The Disappearing Spoon podcast
When Tenure Means Life and Death
After a tenure dispute, engineer Valery Fabrikant murdered four colleagues. So why is he still allowed to publish scientific papers?
The Disappearing Spoon is Distillations’ sister podcast, hosted by best-selling author Sam Kean. The show examines overlooked stories from our past, such as the dental superiority of hunter-gatherers, the sex lives of dinosaurs, and many more moments that never made the history books. When the footnote becomes the real story, small moments become surprisingly powerful.
The Murderer Who Made Movies Possible
When horses gallop, do all four hooves ever leave the ground at once? This episode recounts the saga that led to the answer.
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.
When the Brain Deceives Itself
Learn what two famous neurological traumas—one involving a U.S. president, the other a Supreme Court justice—can teach us about how our own brains perceive reality.
Stephen Hawking and the Mistake That Made His Career
The third episode in a three-part series on legendary physicists and their dumbest mistakes.
Albert Einstein and the Worst Prediction in the History of Science
Learn about the physicist’s biggest-blunder-turned-greatest success.
How To Be Smarter Than Isaac Newton
Discover why the iconic physicist made an unbelievable error while hunting down criminals, and how you can avoid the same dumb mistake.
Claude Monet and Bee Purple
How cataracts nearly ruined the impressionist painter’s career—and then revived it by giving him an insect-like superpower.
The Unsung Heroes of Darwin’s Evolution
Learn how an obsession with crustaceans guided the naturalist toward his most consequential insights.
Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius as Written by Our Genetic Code
An interview with Sam Kean about his book ‘The Violinist’s Thumb.’
The Sinister Angel Singers of Rome
How a simple operation—castrating little boys—produced the greatest singers the world has ever known.
The Murderous Origins of the American Medical Association
How a bloody gun duel between two doctors in Transylvania sparked a frenzy of outrage—and helped create the American Medical Association.
The Big ‘What If’ of Cancer
How a feisty, suicidal Nobel laureate infuriated both Hitler and Stalin, and stalled cancer research for 50 years along the way.
The Harvard Medical School Janitor Who Solved a Murder
In a building full of dead bodies, how can you tell a murder victim from an unlucky stiff?
Burn After Watching
The world’s first plastic made Hollywood possible—and killed thousands of people along the way.
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.
Real-Life Zombies
What a bizarre psychological disorder can teach us about memory, human nature, and our sense of who we are.