The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean
- Episodes
- 143
- Released
- weekly
- Latest episode
- Nov 10, 2026
About the podcast
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 143
A Murder at Stanford
Why was Stanford University’s first president so eager to prove that no one had murdered one of its founders—despite iron-clad evidence to the contrary? Become a supporter of this podcast …
Show notes
Why was Stanford University’s first president so eager to prove that no one had murdered one of its founders—despite iron-clad evidence to the contrary?
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-disappearing-spoon-a-science-history-podcast-with-sam-kean--7430574/support.
Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Eerily Calm Deaths Aboard a Submarine
When scientists recovered one of the first submarines in history, from the U.S. Civil War, they were stunned at the state of the bodies inside. There were no signs of panic or distress. So how did the sailors …
Show notes
When scientists recovered one of the first submarines in history, from the U.S. Civil War, they were stunned at the state of the bodies inside. There were no signs of panic or distress. So how did the sailors on the Hunley really die?
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-disappearing-spoon-a-science-history-podcast-with-sam-kean--7430574/support.
Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Herd Reich
In the 1930s, German scientists tried reviving extinct beasts for the Nazis—using sophisticated science that has uncomfortable echoes in certain conservation efforts today.Become a supporter of this podcast …
Show notes
In the 1930s, German scientists tried reviving extinct beasts for the Nazis—using sophisticated science that has uncomfortable echoes in certain conservation efforts today.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-disappearing-spoon-a-science-history-podcast-with-sam-kean--7430574/support.
Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Lassoing Giraffes and Wrasslin’ Rhinos
Lassoing giraffes? 🦒 Wrasslin’ Rhinos?! 🦏 When new animals were needed for the Berlin Zoo, its keeper went Wild West on them. His exploits were as wild as the Serengeti itself. (Part 1 of 2.)Become a supporter …
Show notes
Lassoing giraffes? 🦒 Wrasslin’ Rhinos?! 🦏 When new animals were needed for the Berlin Zoo, its keeper went Wild West on them. His exploits were as wild as the Serengeti itself. (Part 1 of 2.)
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-disappearing-spoon-a-science-history-podcast-with-sam-kean--7430574/support.
Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Birds and the Bees and the Astronauts
Birds do it. 🦉 Bees do it. 🐝 But do astronauts a thousand miles above the trees do it? 🚀👩🚀 Maybe! Everything you need to know about sex in space.Become a supporter of this podcast …
Show notes
Birds do it. 🦉 Bees do it. 🐝 But do astronauts a thousand miles above the trees do it? 🚀👩🚀 Maybe! Everything you need to know about sex in space.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-disappearing-spoon-a-science-history-podcast-with-sam-kean--7430574/support.
Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Museum of Lost Things
An audio excerpt from my new book, The Museum of Long Things. Available now!Our Sponsors:* Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.ioAdvertising Inquiries …
Show notes
An audio excerpt from my new book, The Museum of Long Things. Available now!
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862NASA’s Unmentionable(s) Adventure
In the 1960s, NASA needed a better spacesuit. So they turned to the one firm on earth capable of meeting their strict standards—the Playtex underwear company. Episode below!Our Sponsors:* Check out ElevenReader …
Show notes
In the 1960s, NASA needed a better spacesuit. So they turned to the one firm on earth capable of meeting their strict standards—the Playtex underwear company. Episode below!
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Pioneers and Vestiges of Evolution
His book on evolution rocked 1800s England. Not Charles Darwin. Robert Chambers, whose infamous tome both horrified Darwin, yet paved the way for him.Our Sponsors:* Check out ElevenReader and use my code …
Show notes
His book on evolution rocked 1800s England. Not Charles Darwin. Robert Chambers, whose infamous tome both horrified Darwin, yet paved the way for him.
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Angel of the Concentration Camp
Nurse Laura Cobb saved more lives than Clara Barton or Florence Nightingale, and under far worse conditions—in a brutal World War II concentration camp. So why did the world forget her?Our Sponsors:* Check out …
Show notes
Nurse Laura Cobb saved more lives than Clara Barton or Florence Nightingale, and under far worse conditions—in a brutal World War II concentration camp. So why did the world forget her?
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Battery Dope
In the 1950s, scientists hated politics. Then one Allen Astin got fired. After that, scientists knew they had to play politics—or face professional annihilation.Our Sponsors:* Check out ElevenReader and use my …
Show notes
In the 1950s, scientists hated politics. Then one Allen Astin got fired. After that, scientists knew they had to play politics—or face professional annihilation.
