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History of Science
Canadian Studies October 3, 2022

The Psychedelic World of Hollywood Hospital

A Discussion with Erika Dyck

Erika Dyck

Hosted by Greg Marchildon
In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon interviews Erika Dyck on the book she co-authored with Jesse Donaldson on an unusual chapter in Canada’s medical history. Entitled The Acid Room: The …

History of Science

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Interviews with historians of science about their new books.

Literary Studies October 3, 2022

The Trials of Orpheus

Poetry, Science, and the Early Modern Sublime

Jenny C. Mann

Hosted by John Yargo
Today’s guest is Jenny Mann, who has a new book titled The Trials of Orpheus: Poetry, Science, and the Early Modern Sublime (Princeton University Press, 2021). Jenny is Professor in …
Writ Large September 30, 2022

On David Hume's "A Treatise of Human Nature"

A Discussion with Edward Hall

Edward Hall

Hosted by Zachary Davis
In 1739, Scottish philosopher David Hume set out to chart the nature and limits of human knowledge. He published his theories and findings in what would become one of philosophy’s …
Writ Large September 29, 2022

On Einstein's Discoveries

A Discussion with Peter Galison

Peter Galison

Hosted by Zachary Davis
Before Albert Einstein, our understanding of space, time, and gravity hadn’t really shifted from the theories that Sir Isaac Newton developed in the 1700s. But in 1905, Einstein published his …
Indian Religions September 29, 2022

Early Tantric Medicine

Snakebite, Mantras, and Healing in the Garuda Tantras

Michael Slouber

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Michael Slouber's Early Tantric Medicine: Snakebite, Mantras, and Healing in the Garuda Tantras (Oxford UP, 2016) looks at a traditional medical system that flourished over 1,000 years ago in India. The …
Writ Large September 28, 2022

On Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species"

A Discussion with Robert Proctor

Robert Proctor

Hosted by Zachary Davis
Charles Dawin’s 1859 book The Origin of Species introduced his famous theory of evolution. Darwin developed his theories of life and evolution after a historic voyage circumnavigating the globe on …
Anthropology September 27, 2022

Franz Boas

The Emergence of the Anthropologist

Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt

Hosted by Alex Golub
Franz Boas is remembered today as one of the most important figures in the history of anthropology. In the United States, he is widely created with creating the modern field …
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones September 27, 2022

The Future of Brainwashing

A Discussion with Daniel Pick

Daniel Pick

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones
In this podcast Owen Bennett-Jones and psychoanalyst Daniel Pick discuss brainwashing, thought control and group think. In the case of totalitarian political systems, do dissidents prove that brainwashing cannot be …
History of Science September 26, 2022

Gender, Embodiment, and the History of the Scholarly Persona

Incarnations and Contestations

Kirsti Niskanen and Michael J. Barany

Hosted by Victor Monnin
In Gender, Embodiment, and the History of the Scholarly Persona. Incarnations and Contestations (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021), Professors Kirsti Niskanen and Michael J. Barany present a rich collection of essays on …
How to Be Wrong September 14, 2022

History, Space, and Getting Things Wrong

A Conversation with Steven Dick, Retired Chief Historian at NASA

Steven Dick

Hosted by John Traphagan
In today’s episode of How To Be Wrong we welcome Dr. Steven Dick, retired Chief Historian at NASA and one of the leading historians of space exploration. Our conversation ranges …
Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work September 13, 2022

Rape by the Numbers

Producing and Contesting Scientific Knowledge about Sexual Violence

Ethan Czuy Levine

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
Science plays a substantial, though under-acknowledged, role in shaping popular understandings of rape. Statistical figures like “1 in 4 women have experienced completed or attempted rape” are central for raising …
Mathematics September 12, 2022

The New Era in American Mathematics, 1920–1950

Karen Hunger Parshall

Hosted by Marc Goulet
In The New Era in American Mathematics, 1920-1950 (Princeton University Press, 2022) Karen Parshall explores the institutional, financial, social, and political forces that shaped and supported the American Mathematics community …
Asian Review of Books September 8, 2022

Empires of Ideas

Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China

William C. Kirby

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
Earlier this month, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill purportedly meant to revive U.S. dominance in research and development. “We used to rank number …
Writ Large September 8, 2022

On Thomas Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions"

A Discussion with Samuel J. Gershman

Samuel J. Gershman

Hosted by Zachary Davis
In 1962, American philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn was struck by Aristotle’s beliefs about motion. Actually, he thought that those theories didn’t make …
Darts & Letters September 8, 2022

The Twisted Science of Great Replacement Theory

The Intellectual History of Race Science and the Right

Jed Carlson

Hosted by Marc Apollonio
On May 14, 2022, a shooter opened fire in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. Ten people were killed, an additional three injured. The suspect in the Buffalo shooting had …
Medicine September 7, 2022

Model Systems in Biology

History, Philosophy, and Practical Concerns

Georg Striedter

Hosted by Rachel Pagones
Biomedical research using various animal species and in vitro cellular systems has resulted in both major successes and translational failure. In Model Systems in Biology: History, Philosophy, and Practical Concerns …
Writ Large September 5, 2022

On John Maynard Keynes’ "General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money"

A Discussion with Larry Summers

Larry Summers

Hosted by Zachary Davis
John Keynes’ book, General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, was published in England at the tail end of the Great Depression. This text is responsible for a massive shift …
Writ Large September 2, 2022

On "Encyclopédie"

A Discussion with James Engell

James Engell

Hosted by Zachary Davis
One of the earliest modern encyclopedias was printed in France in the 18th century. Unlike many encyclopedias that came before it, this text was written in French instead of Latin …
Medicine August 30, 2022

How the Clinic Made Gender

The Medical History of a Transformative Idea

Sandra Eder

Hosted by Claire Clark
An eye-opening exploration of the medical origins of gender in modern US history. Today, a world without "gender" is hard to imagine. Gender is at the center of contentious political …
Literary Studies August 29, 2022

Early Modern Herbals and the Book Trade

English Stationers and the Commodification of Botany

Sarah Neville

Hosted by John Yargo
Over the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, works of botany underwent a radical change in the English book trade. A genre that was once produced in smaller cheaper …