Forensic Pseudoscience

More from The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean All episodes →

1. 

   S12 · E10 · 9 Jun 2026 · 19 min

   NASA’s Unmentionable(s) Adventure

   In the 1960s, NASA needed a better spacesuit. So they turned to the one firm on earth capable of meeting their strict standards—the Playtex underwear company. Episode below! Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

2. 

   S12 · E9 · 2 Jun 2026 · 18 min

   The Pioneers and Vestiges of Evolution

   His book on evolution rocked 1800s England. Not Charles Darwin. Robert Chambers, whose infamous tome both horrified Darwin, yet paved the way for him. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

3. 

   S12 · E8 · 26 May 2026 · 18 min

   The Angel of the Concentration Camp

   Nurse Laura Cobb saved more lives than Clara Barton or Florence Nightingale, and under far worse conditions—in a brutal World War II concentration camp. So why did the world forget her? Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

4. 

   S12 · E7 · 19 May 2026 · 19 min

   The Battery Dope

   In the 1950s, scientists hated politics. Then one Allen Astin got fired. After that, scientists knew they had to play politics—or face professional annihilation. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

5. 

   S12 · E5 · 12 May 2026 · 17 min

   The Making of the “Flat Earth” Myth

   No one in Columbus’s time believed the world was flat. So why did so many children learn this bogus “fact” in school? It all goes back to Rip van Winkle... Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

6. 

   S12 · E4 · 28 Apr 2026 · 18 min

   Manhattan Project Propaganda

   The Smyth Report is the strangest book ever written on atomic bombs—as well as highly effective science propaganda, warping our view of everything from the Manhattan Project to Robert Oppenheimer. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

7. 

   S12 · E3 · 21 Apr 2026 · 18 min

   Back-Breaking Science

   When a British sub sank with all hands, JBS Haldane volunteered to investigate by experimenting on himself—even if it meant losing his own life in the process. (Part 2 of 2.) Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

8. 

   S12 · E2 · 14 Apr 2026 · 17 min

   The Canaries in the Submarine

   There’s only one thing Dr. John Haldane loved more than running dangerous experiments on himself—running them on his son Jack. But the duo would revolutionize our understanding of the human body. Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

9. 

   S12 · E1 · 7 Apr 2026 · 19 min

   Charles Lindbergh, Lab Rat

   When Charles Lindbergh's sister-in-law developed heart trouble, he teamed up with a Nobel-Prize-winning doctor to save her. He had no idea the dark paths his work would lead him down, including Nazi politics and eugenics... Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

10. 

    S11 · E10 · 16 Dec 2025 · 19 min

    The Publicity Stunt that Sparked the Scopes Monkey Trial

    Exactly a century ago, teacher John Scopes was charged with the “crime” of teaching evolution. But Scopes was hardly a defiant Galileo, nobly standing up for truth. In fact, he never even taught evolution. (Really.) But despite the unseemly origins of the Monkey Trial, Scopes proved himself a genuine hero... Our Sponsors: * Check out ElevenReader and use my code "Spoon" for a great deal: https://elevenreader.io Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy