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The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

Sam Kean
Latest episode

143 episodes

  • The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

    A Murder at Stanford

    10/11/2026 | 19 mins.
    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/1426223862
  • The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

    The Eerily Calm Deaths Aboard a Submarine

    03/11/2026 | 18 mins.
    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/1426223862
  • The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

    The Herd Reich

    27/10/2026 | 19 mins.
    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/1426223862
  • The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

    Lassoing Giraffes and Wrasslin’ Rhinos

    20/10/2026 | 18 mins.
    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/1426223862
  • The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

    The Birds and the Bees and the Astronauts

    13/10/2026 | 17 mins.
    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/1426223862
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About The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean
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.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-disappearing-spoon-a-science-history-podcast-with-sam-kean--7430574/support.
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