Monthly interviews on important moments in the history of science.
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Science History Podcast
78 Subscribers
Reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 Based on 13 reviews
Serena Fox
2 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
The host is very intelligent and knowledgeable, guests and subjects typically the same but when the political bias and one sidedness comes out it is very alienating and frustrating! If the host would sometimes have guests on he does not always see eye to eye with, and presented current topics more broadly and had a real and nuanced discussion it would be much more palatable. This is science after all - always evolving and never black and white. Please consider staying more open to other possibilities and ideas or toning down your broad biases when speaking.
Ptierra
5 out of 5 stars
Amazing
This podcast is an interesting and entertaining way to learn more about science topics across the board.
Peter the Poet
5 out of 5 stars
Peter G
Consistently excellent. Essential listening. Thank you for your efforts
Keiushka
5 out of 5 stars
Great knowledge
Lots of information I was not aware about from scientists. Some very revealing details
Shrek's#1Fan
5 out of 5 stars
Great!
Very interesting and eye opening information.
Bran L K
5 out of 5 stars
Excellent show
Highly recommended!
Davethanaman
5 out of 5 stars
Fascinating information
After hearing Frank von Hippel be interviewed on #1540 of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast I craved more. I was so excited to find this Science History Podcast. While the topics discussed are enlightening I do wish some of his podcasts were only Frank von Hippel himself speaking. When he interjects information during the interviews his tone of voice is soothing and the manner in which he conveys the information keeps me fully engaged. I really hope he decides to read his own book.
FlickFromFlag
5 out of 5 stars
Broad AND nuanced
The wide scope of topics covered are sure to pique the interests of many, but the intimate conversations with the guests make the show both conversational and digestible for scientists, historians and everyone between.
Mmmmaxxxx
5 out of 5 stars
Real Science History
This is the only science history podcast I am aware of that is not dummed down for the general public. Additionally, the guests are people who are famous in their specific fields, rather than science communicators: as a result the conversations are typically complex and nuanced.
Limnosudeep
5 out of 5 stars
A must listen to, just fun...
Like science (or not), listen to this podcast! Nice mix of science history and current innovations.
Oscarthelabradoodle
5 out of 5 stars
Give him a raise!
What a great podcast! This covers really fascinating history with the impressive scientists that helped form it. I recommend this to everyone and look forward to the next episode.
mharrisARCH
5 out of 5 stars
Enlightening
One of my favorite podcast. I end up listening to these multiple times out of both enjoyment and information. Highly recommended.
LouisaAull
5 out of 5 stars
Eye opening
Really enjoyed these podcasts!
Podcast information
- Amount of episodes
- 62
- Subscribers
- 78
- Verified
- No
- Website
- Explicit content
- No
- Episode type
- episodic
- Podcast link
- https://podvine.com/link/..
- Last upload date
- January 11, 2023
- Last fetch date
- January 27, 2023 7:15 AM
- Upload range
- MONTHLY
- Author
- Frank A. von Hippel
- Copyright
- Âź
susbcribers
- Episode 62. Conservation Easement or Easy Pollution? Jaimi Dowdell and Andrea JanutaHow could a conservation easement be anything other than a great thing? With us to answer this question are Jaimi Dowdell and Andrea Januta, both of whom are investigative reporters and data journalists with Reuters. Jaimi and Andrea were part of the Reuters team that won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting. Today we discuss their Reuters special report entitled "How Boeing created a nature preserve that may also preserve pollution", published on July 20, 2022.0 comments0
- Episode 61. Foresight: Thomas SuddendorfFor thousands of years, scholars have struggled with what it means to be human. One critical dimension of humanity is foresight, and with us to decipher the evolution of foresight is Thomas Suddendorf. Thomas is a professor at the University of Queensland, where he investigates mental capacities in young children and in animals to answer fundamental questions about the nature and evolution of the human mind. Thomas is the author of over 140 research articles and two books: The Gap: The science of what separates us from other animals, published in 2013 by Basic Books, and The invention of tomorrow: a natural history of foresight (with co-authors Jonathan Redshaw and Adam Bulley), published in 2022, also by Basic Books. Â Today we discuss archaeological finds related to stone tools, fire, hunting, ornaments, containers, burial, watercraft, maps, music, and storytelling - and what they tell us about the evolution of foresight.1 comments1
