All Episodes
Distillations | Science History Institute — 361 episodes
The History of Clinical Trials: From Fake Exorcisms to Testing Today
Agnes Pockels and the Kitchen Sink Myth
Flemmie Kittrell and the Preschool Experiment
The CRISPR Babies
Humans and Monsters: An Interview with Surekha Davies
IVF: An Interview with Robin Marantz
Gene Therapy's Families
Gene Therapy's Dark Ages
'The Andromeda Strain': An Interview with Luis Campos
The People vs. Recombinant DNA
Science, Interrupted: Part 2
Science, Interrupted: Part 1
New Season Trailer! Coming August 5th.
The History of the School Lunch
ALS Patients Take on the FDA
The Fraud that Transformed Psychiatry
Cancer Virus Hunters: An Interview with Gregory J. Morgan
The Ames Test
Is Ozempic Different?
Traffication: An Interview with Paul Donald
Dyes, Drugs, and Psychosis
Pink: An Interview with Dominique Grisard
Can Color Heal Us?
The Word for Blue
New Season Trailer! Coming June 4th
Exploring 'Health Equity Tourism'
The Mothers of Gynecology
Correcting Race
"That Rotten Spot"
Black Pills
Bad Blood, Bad Science
The African Burial Ground
Return, Rebury, Repatriate
The Vampire Project
Keepers of the Flame
Calamity in Philadelphia
BONUS EPISODE: Cheddar Man
Origin Stories
New Season Trailer! Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race
Mechanochemistry
Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius as Written by Our Genetic Code
The Sinister Angel Singers of Rome
Disappearing Spoon: The Murderous Origins of the American Medical Association
The Big 'What If' of Cancer
Disappearing Spoon: The Harvard Medical School Janitor Who Solved a Murder
Disappearing Spoon: Burn After Watching
History's First Car Crash Victim
Real Life Zombies
How Climate Change Will Remake the Human Body
The 'Mary Poppins' Cancer
Disappearing Spoon: Kangaroo (and Pig and Monkey and Dog and Donkey) Courts
Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science
What Causes Alzheimer's?
What the All Souls Trilogy Teaches Us about Alchemy, Family, and Knowledge Hierarchy
Chasing Immortality
Interview with Jeremiah McCall
Learning History with Video Games
Ladies Talking to Ladies about Ladies (in Science)
Paradise Is Burning
Interview with Colin Dickey
Ghost Hunting in the 19th Century
Vampire Panic
We're Back! Distillations Summer Season Preview
Interview with Stéphane Bancel
The Disappearing Spoon: The Anatomy Riots
When a Hole in the Head is a Good Thing
The Disappearing Spoon: When Mosquitoes Cured Insanity
The Death of the Lord God Bird
Disappearing spoon: Chewing it Over—and Over and Over and Over
The Disappearing Spoon: What's the Longest Word in the English Language?
The Disappearing Spoon: Why Don't We Have a Male Birth Control Pill Yet?
The Disappearing Spoon: Crowdfunding Radium
The Disappearing Spoon: Parking lot or Peking lot?
The Disappearing Spoon: Orphan Vaccines
Tales of Love and Madness from the Periodic Table
Predicting the Pandemic: An interview with Wendy Zukerman, Host of "Science Vs." Podcast
COVID's Hidden Toll on Nurses
Between Us and Catastrophe
Space Junk
Who Owns Outer Space?
The Alchemical Origins of Occupational Medicine
Bonus Episode: Doing Science with an Invisible Disability
Science and Disability Part 2
Bonus Episode: A Short History of Disability in the United States
Science and Disability
Collecting Monstrosity
Preview: New Season Coming August 4th!
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Magda Marquet
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Robert Langer
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Mark Stevenson
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with John Maraganore
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Katrine Bosley
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with William Haseltine
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Susan Weiss
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with Sue Desmond-Hellmann
BONUS EPISODE: Pandemic Perspectives with John C. Martin
BONUS EPISODE: Spit Spreads Death
BONUS EPISODE: The Blooper Reel
Preview: We're moving to seasons!
How Philadelphia's Water Pollution Problems Shaped the City
BONUS EPISODE: Jane Hodgson
Roe v. Wade v. Rubella
Preview: Roe v. Wade v. Rubella
Promo: LIVE Halloween show!
The Alzheimer's Copernicus Problem, Part 1
The Alzheimer's Copernicus Problem, Part 2
Preview: The Alzheimer's Copernicus Problem
Science on TV
Preview: Fall 2019
Rare Earths: The Hidden Cost to Their Magic, Part 2
Rare Earths: The Hidden Cost to Their Magic, Part 1
Preview: Rare Earths
The Myth of the Cuyahoga River Fire
Preview: The Myth of the Cuyahoga River Fire
High Steaks at the Border
Preview: High Steaks at the Border
Making the Deserts Bloom
Preview: Making The Deserts Bloom
Love, Hate, and Sex from the History of Science
Sex(ism), Drugs, and Migraines
Preview: Happy Holidays from Distillations!