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Making of the “Flat Earth” Myth
No one in Columbus’s time believed the world was flat. So why did so many children learn this bogus “fact” in school? It all goes back to Rip van Winkle...Our Sponsors:* Check out ElevenReader and use my code …
Show notes
No one in Columbus’s time believed the world was flat. So why did so many children learn this bogus “fact” in school? It all goes back to Rip van Winkle...
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Forensic Pseudoscience
When the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, the two most scientific detectives in the world took on the case. But they overlooked the real enemy—their own petty prejudice.Our Sponsors:* Check out …
Show notes
When the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, the two most scientific detectives in the world took on the case. But they overlooked the real enemy—their own petty prejudice.
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Manhattan Project Propaganda
The Smyth Report is the strangest book ever written on atomic bombs—as well as highly effective science propaganda, warping our view of everything from the Manhattan Project to Robert Oppenheimer. Our …
Show notes
The Smyth Report is the strangest book ever written on atomic bombs—as well as highly effective science propaganda, warping our view of everything from the Manhattan Project to Robert Oppenheimer.
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Back-Breaking Science
When a British sub sank with all hands, JBS Haldane volunteered to investigate by experimenting on himself—even if it meant losing his own life in the process. (Part 2 of 2.)Our Sponsors:* Check out …
Show notes
When a British sub sank with all hands, JBS Haldane volunteered to investigate by experimenting on himself—even if it meant losing his own life in the process. (Part 2 of 2.)
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Canaries in the Submarine
There’s only one thing Dr. John Haldane loved more than running dangerous experiments on himself—running them on his son Jack. But the duo would revolutionize our understanding of the human body.Our Sponsors:* …
Show notes
There’s only one thing Dr. John Haldane loved more than running dangerous experiments on himself—running them on his son Jack. But the duo would revolutionize our understanding of the human body.
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Charles Lindbergh, Lab Rat
When Charles Lindbergh's sister-in-law developed heart trouble, he teamed up with a Nobel-Prize-winning doctor to save her. He had no idea the dark paths his work would lead him down, including Nazi politics …
Show notes
When Charles Lindbergh's sister-in-law developed heart trouble, he teamed up with a Nobel-Prize-winning doctor to save her. He had no idea the dark paths his work would lead him down, including Nazi politics and eugenics...
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Publicity Stunt that Sparked the Scopes Monkey Trial
Exactly a century ago, teacher John Scopes was charged with the “crime” of teaching evolution. But Scopes was hardly a defiant Galileo, nobly standing up for truth. In fact, he never even taught evolution …
Show notes
Exactly a century ago, teacher John Scopes was charged with the “crime” of teaching evolution. But Scopes was hardly a defiant Galileo, nobly standing up for truth. In fact, he never even taught evolution. (Really.) But despite the unseemly origins of the Monkey Trial, Scopes proved himself a genuine hero...
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Great Balloon Escape
Astronomer Jules Janssen was desperate to escape the siege of Paris in 1870 and observe an eclipse in Africa—work that he hoped would confirm his discovery of a brand new element in the Sun, helium. So he …
Show notes
Astronomer Jules Janssen was desperate to escape the siege of Paris in 1870 and observe an eclipse in Africa—work that he hoped would confirm his discovery of a brand new element in the Sun, helium. So he devised a plan to escape the city in a hot-air balloon, despite promises by the German army to shoot him as a spy if he dared try...
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Corny, Cringy, Very Bad Television Show that Just Might Save Your Life
In the 1970s, paramedic units were illegal in the United States. One (very bad) television show, Emergency!, set out to change that—and saved tens of thousands of lives in the process.Our Sponsors:* Check out …
Show notes
In the 1970s, paramedic units were illegal in the United States. One (very bad) television show, Emergency!, set out to change that—and saved tens of thousands of lives in the process.
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Bringing an Extinct Owl Back to Life
The work of Richard Meinertzhagen helped convince biologists that the Forest Owlet of India had gone extinct. But after Meinertzhagen’s frauds were exposed, one biologist grew obsessed with finding out whether …
Show notes
The work of Richard Meinertzhagen helped convince biologists that the Forest Owlet of India had gone extinct. But after Meinertzhagen’s frauds were exposed, one biologist grew obsessed with finding out whether it just might be alive still. (Part 2 of 2)
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Trickster, Birder, Soldier, Spy
He was a brilliant ornithologist—and a spy so colorful that James Bond was based on him. Richard Meinertzhagen was also a liar and a thief, and perpetrated the biggest fraud in biology history. Episode …
Show notes
He was a brilliant ornithologist—and a spy so colorful that James Bond was based on him. Richard Meinertzhagen was also a liar and a thief, and perpetrated the biggest fraud in biology history. Episode below!