- Episode 60. Planetary Boundary Threats: Bethanie Carney AlmrothJohan RockstroÌm and colleagues first proposed the concept in 2009 of planetary boundary threats and a safe operating space for humanity. This conceptual framework clarifies environmental problems that are of planetary significance, such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and stratospheric ozone depletion. The most recently articulated planetary boundary threat, or set of threats, relates to chemical pollution of the biosphere. With us to unpack planetary boundary threats as they relate to pollution is Bethanie Carney Almroth. Bethanie is a professor at the University of Gothenburg, where she researches threats posed to our planet due to the immense number and quantities of synthetic chemicals released into the environment.0 comments0
- Episode 59. The Civilian Conservation Corps: Neil MaherThe Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the ensuing worldwide Great Depression left families in economic shock and despair. International trade collapsed to less than half of its previous levels and unemployment skyrocketed. Into this devastating mess stepped Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who began his long presidency in 1933. FDR spearheaded a series of programs known as the New Deal to revive the United States. The most popular of these was the government work relief program called the Civilian Conservation Corps, which ran from 1933 to 1942. Three million American men joined the Corps, gaining skills and employment while also attending to widespread conservation problems. With us to explain the significance of the Civilian Conservation Corps is Neil Maher. Neil is a professor of history in the Federated History Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University, Newark, and he is the author of Apollo in the Age of Aquarius and Natureâs New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the American Environmental Movement.0 comments0
- Episode 58. Subtraction: Leidy KlotzThe ways people think about matters both big and small, from climate change to daily tasks, impact the outcomes. Throughout the history of science and society, key insights arose through a thought process of simplification and subtraction, though the human tendency leans towards complication and addition. Today I discuss the power of subtraction with Leidy Klotz. Leidy is a professor at the University of Virginia, where he studies the science of design. He is the author of Subtract, published in 2021 by Flatiron Books.0 comments0
- Episode 57. Bias: Jim ZimringNo matter our claims to the contrary, we are all biased in our perceptions and beliefs. But bias is not random and its directions relate to our evolutionary history and culture, especially to how these interface with human sociality. With us to decipher bias is Jim Zimring. Jim is the author of What Science is and How it Really Works, published b y Cambridge University Press in 2019, and Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort Our Thinking, published by Columbia University Press in 2022. Today we discuss flawed thinking about fractions, the No True Scotsman Fallacy, what we see when we read, heuristics, stories vs. statistics, confirmation bias, the prosecutorâs fallacy, cherry picking, tautology, hindsight bias, the Bible code, the fine-tuning argument, armor on WWII bombers and the Anthropic Principle, and the reproducibility crisis.0 comments0
- Episode 56. Marine Pollution: David ValentineThe oceans have been used as the dumping grounds for all manner of toxic waste. Outrage over such dumping led to the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 in the United States and the London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter in 1975. Today I discuss the dumping of DDT and other wastes off the coast of Southern California with Dave Valentine. Dave completed a BS in chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California San Diego in 1995, followed by an MS in chemistry also at UCSD the following year. He then completed MS and PhD degrees in earth system science at the University of California Irvine in 1998 and 2000. Dave is now the Norris Presidential Chair in Earth Science at UC Santa Barbara. He has participated in 25 oceanographic expeditions, including 13 as chief scientist.0 comments0
- Episode 55. DDT: Elena ConisMany landmarks of environmental history share a connection with a single molecule: DDT. During and after the Second World War, it was broadcast into the environment at a scale that far surpassed the applications of any prior chemical. The public met this mass spraying of DDT with enthusiasm, as the war proved it to be highly effective against the vectors of malaria, yellow fever, typhus, and other insect-borne diseases. But these public health successes were short-lived as insects quickly evolved resistance. Nevertheless, DDT use skyrocketed around the world, especially in agriculture. It was also used on a massive scale in forestry, in the Sisyphean fight against invasive insects, and in the home, where clever companies impregnated all manner of commercial products with DDT, ranging from bug bombs to house paint to wallpaper for the nursery. Due primarily to its massive impact on the environment, but also to effects on human health, a backlash ensued, driven most forcefully by Rachel Carsonâs 1962 book Silent Spring. The chemical was banned throughout the world in the 1970s and 80s, and yet its story continued. With us to unravel this complex tale, and its relation to science denial and corporate malfeasance, is Elena Conis. Elena is a historian of medicine and an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Journalism and Department of History at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on scientific controversies, science denial, and public understanding of science. She is the author of Vaccine Nation: Americaâs Changing Relationship with Immunization, and a co-editor of Pink and Blue: Gender, Culture, and the Health of Children. Today we discuss her most recent book, How to Sell a Poison: The Rise, Fall, and Toxic Return of DDT.0 comments0
