Distillations podcast
The Mothers of Gynecology
Why are Black women in America three times more likely to die during childbirth than White ones?
Distillations is the Science History Institute’s critically acclaimed flagship podcast. We take deep dives into stories that range from the serious to the eccentric, all to help listeners better understand our world. Hear about everything from the crisis in Alzheimer’s research to New England’s 19th-century vampire panic in compelling, sometimes-funny, documentary-style audio stories.
Exploring ‘Health Equity Tourism’
With a new public interest in health equity research, who is actually receiving recognition and funding in the field?
Correcting Race
A group of medical students wants to take racial bias out of the equation.
‘That Rotten Spot’
When the plague struck San Francisco in 1900, public health officials blamed Chinatown, as if the disease itself had a racial component.
Black Pills
If there’s no such thing as biological race, why would the FDA approve a drug just for Black patients?
Bad Blood, Bad Science
The word “Tuskegee” has become shorthand for the Black community’s mistrust of the medical establishment. But what really happened?
The African Burial Ground
A seminal archaeology project proves it is possible to study human remains ethically.
Return, Rebury, Repatriate
Anthropological museums were built on the bodies of marginalized, non-consenting people. Can they ever exist ethically?
The ‘Vampire Project’
The population geneticists who led the Human Genome Diversity Project wanted to “hammer the final nail in the coffin of race,” but instead they wound up reaffirming it.
Keepers of the Flame
For decades, nearly all race science was funded by one man. His goal? To ensure the intellectual continuity of a dubious field.
Calamity in Philadelphia
When yellow fever struck the city in 1793, faulty race logic almost destroyed it.
Origin Stories
The surprising scientific and religious origins of the myth of race.
Mechanochemistry
Crushing, smashing, and grinding for the sake of greener science.
What Causes Alzheimer’s?
Vox’s ‘Unexplainable’ podcast interviews ‘Distillations’ about how Alzheimer’s research has stubbornly focused on a single theory for decades.
What the All Souls Trilogy Teaches Us about Alchemy, Family, and Knowledge Hierarchy
‘Distillations’ talks to four science fantasy experts about the Deborah Harkness book series.
Chasing Immortality
Since humans have been living—and inevitably dying—we’ve also been trying to figure out how not to die. Or at least how to keep the party going a little longer.
Interview with Jeremiah McCall
This bonus episode explores how a grade school history teacher from Cincinnati uses video games in the classroom.
Learning History with Video Games
Are historical video games an important tool for learning or do they corrupt our collective understanding of the past?
Ladies Talking to Ladies about Ladies (in Science)
The ‘Lady Science’ magazine editors talk about their new book ‘Forces of Nature: The Women Who Changed Science.’