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Surprisingly Brilliant: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Seeker
A science history podcast uncovering the little-known stories and less-talked-about people behind well-known science & tech. Written & Hosted by Maren Hunsberger & Greg Foot for Seeker
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- Dec 9, 20211h 4m
The Impossible Picture
Time travel? Aliens? Seeing the invisible? This special episode’s tale from science history has them all as Maren takes Greg down the long and winding road science took to understand what is perhaps the most perplexing object in the universe: the black hole. Special thanks to the John Templeton Foundation for their support in making this episode possible. Learn more at Templeton.org.
- Apr 30, 20211h 7m
The Helplessly Human Doctor
The man who changed our understanding of disorders of the brain was a man who couldn't recognize faces himself. He was a man who saw music as a therapeutic tool, who broke all the existing rules for how to talk to and about patients, and who made us all feel a little more human. Maren tells Greg the amazing true story of Oliver Sacks. This episode is made possible thanks to HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. ‘Oliver Sacks: His Own Life’ is available to stream on PBS for a limited time: https://to.pbs.org/3xngwPJ Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant
- Feb 18, 202159 min
The Lifesaving Bean
One bean has changed the world in unexpected ways, and the man behind it was even more extraordinary. This is the story of a man whose genius shone against all odds, how his discoveries shaped much of our modern world, and the science that he could have done...if society had let him. Maren introduces Greg to Percy Julian. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant
- Feb 11, 20211h 1m
The Half-Walnut of Pus
Vaccines. They're a big topic of conversation right now. But who discovered them? Who gave the first one? And what was the rather effective method around for hundreds of years before them?? Greg tells Maren a (rather gross) story of pus, pox parties, and… cuckoos? It's a tale that travels from China, through Turkey, to a small town in Gloucestershire, and asks if the ‘father of immunology’ - Edward Jenner - really earned that title. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant
- Feb 4, 202150 min
The Language of the Universe
The universe speaks in a common language...the mathematics of change. Maren wasn't so sure about math, but after this episode she's a truly changed person. Isaac Newton DID stand on the shoulders of giants to translate the universe...but he also had his rivals, like Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Maren tells Greg a story that starts with the beginning of civilization and goes (literally) on to infinity. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant
- Jan 28, 202152 min
The Donald Trump Of Science
A story in three parts: The discovery of a revolutionary biotechnology that’s used every day by countless scientists. How that works. And the dangerous ideas (& behaviour) of the man who won a Nobel Prize for its invention. Greg tells Maren about Kary Mullis and PCR. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant
- Jan 21, 20211h 5m
The Secret Doctor
This doctor was a public health pioneer, a visionary in the medical treatments of his day, and a relatively radical voice against the entrenched establishment...but do we only remember him because of this one secret? Maren tells Greg about James Barry and a story that travers the globe and challenges all our assumptions. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant
- Jan 14, 202158 min
The Forgotten Whiskey Chemist
Greg tells Maren about a chemist who develops hit product after hit product, from revolutionising whisky production to developing ‘the first wonder drug'… a man who was once the most famous Japanese person in America but was soon forgotten. This is the story of Takamine Jōkichi. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant
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About Surprisingly Brilliant
A science history podcast uncovering the little-known stories and less-talked-about people behind well-known science & tech. Written & Hosted by Maren Hunsberger & Greg Foot for Seeker
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