- Episode 54. Bohrâs Atom: John HeilbronAt the start of the 20th century, physicists probed the structure of nature. Their discoveries changed our fundamental understanding of matter, of life, and of war. At the center of these discoveries stood the Danish physicist Niels Bohr. Bohr approached problems of atomic structure and quantum theory with a philosophical perspective and an ability to skirt paradoxes with his principle of complementarity. Perhaps as important as Bohrâs discoveries on the atom was his hosting of international collaborations at his institute in Copenhagen, which in turn led to fundamental insights in physics and chemistry. Bohr also played significant humanitarian and diplomatic roles during World War II in Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Many Jewish refugee scientists passed through Bohrâs institute after escaping Nazi Germany, and Bohr then facilitated their immigration to safe harbors. With us to decipher Bohrâs complex legacy is John Heilbron. John is a member of the International Academy of the History of Science, for which he served as president from 2001-2005. He is also a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and The American Philosophical Society. He is the recipient of many awards for his scholarship on the history of science.0 comments0
- Episode 53. Industrial Agriculture: Helen Anne CurryThe advent of agriculture over 10,000 years ago forever altered the trajectory of humanity. Communities grew larger until cities and nations dotted the landscape, labor became specialized, new diseases emerged, civilizations flourished and vanished, warfare increased in scale and lethality, and people colonized every corner of the globe. Agriculture facilitated the exponential growth of the human population, which necessitated ever greater efficiency and productivity and eventually led to the industrialization of farming. But this efficiency has come at a cost â the loss of crop varieties and the local knowledge and cultural practices associated with those crops. With us to understand these radical changes in agricultural practices, and their implications for society, is Helen Anne Curry. Helen is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Churchill College. Her research focuses on the histories of seeds, crop science, and industrial agriculture. She is author of Evolution Made to Order: Plant Breeding and Technological Innovation in Twentieth Century America and Endangered Maize: Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction.0 comments0
- Episode 52. Neurological Disorders: Sara Manning PeskinThe brain is the most mysterious and complex organ of the body, and when things go awry, we may be confronted with personal tragedy and we may gain insights on what it means to be human. With us to discuss neurological disorders and the history of their discovery is Sara Manning Peskin. Sara completed an AB in biochemistry at Harvard University in 2009, an MS in cellular and molecular biology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2013, and an MD also at U Penn in 2015. She completed postgraduate training and a fellowship in various aspects of neurology also at U Penn, where she is now an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology. Today we discuss a cornucopia of neurological disorders, including Huntingtonâs disease, Alzheimerâs disease, Lewy body dementia, Pickâs disease, pellagra, and kuru disease (and its association with cannibalism) â all drawn from the pages of her new book, A Molecule Away from Madness, published in 2022 by W.W. Norton & Company.0 comments0
- Episode 51. Ecological Economics: Herman DalyNothing is so intertwined with human success and folly as economics. The economy, for better or for worse, drives much of our fate from our household budget to our national policies to the outbreak of war. But economic activity also has profound effects on the environment and a close inspection of economics opens the question of whether humans can live sustainably on the only planet we have. The field of economics that focuses on sustainability and the environmental costs of economic activity is ecological economics. With us to discuss this field is one of its founders, Herman Daly. Herman received a B.A. in economics from Rice University in 1960 and a PhD in from Vanderbilt University in 1967. He was a professor of economics at Louisiana State University until 1988, and then served as senior economist in the environment department of the World Bank until 1994. He then joined the faculty at the University of Maryland in the School of Public Affairs. Herman is the author of over 100 articles in professional journals, as well as many books, including: Toward a Steady-State Economy (1973), Steady-State Economics (1977), Valuing the Earth (1993), Beyond Growth (1996), Ecological Economics and the Ecology of Economics (1999), Ecological Economics: Principles and Applications (2004), and Ecological Economics and Sustainable Development (2007). He is co-author with theologian John B. Cobb, Jr. of the award-winning book, For the Common Good (1989). He also co-founded the journal Ecological Economics and the International Society of Ecological Economics. Herman has received too many awards to list here, but they include Swedenâs Honorary Right Livelihood Award, the Heineken Prize for Environmental Science from the Netherlands, the Sophie Prize for Environment and Development from Norway, the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council for Science and the Environment, and the Blue Planet Prize.0 comments0
