Distillations podcast
ALS Patients Take on the FDA
Research on the deadly disease progressed dramatically after the 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge, but a huge blow came when the most recent treatment was taken off the market.
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.
Keepers of the Flame
For decades, nearly all race science was funded by one man. His goal? To ensure the intellectual continuity of a dubious field.
Calamity in Philadelphia
When yellow fever struck the city in 1793, faulty race logic almost destroyed it.
Origin Stories
The surprising scientific and religious origins of the myth of race.
Mechanochemistry
Crushing, smashing, and grinding for the sake of greener science.
What Causes Alzheimer’s?
Vox’s ‘Unexplainable’ podcast interviews ‘Distillations’ about how Alzheimer’s research has stubbornly focused on a single theory for decades.
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.
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.
Interview with Jeremiah McCall
This bonus episode explores how a grade school history teacher from Cincinnati uses video games in the classroom.
Learning History with Video Games
Are historical video games an important tool for learning or do they corrupt our collective understanding of the past?
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.’
Paradise Is Burning
Our approach to fighting wildfires is a fantasy—and it’s making them even more catastrophic.
Bonus Episode: Interview with Colin Dickey
The ‘Ghostland’ author talks about the relationship between technology and the paranormal and how the ghost stories we tell reveal a lot about society.
Ghost Hunting in the 19th Century
Though science and investigations of the paranormal might seem incompatible, they were intertwined for a long time.
Vampire Panic
When an invisible threat plagued rural 19th-century New England, the evidence pointed to the supernatural.
Interview with Stéphane Bancel
The Moderna CEO reflects on the incredibly fast development of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Predicting the Pandemic
An interview with Wendy Zukerman, host of Science Vs podcast.
COVID’s Hidden Toll on Nurses
“I just feel broken.”
Between Us and Catastrophe
Stories from the pandemic’s essential workers.