The Mouse That Changed Science: A Tiny Animal With a Big Story
Preview: The Mouse that Changed Science
Treating America's Opioid Addiction Part 3: Searching for Meaning in Kensington
Treating America's Opioid Addiction Part 2: Synanon and the Tunnel Back to the Human Race.
Preview: Treating America's Opioid Addiction, Part 2
Treating America's Opioid Addiction Part 1: The Narcotic Farm and the Promise of Salvation
Preview: We're hard at work on our next season!
Fighting Smog in Los Angeles
Preview: Smog in Los Angeles used to be way worse
Whatever Happened to Acid Rain?
Preview: Whatever Happened to Acid Rain?
Whatever Happened to the Ozone Hole?
The Man, the Myth, the Laser
The Yoga Pant Problem
The Almost Forgotten Story of Katherine Jones, Lady Ranelagh
Sci-Fi Radio Drama: A Cautionary Tale of Technology Run Riot
Butter vs. Margarine: one of America's most bizarre food battles
Grandmothers Matter: Some surprisingly controversial theories of human longevity
Refugee Doctors: Escape is only the first challenge
High-Tech and Amish: Using 21st-century medicine to maintain a 300-year-old way of life.
Political Science: Out of the Lab and into the Streets
Rethinking Ink: Lasers, Tattoo Removal, and Second Chances
Making Senses: How Biohackers Are Using Artificial Perceptions to Enhance Reality
The Smell of Shame: How Deodorant Became Omnipresent in America
Fizzy Water: The Unnatural History of a Carbonated Drink
Second Skin: The Unexpected Origin of the Sports Bra
(Natural) Childbirth
Best of 2016: Insiders vs. Outsiders in Medicine
This Is Not Your Great-Grandfather's Taxidermy
Babes of Science, a Guest Episode
The Ancient Chemistry Inside Your Taco
Power in the Blood: When Religion and Medicine Meet in Your Veins
Do You Need That Kidney? Rethinking the Ethics of Organ Transplants
DDT: The Britney Spears of Chemicals
Is Space the Place? Trying to Save Humanity by Mining Asteroids
Sex and Gender: What We Know and Don't Know
Stealing Industry Secrets: Not as Easy as You Think
Genetic Engineering and Organic Farming: An Unexpected Marriage
Where Have All the FEMA Trailers Gone?
Science and the Supernatural in the 17th Century
Distillations Turns 200
Acts of God, Acts of Men: When We Turn Nature into a Weapon
Old Brains, New Brains: The Human Mind, Past and Present
Fads and Faith: Belief vs. Fact in the Struggle for Health
Innovation and Obsolescence: The Life, Death, and Occasional Rebirth of Technologies
Trash Talk: The Persistence of Waste
Life with HIV: Success without a Cure?
Babies on Demand: Reproduction in a Technological Age
Fogs of War: The Many Lives of Chemical Weapons
Wake up and Smell the Story: Sniffing out Health and Sickness
The Teeth Beneath Your Feet: Oddities in Urban Archaeology
Intoxication and Civilization: Beer's Ancient Past
Alchemy's Rainbow: Pigment Science and the Art of Conservation
Meet Joe Palca: A Radio Story About Making Radio Stories
Drawing History: Telling the Stories of Science through Comics and Graphic Novels
Why the Chicken Became a Nugget and Other Tales of Processed Food
Digging Up the Bodies: Debunking CSI and Other Forensics Myths
Zombies! How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Zombie Apocalypse
Atomic Power and Promise: What's Become of Our Nuclear Golden Age?
Episode 181: Chemotherapy
Episode 180: Best of Distillations #12
Episode 179: Best of Distillations #11
Episode 178: In the Air
Episode 177:The Old Show
Episode 176: The Adult Show
Episode 175: The Kid Show
Episode 174: Water Webs
Episode 173: Power Up
Episode 172: On Beauty
Episode 171: Underground Worlds
Episode 170: Urban Agriculture
Episode 169: Neighborhood Preservation
Episode 168: So Argon Walks Into a Bar...
Episode 167: Cold War Chemistry
Episode 166: Alchemy After Dark
Episode 165: In Good Taste
Episode 164: Bones
Episode 163: A Day in the Life - Night
Episode 162: A Day in the Life - Noon
Episode 161: A Day in the Life - Morning
Episode 160: Teflon
Episode 159: Kean on Genes
Episode 158: The Alchemical Quest
Episode 157: Smoke and Mirrors
Episode 156: Hard to Stomach
Episode 155: Shipwrecks
Episode 154: Fast and Slow
Episode 153: Best Of Distillations #10
Episode 152: Best of Distillations #9
Episode 151: Tears
Episode 150: Sweat
Episode 149: Blood
Episode 148: Across the Pond
Episode 147: Babies
Episode 146: Something in the Air
Episode 145: Asbestos
Episode 144: Mystery of Mass (Spec)
Episode 143: Fairyland of Chemistry
Episode 142: Midcentury Mutants
Episode 141: Disaster Recovery
Episode 140: Swapping Spit
Episode 139: The Brain on Sports
Episode 138: Your Genome
Episode 137: Cocktails
Episode 136: Good Vibrations
Episode 135: Black Friday
Episode 134: Is Anybody Out There?