- Episode 50. Space & the Sixties: Neil MaherThe 60s hosted the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, which occurred in the midst of the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and civil unrest. How did the culture wars of the 1960s relate to the space race, especially in the United States? How did the Civil Rights Movement, the New Left, environmentalism, the womenâs movement, and the Hippie counterculture influence NASA, and vice versa? With us to answer these questions is Neil Maher. Neil received a B.A. in history from Dartmouth College in 1986, an MA in U.S. history from New York University in 1997, and a Ph.D. in history, also from New York University, in 2001. He is a professor of history in the Federated History Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University, Newark, where he teaches environmental history, political history, and the history of environmental justice. Neil has received numerous fellowships, awards, and grants from the Smithsonian Institution, NASA, Harvard Universityâs Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History, and Ludwig Maximilian Universityâs Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich, Germany. His books include Natureâs New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the American Environmental Movement (Oxford University Press, 2008), and Apollo in the Age of Aquarius (Harvard University Press, 2017).0 comments0
- Episode 49. Armament & Disarmament: Richard GarwinTodayâs episode marks the four-year anniversary of the Science History Podcast, where we have explored all manner of science and relevant policy spanning from gravitational waves to bioterrorism. So it is fitting that todayâs guest, Dick Garwin, has worked on just about every major scientific and technology problem with a defense application since just after the Second World War, ranging from the first thermonuclear weapon in 1951 all the way to the U.S. response to pandemics. Today we discuss it all, including space nuclear detonations and electromagnetic pulses, spy satellites, anti-submarine warfare, sequential memory for computers, magnetic resonance imaging, laser printers, touch-screen monitors, nuclear weapons testing, nuclear reactor accidents, Ebola, the Iraq War, the BP Deep Water Horizon oil spill, and even gravitational waves. Dick was born in Ohio in 1928. He received a BS in physics from Case Institute of Technology in 1947 at the age of 19, and then a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago in 1949, at the age of 21. Two years later, in 1951, for a summer project at Los Alamos, he designed the first hydrogen bomb. Dick joined the IBM Corporation in 1952, where for over 40 years he helped to design diverse technology with military applications. He also held numerous posts in universities and at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, in addition to advising presidents on science and technology, from Eisenhower to Kennedy to Johnson to Nixon. He also served on various technical committees for subsequent American administrations, all the way through to the Obama presidency. Dick has published over 500 papers and been granted 47 U.S. patents. He also coauthored many books, including Nuclear Weapons and World Politics (1977), Nuclear Power Issues and Choices (1977), Energy: the Next Twenty Years (1979), Science Advice to the President (1980), Managing the Plutonium Surplus: Applications and Technical Options (1994), and Megawatts and Megatons: A Turning Point in the Nuclear Age? (2001). Dick is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine. Dick received too many awards to list them all here, but they include the 2003 National Medal of Science, awarded by President George W. Bush, and the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President Barack Obama. In sum, he is a treasure of 20th Century American science, and I hope you enjoy this opportunity to hear his thoughts as we tour the last 70 years of science, technology and policy.0 comments0
- Episode 48. Nuclear Disarmament: Zia MianToday we explore the history of nuclear disarmament with Zia Mian. Zia is a physicist and co-director of Princetonâs Program on Science and Global Security, part of the School of Public and International Affairs, where he has worked since 1997. His research interests include issues of nuclear arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament, and international peace and security. Zia is co-editor of the journal Science & Global Security, and he is the co-author of Unmaking the Bomb, published by MIT Press in 2014. He is also co-chair of the International Panel on Fissile Materials. Zia received the 2014 Linus Pauling Legacy Award for âhis accomplishments as a scientist and as a peace activist in contributing to the global effort for nuclear disarmament and for a more peaceful world.â He also received the American Physical Societyâs 2019 Leo Szilard Award âfor promoting global peace and nuclear disarmamentâ. In 2021, Zia was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for âpromoting global nuclear risk reduction and disarmament.â0 comments0
