Distillations podcast

Deep Dives into Science Stories, Both Serious and Eccentric

The Mothers of Gynecology

Episode 10 from the ‘Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race’ series.

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‘Distillations’ is the Science History Institute’s critically acclaimed flagship podcast. We take deep dives into stories that range from the serious to the eccentric, all to help listeners better understand our world. Hear about everything from the crisis in Alzheimer’s research to New England’s 19th-century vampire panic in compelling, sometimes-funny, documentary-style audio stories.
graphic showing a person in a mask and a scientific instrument
Health & Medicine

Correcting Race

Episode 9 from the ‘Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race’ series.
Graphic of Golden Gate Bridge and Asian market
Health & Medicine

‘That Rotten Spot’

Episode 8 from the ‘Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race’ series.
Collage illustration showing pills and historical image of Europeans enslaving Africans.
Health & Medicine

Black Pills

Episode 7 from the Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race series.
Collage showing news clips about Tuskegee syphilis experiment, and photograph of patients.
Health & Medicine

Bad Blood, Bad Science

Episode 6 from the ‘Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race’ series.
Collage illustration showing map of African Burial Ground in Manhattan, human skull illustration, man's face wearing mask, MOVE bombing in West Philadelphia.
People & Politics

The African Burial Ground

Episode 5, Part 2 from the Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race series.
Collage illustration showing map of African Burial Ground in Manhattan, illustration of human skull, man wearing a mask, and a photograph of the MOVE bombing in West Philadelphia
People & Politics

Return, Rebury, Repatriate

Episode 5, Part 1 from the 'Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race' series.
Collage illustration showing news clippings about genetic research and indigenous groups.
Inventions & Discoveries

The Vampire Project

Episode 4 from the ‘Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race’ series.
Collage illustration showing news clipping from Neo-Nazi publication, academic article about race science, and image of Barry Mehler and Philipe Rushton.
People & Politics

Keepers of the Flame

Episode 3 from the ‘Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race’ series.
Collage illustration showing portrait of Richard Allen, a mosquito, and image of yellow fever virus
Health & Medicine

Calamity in Philadelphia

Episode 2 from the ‘Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race’ series.
Collage illustration showing clip of Systema Naturae by Carl Linnaeus, botanical illustration, crop of a cave.
Arts & Culture

Origin Stories

Episode 1 from the ‘Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race’ series.
Environment

Mechanochemistry

Crushing, smashing, and grinding for the sake of greener science.
Vox's Unexplainable podcast logo: the word Unexplainable on a grid of black squares and white lines.
Health & Medicine

What Causes Alzheimer’s?

Vox’s ‘Unexplainable’ podcast interviews ‘Distillations’ about how Alzheimer’s research has stubbornly focused on a single theory for decades.
Image of a woman holding fire in her hands, standing in front of a man.
Arts & Culture

What the All Souls Trilogy Teaches Us about Alchemy, Family, and Knowledge Hierarchy

‘Distillations’ talks to four science fantasy experts about the Deborah Harkness book series.
Painting of Greek goddess Aurora, draped in fabric and holding the reins of a white horse, as she gazes at the mortal Tithonus.
Early Science & Alchemy

Chasing Immortality

Since humans have been living—and inevitably dying—we’ve also been trying to figure out how not to die. Or at least how to keep the party going a little longer.
Three panels illustrating historical figures in a video game.
Arts & Culture

Interview with Jeremiah McCall

This bonus episode explores how a grade school history teacher from Cincinnati uses video games in the classroom.
Illustration from the video game Assassin's Creed
Arts & Culture

Learning History with Video Games

Are historical video games an important tool for learning or do they corrupt our collective understanding of the past?
Arts & Culture

Ladies Talking to Ladies about Ladies (in Science)

The 'Lady Science' magazine editors talk about their new book 'Forces of Nature: The Women Who Changed Science.'
Black and white photograph of a man wearing a tie standing in a forest, surrounded by burnt logs.
Environment

Paradise Is Burning

Our approach to fighting wildfires is a fantasy—and it's making them even more catastrophic.