowden and the GCHQ/NSA leaks, and how the secret world of surveillance was blown wide open almost a decade ago. What happened? And have things really changed? Contributors to this episode: Geoff Dyer, Alan Rusbridger, Ewen MacAskill, James Ball, Michael S. Kinch, Sam Kean. You also heard GCHQ by Markee Ledge, reproduced with permission, and voice acting by Scott Westwood. This is the seventh, and final, episode of The Town That Knew Too Much, written, produced and presented by Nick Hilton. The music is by George Jennings, based on The Planets by Gustav Holst. The entire score for the series is available to stream on Spotify. This is the seventh part of a 7-part series available on all good podcast platforms. You can find out more about the show on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook – just go to @thetownpod – or visit www.thetownpod.com for episode notes and more information. If you've enjoyed the show, please go to your podcast provider and leave a rating and review. The Town That Knew Too Much is a Podot podcast, for more information visit podotpods.com.

Author Sam Kean discusses his book The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science. https://www.amazon.com/Icepick-Surgeon-Sabotage-Dastardly-Perpetrated-ebook/dp/B08P1L67SW/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=sam+kean&qid=1630421417&sr=8-1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times best selling author Sam Kean joins Rob to discuss grave robbery. He also has a new book out called The Icepick Surgeon, available wherever you get your books! Super fun episode, enjoy!

This week, Jonathan is discussing the topic of survival. Inspired by the book 'The Disappearing Spoon' by Sam Kean, he reveals a dramatic and very personal tale of survival, involving a song, the periodic table, and the trunk of a car.

First this week, Contributing Correspondent Sam Kean talks with producer Joel Goldberg about techniques museum conservators are using to save a range of plastic artifacts—from David Bowie costumes to the first artificial heart.  Next, Dayne Fratanduono, an experimental physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, talks with producer Meagan Cantwell about new standards for how gold and platinum change under extreme pressure. Fratanduono discusses how these standards will help researchers make more precise measurements of extreme pressure in the future. Finally, in a sponsored segment from the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Office, Sean Sanders interviews Laura Mackay, professor and laboratory head at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne and 2018 winner of the Michelson Prize for Human Immunology and Vaccine Research, about the importance of diversity in science, technology, engineering, and math. This segment is sponsored by the Michelson Foundation. This week's episode was produced with help from Podigy. Listen to previous podcasts. About the Science Podcast Download a transcript (PDF). [Image: Aleth Lorne; Music: Jeffrey Cook] ++ Authors: Joel Goldberg; Sam Kean; Meagan Cantwell See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that Gandhi hated iodine? Or that Silicon Valley was almost called Germanium Valley? Our producer Rigoberto Hernandez talked about these stories and more with Sam Kean, author of The Disappearing Spoon, a book about the stories behind the periodic table. The New York Times best-selling author and regular Distillations magazine contributor described how Dmitri Mendeleev's publisher accidentally shaped the periodic table, why gallium is a popular element for pranksters, and what inspired the title of his book. Kean, Sam. The Disappearing Spoon. New York: Little, Brown & Company, 2010. Credits Host: Elisabeth Berry Drago & Alexis Pedrick Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Original music by Jonathan Pfeffer

Author Sam Kean shares his insight on the Manhattan Project, the Periodic Table, and so much more.

A single factory in Malaysia supplies about 10% of the world's rare earth oxides, used in everything from cellphones to lasers to missiles. Controversy over the final resting place for the slightly radioactive byproducts has pushed the plant to the brink of closure. Host Meagan Cantwell talks with freelance writer Yao Hua Law about calls to ship the waste back to where it was originally mined in Australia, and how stopping production in Malaysia would mean almost all rare earth production would take place in China.  In another global trade story, host Sarah Crespi talks with freelance writer Sam Kean about close links between the slave trade and early naturalists' efforts to catalog the world's flora and fauna. Today, historians and museums are just starting to come to grips with the often-ignored relationships between slavers and scientists. This week's episode was edited by Podigy. Download the transcript (PDF) Ads on this show: Kolabtree and MagellanTV Listen to previous podcasts. About the Science Podcast [Image: James Petiver, 1695; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

In The Disappearing Spoon, bestselling author Sam Kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table. In The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code (Bay Back Books, 2013), he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA. There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs. Genes illuminate everything from JFK's bronze skin (it wasn't a tan) to Einstein's genius. They prove that Neanderthals and humans bred thousands of years more recently than any of us would feel comfortable thinking. They can even allow some people, because of the exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists. Kean's vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species' future. Jeremy Corr is the co-host of the hit Fixing Healthcare podcast along with industry thought leader Dr. Robert Pearl. A University of Iowa history alumnus, Jeremy is curious and passionate about all things healthcare, which means he's always up for a good discussion! Reach him at jeremyccorr@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices