Science writer Sam Kean joins Science Quickly to explore the hands-on world of experimental archaeology—where researchers don’t just study the past; they rebuild it. From launching medieval catapults to performing ancient brain surgery with stone tools, Kean shares his firsthand experiences with re-creating the techniques and technologies of long-lost civilizations.

His latest book, Dinner with King Tut, dives deep into these wild experiments and the things they have revealed about how our ancestors lived, worked and ate.

Recommended reading:

Scientists Used Prehistoric Tools to Build a Canoe, Then Paddled Across 140 Miles from Taiwan to Japan

Denmark’s Radical Archaeology Experiment Is Paying Off in Gold and Knowledge

Dinner with King Tut, by Sam Kean; Little, Brown, 2025

Sam Kean’s website

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Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check the show. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.

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