Using stories from science’s past to understand our world
Dive into the world of nixtamalization and discover the ancient chemical practices behind your taco.
When you bite into a taco, you are tasting the results of an ancient chemical process called nixtamalization. It’s a technique that hasn't changed much since 1500 BCE, and along the way it helped the Aztecs rise to power and made tortillas softer, tastier, and much more nutritious.
This week we bring you some of our favorite segments from past Distillations episodes.
An interview with Sam Kean about his book The Violinist’s Thumb.
From antiquity to the present, lead has taken on many roles—from artificial sweetener, to paint ingredient, to modern health scourge.
The pirate-turned-naturalist-turned-pirate-again inspired generations of British writers and scientists.
Biologist John Calhoun’s rodent experiments gripped a society consumed by fears of overpopulation.