- Episode 47. The Demarcation Problem: Michael GordinHow do we distinguish real science from hogwash? How does real science evolve over time into pseudoscience? Why will science always be plagued with sister movements on the fringe that make us cringe? With us to explore these topics and their relationship to the demarcation problem is Michael Gordin. Michael is the Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History and the director of the Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts at Princeton University. He specializes in the history of modern science in Russia, Europe, and North America, especially issues related to the history of fringe science, the early years of the nuclear arms race, Russian and Soviet science, language and science, and Albert Einstein. He is the author of On the Fringe, which we discuss today, as well as The Pseudoscience Wars: Immanuel Velikovsky and the Birth of the Modern Fringe, Scientific Babel: How Science Was Done Before and After Global English, and Red Cloud at Dawn: Truman, Stalin, and the End of the Atomic Monopoly. Today we discuss diverse topics in fringe science, including Bigfoot, extra sensory perception, UFOs, astrology, alchemy, the ether, Aryan physics, Lysenkoism, phrenology, cryptozoology, Velikovsky, Mesmerism, Uri Geller, cold fusion, and where all of this leaves us as we navigate the waters between science and pseudoscience.0 comments0
- Episode 46. Unsettled Research: Mark LytleUncertainty is inherent to science and exploited by those who wish to stymie regulations that would promote environmental quality and public health. Chemical companies, oil companies, tobacco companies, and many others, kept their products on the marketplace and promoted consumerism by stressing the unsettled nature of research. With us to explore this history, and how it relates to the environment and public health, is Mark Lytle. Mark is among those historians seeking to develop the field of âEnvironmental Diplomacy.â The author of The Origins of the Iranian-American Alliance, 1941-1953, he began his career as a student of American relations with Iran and the role of oil in postwar foreign policy. Since then, in his books Americaâs Uncivil Wars: The Sixties Era from Elvis to the Fall of Richard Nixon and The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the Rise of the Environmental Movement, he has focused on the history of the 1960s and environmentalism. His interest in history education inspired the writing with James West Davidson of After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection. His latest book is The All-Consuming Nation: Pursuing the American Dream Since World War II. In addition to his long tenure as a professor at Bard, he has taught at Yale, Vassar, and as the Mary Ball Washington Professor at University College Dublin.0 comments0
- Episode 45. Wildlife Biology: George SchallerThe study of wildlife has a history full of adventures in remote corners of the Earth, discoveries of remarkable behaviors, and achievements in conservation. George Schaller is a pioneer of the field, with seven decades of work spanning from the Arctic to the Tropics. George was born in Germany in 1933 and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. He received a BS degree from the University of Alaska in 1955 and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1962. He then held positions at Stanford University and Johns Hopkins University before working as a research associate for the Rockefeller University and New York Zoological Societyâs Institute for Research in Animal Behavior, beginning in 1966. This program evolved into the Center for Field Biology and Conservation, where George worked as the Coordinator. Beginning in 1979, George directed the New York Zoological Societyâs International Conservation Program. Georgeâs many awards reflect his impacts on the conservation of wildlife and ecosystems around the world. These awards include the National Geographic Society Lifetime Achievement Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the World Wildlife Fund Gold Medal, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and many others. He is also known for his many books on wildlife, including The Mountain Gorilla â Ecology and Behavior, published in 1963, The Year of the Gorilla published in 1964, The Tiger: Its Life in the Wild published in 1969, and The Serengeti Lion: A study of Predator-Prey Relations, published in 1972, for which he received the U.S. National Book Award in Science.0 comments0
