Sam Kean headshot

Sam Kean

Sam Kean is the New York Times best-selling author of six books, including The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements; The Bastard Brigade: The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb; and The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science.

NPR’s “Science Friday,” the Royal Society, and The Guardian have each named different titles of Kean’s among their top books of the year. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Slate, and his work has been featured on NPR’s “Radiolab,” “All Things Considered,” and “Fresh Air.” His podcast, The Disappearing Spoon, debuted at No. 1 on the science podcasts chart on iTunes and is now hosted by the Science History Institute.

Stories from Sam Kean

The Rotten Science Behind the MSG Scare

How one doctor’s letter and a string of dodgy studies spurred a public health panic.
Large, damaged ancient Egyptian statue

Diagnosing the Dead

Can scrutinizing the ailments of historical figures really teach us anything?

The Tragedy of the World’s First Seed Bank

Soviet geneticist Nikolai Vavilov led an ideologically perilous campaign to rid the world of famine.

William Dampier, Revered and Reviled

The pirate-turned-naturalist-turned-pirate-again inspired generations of British writers and scientists.

Mouse Heaven or Mouse Hell?

Biologist John Calhoun’s rodent experiments gripped a society consumed by fears of overpopulation.

The Toll of the Road

Calculating the automobile’s grisly impact on wildlife.