Distillations podcast
The Mothers of Gynecology
Why are Black women in America three times more likely to die during childbirth than White ones?
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.
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.
Space Junk
Historian of science and Institute fellow Lisa Ruth Rand talks about all the debris floating around in outer space.
Who Owns Outer Space?
When Latin America challenged a new era of colonization.
The Alchemical Origins of Occupational Medicine
From Paracelsus to OSHA.
Bonus Episode: Interview with Gabriela Serrato Marks
The marine geologist and geophysicist talks about doing science with an invisible disability.
Science and Disability: Part 2
What is intelligence?
Bonus Episode: Interview with Kim Nielsen
A short history of disability in the United States.
Science and Disability: Part 1
Is seeing believing?
Collecting Monstrosity
The surprising origins of developmental embryology.
Interview with Magda Marquet
The biochemical engineer and entrepreneur on her hopes for a better postpandemic society.
Interview with Robert Langer
The MIT chemical engineer and entrepreneur talks about Moderna Therapeutics, a company he helped start, and his work developing a way for vaccines to self-boost in the body.