- Episode 44. Chemical Sense & Nonsense: Joe SchwarczThe history of science is punctuated by both the greatest achievements and the greatest tragedies of human endeavors. The development of organic chemistry illustrates this dichotomy, as some scientists improved the human condition while others facilitated the horrors of genocide. The guise of chemistry also has served as a useful front for fraudsters. With us to illuminate chemical accidents, brilliant discoveries, searing evils, and the use and misuse of organic chemistry is Joe Schwarcz. Joe was born in Hungary in 1947. His family escaped to Austria during the 1956 Hungarian uprising, and from there immigrated to Quebec. Joe received BS and PhD degrees in chemistry from McGill University in 1969 and 1973. He held various faculty positions before joining the faculty at McGill in 1980. Joe is the Director of McGillâs Office for Science and Society, which has the mission of separating sense from nonsense. He is well known for his informative and entertaining public lectures on topics ranging from the chemistry of food to the mind-body connection. Joe has received numerous awards for teaching chemistry and for interpreting science for the public. For example, he was the first non-American to win the American Chemical Societyâs Grady-Stack Award for demystifying chemistry, and he was awarded the âMontreal Medalâ, which is the Canadian Chemical Instituteâs premier recognition of lifetime contributions to chemistry in Canada. Joe has hosted a radio show on science for forty years, has appeared hundreds of times on television, writes a regular newspaper column, and is the author of eighteen best-selling books.0 comments0
- Episode 43. Number Theory: Bryden CaisThe history of mathematics extends back millennia. The needs of trade, taxation, and time-keeping drove the development of principles of arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, which had already acquired some sophistication by 5,000 years ago. Perhaps most fundamental to the development of mathematics has been discoveries on the nature of numbers themselves, or what mathematicians refer to as Number Theory. Todayâs topic is the history and development of Number Theory, viewed through the lens of numbers and number systems. Our guide to Number Theory is Bryden Cais, professor of mathematics at the University of Arizona and the Director of the Southwest Center for Arithmetic Geometry. Bryden completed a BA in mathematics at Harvard University in 2002 and a PhD also in mathematics at the University of Michigan in 2007. He was a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University, a visiting scholar at UniversitĂ€t Bielefeld, and a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison before joining the faculty at the University of Arizona in 2011. We explore the nature and history of different number systems, highlight the obstacles that mathematicians and civilizations faced with new concepts of number, and touch on some unsolved problems in modern number theory. A study guide for this episode is available in PDF form HERE, or as LaTeX HERE.0 comments0
- Episode 42. Euclidâs Elements: David AchesonThe most important book in the history of mathematics is Euclidâs Elements. The book â really 13 short books bound together into a single treatise â dates to approximately 300 BC, and is credited to the Greek mathematician Euclid of Alexandria. It is apparently a compendium and expansion of the work of previous Greek mathematicians, such as Pythagoras, Hippocrates of Chios, and Eudoxus of Cnidus. The Elements is the oldest surviving logical treatment of mathematics as a discipline, and its theorems and constructions are central to the history of scientific discovery and logic. It is likely that only the Bible has been issued in more editions than the Elements since the invention of the printing press. With us to discuss the Elements, and its importance to the development of geometry, is David Acheson. David completed his bachelorâs degree in math and physics at Kings College, London, in 1967, and his Ph.D. in math at the University of East Anglia in 1971. He then held a variety of academic positions and became a Fellow in Mathematics at Jesus College, Oxford in 1977. In addition to his academic and textbook writing, David has written about mathematics for the public, including his books From Calculus to Chaos, published in 1997, 1089 and All That, published in 2002, The Calculus Story, published in 2017, and The Wonder Book of Geometry, published 2020, all by Oxford University Press.0 comments0
- Episode 41. Galileoâs Dialogue: John HeilbronGalileo occupies an inflection point in the history of science and society. Born in 1564, Galileo changed the trajectory of science though his work in astronomy, physics and related fields. He invented various clever devices, and he used the telescope to push the boundaries of knowledge about our solar system and Earthâs place in it. Galileoâs discoveries, and the manner in which he presented them in his 1632 book Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, hurled his fate into the judgements of the Roman Inquisition. Galileo recanted after he was found âvehemently suspect of heresyâ. The inquisitors sentenced Galileo with the unusual punishment of house arrest, where he remained until his death in 1642. The Dialogue represented much more than a book on Copernican heliocentrism â that is, that the Earth rotates daily and revolves around the sun. The Dialogue also became a cudgel in the European conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, and the fate of the book in the midst of the Inquisition placed Galileoâs lot in a precarious