Dynamite: The Controlled Explosion | S28-E1
In 1846, an Italian chemist discovered the volatile compound nitroglycerine, the first major breakthrough in creating man-made explosions since the invention of gunpowder a thousand years earlier. But...
2 Apr 202034min
Fighting Coronavirus: Bruce Gellin On How COVID-19 Could Change Vaccine Development | S27-E1
As the first in a series on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Steven Johnson speaks with Dr. Bruce Gellin, president of Global Immunization at the Sabin Vaccine Institute in Washington D.C.. Dr. Gellin ...
26 Mar 202025min
Organ Transplant: The Kidney Twins | S26-E1
A century ago, organ transplants were the stuff of science fiction. But a handful of experimental surgeons believed that transplants were not just possible – they had the potential to save thousands o...
5 Mar 202042min
Valium: Miltown Magic | S25-E1
Anxiety. It’s something everyone experiences at some point in their lives, but for centuries doctors had no effective way to treat it. They could send patients on rest cures, order them to do nothing ...
6 Feb 202039min
Electronic Television: The Picture Radio | S24-E1
The invention of the electronic television was uniquely complicated for its time. So complicated, in fact, that the prevailing narrative is that it couldn’t have been invented by a single person -- le...
16 Jan 202038min
Kodak Roll Film: As Convenient as a Pencil | S23-E1
Today, if we want to take a photo, we unlock our phone, aim, and click. It can be done on a whim, without a second thought. We document everything from new haircuts to latte art, cute cats to baby’s f...
28 Nov 201935min
The Modern Ambulance | S22-E1
Today, if you or someone you know experiences a medical emergency, you dial 9-1-1 and a squad of trained medical professionals arrives at your door. But just 55 years ago, that was not the case.Emerge...
21 Nov 201943min
Electric Chair | War of the Currents | S21-E1
On August 6, 1890, a prisoner named William Kemmler became the first man executed in the electric chair. It was designed to be a more humane form of execution, but the gruesome scene in the death cham...
17 Okt 201944min
