• The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

  • By: Sam Kean
  • Podcast
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (8 ratings)

The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

By: Sam Kean
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  • Summary

  • A topsy-turvy science-y history podcast by Sam Kean. I examine overlooked stories from our past: the dental superiority of hunter-gatherers, the crooked Nazis who saved thousands of American lives, the American immigrants who developed the most successful cancer screening tool in history, the sex lives of dinosaurs, and much, much more. These are charming little tales that never made the history books, but these small moments can be surprisingly powerful. These are the cases where history gets inverted, where the footnote becomes the real story.
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Episodes
  • Machiavellian Microbes

    Machiavellian Microbes
    Nov 19 2024

    Parasites can force animals to do nefarious things by manipulating their minds—including, uncomfortably, the minds of human beings.



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    19 mins
  • The Woman Who “Turned Back a Plague of Old Testament Proportions”

    The Woman Who “Turned Back a Plague of Old Testament Proportions”
    Nov 12 2024

    In refusing to approve the drug thalidomide, FDA scientist Frances Oldham Kelsey spared thousands of babies from deadly birth defects and revolutionized drug research. But was her legacy all good?



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    19 mins
  • The Doom Lurking inside Trees

    The Doom Lurking inside Trees
    Nov 4 2024

    Japanese physicist Fusa Miyake has sparked a revolution in archaeology by studying radioactive tree rings—work that also terrifies astronomers, who fear it foretells doom for our civilization.



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    18 mins

What listeners say about The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

Average customer ratings
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Anonymous User

it's interesting. so many ads

Stories are interesting to listen to. short and well read.

Each short episode has an ad in the middle, ad for his other books and his patreon, and an ad at the end for the science and history institute, all of which are said to be necessary in making the podcast happen. I'd rather pay.
There are few weak episodes such as the cancer episode with wild speculation that is outright not how cancer research works.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Federico

great stories.. commercials are annoying

love the stories.. commercials are extremely annoying. the podcast itself is very well done and much entertaining

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for wildfirebeads

Things that make you go hmmm 🤔

Interesting topics along with excellent narration/presentation. I am enjoying these stories very much. Definitely recommend.

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