position. Did Galileo give a copy of the book to its Latin translator, which facilitated its distribution throughout Europe? Was Galileoâs recanting of heliocentrism genuine, or did he continue to spread heretical views while under house arrest? How did Galileo run afoul of a Pope who had previously supported his work? The questions surrounding the Dialogue live on, and with us to decipher the controversy is John Heilbron. John received AB and MA degrees in physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1955 and 1958, respectively. He completed his Ph.D. in history, also at Berkeley, in 1964. He then taught at the University of Pennsylvania before returning to Berkeley in 1967, where he worked his way through the ranks of academia to a full professorship and director of the Office for History of Science and Technology in 1973. He served as Berkeleyâs Vice Chancellor in the early 1990s, and since then has been active as a professor emeritus. Since 1996, John has also conducted research at the University of Oxford, and since 2012 at the California Institute of Technology. John is a member of the International Academy of the History of Science, for which he served as president from 2001-2005. He is also a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and The American Philosophical Society. He is the recipient of many awards for his scholarship on the history of science. John has written numerous books, and today we discuss his latest, a beautifully written book entitled, The Ghost of Galileo in a Forgotten Painting from the English Civil War, published in 2021 by Oxford University Press.0 comments0
- Episode 40. H.M.S. Challenger: Doug MacdougallThe creation of a new discipline based upon a single scientific expedition is a rare occurrence, but this is what resulted from the 1872-1876 expedition of H.M.S. Challenger. With us to explain the history and significance of the Challenger Expedition is Doug Macdougall. Doug is a geochemist who received a BS in geology from the University of Toronto, an MS in geology from McMaster University, and a PhD in Earth Sciences from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. After a two-year postdoc in physics at the University of California, Berkeley, Doug returned to Scripps to serve on the faculty. He is now an emeritus professor of Earth Sciences. Doug is a fellow of the Meteoritical Society and the American Geophysical Union. Today we discuss his book Endless Novelties of Extraordinary Interest â The Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger and the Birth of Modern Oceanography, published by Yale University Press.0 comments0
- Episode 39. Reproductive Health: Shanna SwanIn the early 1990s, scientists discovered that sperm counts in industrialized countries had declined precipitously over the previous half century. It turns out that the incidence of other reproductive health problems beyond male infertility also increased in the latter part of the 20th century and into the 21st century. With us to discuss human reproductive health, and how it has changed in part due to exposure to pollutants, is Shanna Swan. Shanna received her BS in mathematics at the City College of New York, her MS in biostatistics at Columbia University, and her PhD in statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. She specializes in Environmental and Reproductive Epidemiology, and is a Professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. Shanna investigates how prenatal and early childhood exposure to stressors, including chemicals commonly found in the environment, impact the reproductive health and development of children. Today we discuss her new book published by Scribner & Sons â the book is called Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Health, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race.0 comments0
- Episode 38. Falsifiability: Sean CarrollThe boundaries of science are clear, and can be demarcated by the concept of falsifiability. Or so we learn in our science classes. But with some areas of science, falsifiability is not the critical feature, and may be impossible on theoretical or empirical grounds. Worrying about falsifiability might even get in the way of interesting ideas. With us to discuss the history of problems in science and falsifiability is Sean Carroll, a leading physicist and science communicator. Sean received a BS in astronomy and astrophysics from Villanova University in 1988, and a PhD in astronomy from Harvard University in 1993. He is a research professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology and an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. His research interests include cosmology, astrophysics, and general relativity. Sean regularly appears in the media to discuss science, and he is the host of the podcast Mindscape. He is also the author of popular science books, including From Eternity to Here, The Particle at the End of the Universe, Something Deeply Hidden, and The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself. In this conversation we discuss the concepts of an afterlife, black holes and entropy, time travel, the multiverse, and hierarchy theory, all in the context of what is science, how we should judge science, and the importance, or not, of falsifiability.0 comments0
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