Distillations podcast

Deep Dives into Science Stories, Both Serious and Eccentric

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.

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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. Don’t miss the new season, dropping June 4, 2024.

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

For decades, nearly all race science was funded by one man. His goal? To ensure the intellectual continuity of a dubious field.

Collage illustration showing portrait of Richard Allen, a mosquito, and image of yellow fever virus
Health & Medicine

Calamity in Philadelphia

When yellow fever struck the city in 1793, faulty race logic almost destroyed it.

Collage illustration showing clip of Systema Naturae by Carl Linnaeus, botanical illustration, crop of a cave.
Arts & Culture

Origin Stories

The surprising scientific and religious origins of the myth of race.

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.

Photograph of Colin Dickey.
Arts & Culture

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.

Lithograph after a daguerreotype of Margaret, Catherine, and Leah Fox, three spiritualists in the mid 19th-century.
Arts & Culture

Ghost Hunting in the 19th Century

Though science and investigations of the paranormal might seem incompatible, they were intertwined for a long time.

Illustration of the female vampire "Carmilla" hovering over a woman lying in bed.
Health & Medicine

Vampire Panic

When an invisible threat plagued rural 19th-century New England, the evidence pointed to the supernatural.

Photograph of Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel.
Inventions & Discoveries

Interview with Stéphane Bancel

The Moderna CEO reflects on the incredibly fast development of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Photograph of Wendy Zukerman standing on a stage, wearing a t-shirt that says "Science isn't here to make you feel better."
People & Politics

Predicting the Pandemic

An interview with Wendy Zukerman, host of Science Vs podcast.

Black and white photograph of nurse Linda Ruggiero wearing a face mask, standing outside on a bridge.
Health & Medicine

COVID’s Hidden Toll on Nurses

“I just feel broken.”

Black and white photograph of nurse Sara Cohen in full PPE.
People & Politics

Between Us and Catastrophe

Stories from the pandemic’s essential workers.