The Disappearing Spoon podcast
Environment
Our impact on the natural and built worlds
The Seeds of Starvation
A scientific mystery straight out of an Agatha Christie novel.
The World’s Only Natural Nuclear Reactor
French authorities thought uranium had been stolen for rogue atomic bombs. The truth was much more incredible.
The Roadside Apocalypse
We all know how much the automobile changed the world for people. This episode explores how drastically it changed—and harmed—wildlife.
The Scariest Paradise on Earth
Explore the contradictions of Korea’s biggest natural wildlife refuge: the war-ravaged border between the North and South known as the DMZ.
Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and the Irish Giant
Learn how the daring heist of an anatomical wonder forever sullied the reputation of a great scientist.
The Screwiest—and Perhaps Most Original—Idea of the 20th Century
An entomologist from Texas supposedly came up with ‘the single most original idea’ to eradicate screwworms.
The Bird with Four Sexes
Find out what a strange little sparrow can teach us about love, sex, and human biology.
History’s First Car Crash Victim
How a steam-powered automobile in 1869 snuffed out the life of the brilliant naturalist and astronomer Mary Ward.
How Climate Change Will Remake the Human Body
Scientists know how other animals’ bodies will change in warmer climates, but how will human beings respond?
The Death of the Lord God Bird
How greed—and a group of Nazi prisoners—killed off one of the most iconic birds in American history: the ivory-billed woodpecker.