Sexual Eeling
The slippery subject of eel reproduction evaded human understanding for millennia.
Science & Technology
A Perfect Landing
Overshadowed between two dramatic missions, the success of Apollo 12 was vital to the continuing space project.
Rivers of Silver, Cities of Gold
The work of Elizabeth Fulhame made huge leaps in science, despite the obstacles she faced as a woman.
In purgatory with Dante
The pursuit of astronomical study led a Victorian woman from Surrey to the Indian foothills.
The Birth of Science in a Darkened Room
The father of modern optics could not have succeeded had he not feigned madness.
New York’s Forgotten Subway
Problems with public transport are almost as old as New York itself. One proposed solution was nothing but hot air.
Travels Through Time #4 – Simon Schaffer, 1684
In this episode Simon Schaffer, Professor of History of Science at the University of Cambridge, visits three events pivotal to the genesis of Isaac Newton's paradigm-shattering book the Principia Mathematica.
The Invention of World History
For most of history, different peoples, cultures and religious groups have lived according to their own calendars. Then, in the 11th century, a Persian scholar attempted to create a single, universal timeline for all humanity.
Tyrants and Robots in Ancient Greece
Autocrats have deployed automatons as weapons since antiquity, not just in Ancient Greek myth but in reality.
Private Lives? Leave Me Out
As technology changes, so do ideas about the borders of the self and the nature of privacy.