The Disappearing Spoon podcast
People & Politics
Science in a world of rules, regulations, and conflict
The Scopes Monkey Trial Publicity Stunt
The story of teacher John Scopes violating the law by teaching evolution is well known. But is it true?
The Great Balloon Escape
When Prussia and France went to war in 1870, only one man was given passage out of Paris—in the name of science.
Trickster, Birder, Soldier, Spy: Part 2
The forest owlet was declared extinct in 1972, but after Richard Meinertzhagen’s vast fraud was exposed, ornithologists wondered if they got it wrong.
Trickster, Birder, Soldier, Spy: Part 1
What does the inspiration for the character of James Bond have to do with a bird specimen scandal?
Renaming the ‘Hitler Beetle’
Changing the name of the Anophthalmus hitleri seems like an easy call, but taxonomists have resisted for complicated reasons.
John James ‘Fraudubon’: Part 2
The Bird of Washington catapulted John Audubon into fame and fortune. The only problem? It was a complete fraud.
John James ‘Fraudubon’: Part 1
The discovery of the Bird of Washington made John James Audubon into the most famous naturalist in American history.
The Dignity of the Ig Nobels
Winning an Ig Nobel Prize is largely considered a joke, but its benefits are no laughing matter.
The Nobel Disease
Winning a Nobel Prize is considered the pinnacle of scientific achievement. So why have so many past winners turned to pseudoscience?
When Science Is Used for Evil
Nazism was a society-wide catastrophe, so why did so many people in technical fields in Germany embrace it?
Darwin’s Self-Proclaimed ‘Stupidest’ Child
Charles Darwin’s work was misused by social Darwinists to justify inequality—work that received significant support from a surprising source: his own son.
The Battle Over the Cause of Down Syndrome
A breakthrough proved that people with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome; it also led to a battle with a would-be saint that raises questions about how scientists determine who gets credit.
The Art of Counting Chromosomes
How did the simple act of counting human chromosomes become a saga that destroyed a friendship and started a battle over the cause of Down syndrome?
Why Keep a Diary of a Toxic Snakebite?
After 40 years of studying snakes, Karl Schmidt suffered his first bite. And when he did, he kept a gruesome diary to document the danger—right to the edge of death.
The Woman Who ‘Turned Back a Plague of Old Testament Proportions’
FDA scientist Frances Oldham Kelsey spared thousands of babies from deadly birth defects and revolutionized drug research. But was her legacy all good? It’s a complicated story.
Savant Idiots
In the early 1800s, the first Egyptian mummies in Europe served as a crucial test for evolution—a test that, according to people then, evolution flunked.
The Sadder Side of the Nobel Prizes
How did a scientist who developed a Nobel Prize–worthy idea end up driving a shuttle van for a living and miss the award completely?
The Scientific Way to Fool a Nazi
Physicist György Hevesy had a talent for tricks and stunts—including one that prevented Nazi storm troopers from stealing a Nobel Prize.