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Why Not Just Rename the “Hitler Beetle”?
Taxonomy has a sadly ugly history of naming species after despicable people—even Adolf Hitler. Given the controversy these names generate, there have been many calls to drop them. But taxonomists have so far …
Show notes
Taxonomy has a sadly ugly history of naming species after despicable people—even Adolf Hitler. Given the controversy these names generate, there have been many calls to drop them. But taxonomists have so far resisted most of these efforts, for reasons both good and bad...
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862John James Fraudubon
The eagle that made John James Audubon famous, the Bird of Washington was nothing but an elaborate lie. Fawning biographers have suppressed this fact for years, but careful historical work has unraveled the …
Show notes
The eagle that made John James Audubon famous, the Bird of Washington was nothing but an elaborate lie. Fawning biographers have suppressed this fact for years, but careful historical work has unraveled the Audubon legend, and shown that much of his life, and work, was built on deceit. (Part 2 of 2)
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Bird that Made John James Audubon a Legend
After several heartbreaking setbacks, John James Audubon’s career was in ruins—until he hatched a desperate plan to win new patrons. It involved a rare American eagle, the Bird of Washington. And when the …
Show notes
After several heartbreaking setbacks, John James Audubon’s career was in ruins—until he hatched a desperate plan to win new patrons. It involved a rare American eagle, the Bird of Washington. And when the gamble paid off, it made Audubon the most famous ornithologist in history...
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Dignity of the Ig Nobel Prizes
The Ig Nobel Prize is the bizarro cousin of the Nobel Prize—awarded for odd or unusual research “that first makes you laugh, then makes you think.” Some scientists hate them, and have refused to accept the …
Show notes
The Ig Nobel Prize is the bizarro cousin of the Nobel Prize—awarded for odd or unusual research “that first makes you laugh, then makes you think.” Some scientists hate them, and have refused to accept the award. But they’ve grown into a beloved institution—and one with some surprising benefits to science.
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862The Nobel Disease
Winning a Nobel Prize is a good thing—mostly. But surprisingly often, Nobel laureates go kooky and start promoting bizarre things like homeopathy, ESP, AIDS denialism, and worse. Psychologists are starting to …
Show notes
Winning a Nobel Prize is a good thing—mostly. But surprisingly often, Nobel laureates go kooky and start promoting bizarre things like homeopathy, ESP, AIDS denialism, and worse. Psychologists are starting to understand why...
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Dinner with King Tut audiobook preview
A preview of my brand new book, Dinner with King Tut!Our Sponsors:* Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.ioAdvertising Inquiries …
Show notes
A preview of my brand new book, Dinner with King Tut!
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Why Doctors and Scientists Embraced the Nazis
Nazism was a society-wide catastrophe for Germany, but some professions deserve more blame than others. In particular, there was a surprisingly large percentage of doctors and engineers among the Nazis …
Show notes
Nazism was a society-wide catastrophe for Germany, but some professions deserve more blame than others. In particular, there was a surprisingly large percentage of doctors and engineers among the Nazis. Sociologists and historians have now worked out why.
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Hotter than the Dickens
When Charles Dickens published Bleak House in 1852, he included a scene where one character spontaneously combusts. 🔥 🔥 🔥 Readers loved it, but one of Dickens’s good friends—a former scientist—blasted Dickens …
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When Charles Dickens published Bleak House in 1852, he included a scene where one character spontaneously combusts. 🔥 🔥 🔥 Readers loved it, but one of Dickens’s good friends—a former scientist—blasted Dickens for his scientific ignorance. It ignited one of the strangest controversies in literary history.
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Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862Jake Leg Blues
It was one the largest epidemics in American history: 30,000 people paralyzed over a few months in 1930. A dogged epidemiologist eventually traced the cause to adulterated bottles of an illegal liquor/medicine …
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It was one the largest epidemics in American history: 30,000 people paralyzed over a few months in 1930. A dogged epidemiologist eventually traced the cause to adulterated bottles of an illegal liquor/medicine called “jake.” Yet the epidemic is almost completely forgotten. About the only place it survived was in blues songs...
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Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
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Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-disappearing-spoon-a-science-history-podcast-with-sam-kean--7430574/support.
Check out my new book from National Geographic - 'The Museum of Lost Things', about the greatest lost treasures in history!
https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-Things-Treasures-Legendary/dp/1426223862
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