Episode 133: Halloween Candy
Episode 132: Harvest
Episode 131: Dinosaurs
Episode 130: Our Chemical Landscape – The Wild
Episode 129: Taste
Episode 128: Our Chemical Landscape – The Farm
Episode 127: Best of Distillations #8
Episode 126: Best of Distillations #7
Episode 125: Chem-moo-stry
Episode 124: Our Chemical Landscape – The Suburb
Episode 123: Under the Sea
Episode 122: Our Chemical Landscape – The City
Episode 121: Geek Chic
Episode 120: Nuclear Medicine
Episode 119: Climate Change
Episode 118: Placebos
Episode 117: Women's History Month
Episode 116: Crime Fighters
Episode 115: Black History Month
Episode 114: Elements of Expression
Episode 113: Burning Rubber
Episode 112: Nuclear Power
Episode 111: A Distillations Carol
Episode 110: Essential Elements - Air
Episode 109: East Meets West
Episode 108: Essential Elements - Fire
Episode 107: Medical Gross Out
Episode 106: Essential Elements – Water
Episode 105: Periodic Table Contents
Episode 104: Essential Elements – Earth
Episode 103: Herbal Remedy
Episode 102: Best of Distillations #6
Episode 101: Best of Distillations #5
Episode 100: Birthday Episode
Episode 99: Summer BBQ
Episode 98: Climate Engineering
Episode 97: Immortality
Episode 96: Infamous Science
Episode 95: Cleaning Up -- Retro Edition
Episode 94: Scientific Visions
Episode 93: Kids' Science
Episode 92: Scientific Collaborations
Episode 91: Marvels and Ciphers
Episode 90: Useful Waste
Episode 89: Plastic World
Episode 88: A Sense of Scent
Episode 87: Scientific Journeys
Episode 86: In Sickness and in Health
Episode 85: International Year in Review
Episode 84: Crystals
Episode 83: Fellows in Action
Episode 82: Food Myths
Episode 81: Light
Episode 80: Autumn
Episode 79: Changing Phases
Episode 78: Public Science
Episode 77: Innovations and Inventions
Episode 76: Working Class Chemistry
Episode 75: Best of Distillations #4
Episode 74: Best of Distillations #3
Episode 73: Brave New Worlds
Episode 72: Space and Place
Episode 71: Breakfast
Episode 70: The Chemistry of Dentistry
Episode 69: Lab Safety
Episode 68: Integrated Circuits
Episode 67: Baseball
Episode 66: Cleaning Green
Episode 65: Going to the Dogs
Episode 64: sLowlife
Episode 63: Biofuel
Episode 62: Chemical Romance
Episode 61: Space Science
Episode 60: Professional Networks
Episode 59: Winter Sports
Episode 58: Presidents & Policy
Episode 57: Library & Information Services
Episode 56: New Year's Resolutions
Episode 55: Anniversary
Episode 54: Holiday Greetings 2008
Episode 53: Faking It
Episode 52: Wine
Episode 51: Global Health
Episode 50: Children's Health
Episode 49: Eating
Episode 48: Alchemy
Episode 47: Making Up
Episode 46: Charging Up
Episode 45: Making Modernity
Episode 44: Sweet Dreams
Episode 43: Cause and Effect
Episode 42: Women in Chemistry
Episode 41: Self-Experimentation
Episode 40: Agriculture
Episode 39: Photography
Episode 38: Best of Distillations #2
Episode 37: Best of Distillations #1
Episode 36: Olympics
Episode 35: Things We Wear
Episode 34: Criminal Chemistry
Episode 33: Molecular Gastronomy
Episode 32: Religious Experience
Episode 31: Motherhood
Episode 30: American Chemistry
Episode 29: Left Behind
Episode 28: Summer
Episode 27: Illumination
Episode 26: Performance
Episode 25: The Chemistry of Time
Episode 24: Beer and Brewing
Episode 23: Preservation
Episode 22: Virtual Classrooms
Episode 21: Sound
Episode 20: Spring Cleaning
Episode 19: Jamestown
Episode 18: Beyond the Chip
Episode 16: Vitamania!
Episode 17: Dual Use
Episode 15: The Art of Science
Episode 14: Blockbuster Science
Episode 13: The Nanoscale
Episode 12: Chemistry as Technology
Episode 11: Wonder Drugs
Episode 10: Color
Episode 9: The Love Show
Episode 8: Chemistry in the Classroom
Episode 7: Electronics
Episode 6: The Chemistry of Texts
Episode 5: The Body Chemical
Episode 4: Measurement
Episode 3: Happy Holidays from CHF!
Episode 2: Cleaning Up
Episode 1: Communicating Chemistry