Why Smell is Our Most Overlooked Sense
Notes de l’épisode
Though often thought of as the poor cousin to our other senses, our sense of smell has played a key role in human life since its very beginnings. It helps us to determine whether certain foods are safe to eat, protects us from environmental dangers such as fire, mould and toxic chemicals, and has even been weaponised for use as a form of racial or economic discrimination. Without it, the world would be a vastly different place.
In this episode we’re joined by Dr William Tullett, an historian and author based at the University of York, to talk about his new book, Sniff – A History of Smells.
He tells us how advances in technology over the last several centuries have resulted in significant impacts on the odours that pervade our everyday lives, how many of us would rather give up our sense of smell than our phones, and explains how we can all reconnect with our sense of smell to widen our experience of the world we live in.
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