Distillations | Science History Institute

Most of us are content to use our existing five senses to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch our way through the world. But an increasing number of people called biohackers are not satisfied with watching the everyday brilliance of a sunset or petting a silky kitten. They want infrared vision and electromagnetic fingertips.

"Why wouldn't I want to add one more sense to the ones I already have and enjoy so much? The ability to feel just a little bit more?" Nic Fox asked reporter Catherine Girardeau. Fox has a device embedded in his chest that vibrates when he faces magnetic north.

To understand more about these would-be cyborgs we turned to Kara Platoni, author of We Have the Technology: How Biohackers, Foodies, Physicians and Scientists Are Transforming Human Perception, One Sense at a Time. Platoni is a science reporter and a lecturer at University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. She describes how many biohackers feel the future hasn't gotten here fast enough. They're ready to be cyborgs now.

00:03 Intro 03:10 The North Sense 13:12 Interview with author Kara Platoni

Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Kara Platoni Reporter: Catherine Girardeau Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez

Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

For as long as humans have been around they've worried about their smell. "That's why we've had perfumes for as long as we've had people," says Cari Casteel, a CHF research fellow studying the history of deodorant. But, Casteel says, "it wasn't until the late 19th, early 20th century that the technology and the chemistry catches up to what people want."

Today most Americans don't give a second thought to using deodorant. In fact, some 90% of the population slathers the stuff on. But in the late 19th and early 20th centuries deodorants and antiperspirants were new, and their makers had to convince potential customers (all women) that perfumes alone weren't cutting it and that their body odor and perspiration were unacceptable. They did so by preying on women's insecurities, an approach later used successfully on men.

In this episode we explore some of the funny, disturbing, sexist, and quirky advertisements from deodorant's history and discover that today's commercials are strangely similar to those of the past.

00:01 Intro 01:20 Odorono ad 03:57 The history and science of deodorant 09:55 Old ads vs. new ads

Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Cari Casteel Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Additional Production by Kyrie Greenberg

Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

We all know hydration is important to health, but many people find water boring to drink. Juice and Coke aren't boring, but they aren't very healthy either. One way to transform water into a more exciting drink is to add bubbles. For centuries carbonated water from natural springs was used as a medicine. Now lifestyle and health concerns have combined to drive fizzy water's renewed popularity.

Join us as we unpack the long history of carbonated water, from natural mineral springs, to the invention of artificial carbonation by a radical 18th-century chemist, to the fading tradition of seltzer deliverymen in New York City.

00:01 Intro 00:24 The rise of fizzy water 04:30 Seltzer Boys 06:40 What's the difference between seltzer, mineral water, and club soda? 08:22 The history of carbonated water 11:55 Seltzer and health

Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer: Mariel CarrAssociate Producer: Rigoberto HernandezReporter: Rigoberto HernandezAdditional production by Kyrie Greenberg

Special thanks to Alex Gomberg and Brooklyn Seltzer Boys

Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

The sports bra is omnipresent in today's sports landscape. But the current iteration of this nifty item is less than 40 years old, and it arrived with a serendipitous origin story.

For this episode of Distillations we talked to Lisa Lindahl, an entrepreneur from Vermont, who in 1979 patented what was to become the modern-day sports bra. It's a story about a runner who wanted running to be more comfortable. "It was the right product at the right time. It really struck a chord for so many women," says Lindahl. "This product came into being because it was something I wanted."

We also talked to our museum team about their new exhibition, Second Skin: The Science of Stretch, and the roles stretch fabrics play in health and sports. Christy Schneider, exhibits project manager at the Museum at CHF, says it's all about getting the body you want, whether you want to dance all night or run a marathon. "How do you that?" asks Schneider. "You clothe it in a second skin."

00:05 Intro00:32 'The Sports Bra Seen Round the World' 05:40 A brief history of the sports bra10:53 The technology and science behind the sports bra11:50 Why stretch fabric matters 15:20 Conclusion

Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Brandi Chastain, Lisa Lindahl, Gillian Maguire, and Christy Schneider Reporter: Rigoberto Hernandez Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Seth G. Samuel

Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

Our producer is pregnant. For the past nine months people have asked what her birth plan is, which to her seems like asking what kind of weather she had planned for her wedding day. "All of a sudden my life was full of these terms: natural, medicated, doula, epidural, and it quickly became clear that there was a great debate—and I was supposed to choose a side."

We wanted to know when this controversy started, and why comedian Amy Schumer is joking about sea-turtle births. So we talked to Lara Freidenfelds, a historian of sexuality, reproduction, and women's health in America, and learned some surprising things about our nation's early childbirth practices.

Freidenfelds also shared her views about why a growing number of women are opting for unmedicated births, while Amy Tuteur, a retired obstetrician and the author of Push Back: Guilt in the Age of Natural Parenting, tells us that once upon a time all births were natural—and a lot of mothers and babies died.

00:01 Inside Amy Schumer: "It's Better for the Baby" 01:00 Intro 02:32 Feature story: "I Can't Get To You" 11:25 Amy Tuteur and Lara Freidenfelds discuss the history and controversy behind natural childbirth

Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Amy Tuteur and Lara Freidenfelds Reporter: Kristin Gourlay Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Seth G. Samuel

Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

Over the past year we've brought you stories about tacos, taxidermy, and DDT. But at the same time we've been thinking about and researching medicine—specifically, how outsiders to the field have helped change the ways doctors practice. Join us to find out how philosophers, transgender patients, and Jehovah's Witnesses have influenced health care in the United States over the past few decades.

00:04 Intro 01:41 Transgender and intersex patients 06:51 Bioethicists 09:55 Jehovah's Witnesses

Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Mariel Carr Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez

"Nature Kid" by Podington Bear, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.

Now that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes post-traumatic stress disorder as a significant issue among veterans, they've uncovered another problem—there aren't enough therapists to go around. Virtual reality experts at the University of Southern California have a solution: robots. Reporter Anna Stitt explains how advocates see these "therapy bots" as enhancing the field of therapy; they don't tire out, they don't need a salary, and patients are often more honest with them than human therapists. The only problem? Some people are worried that these therapy bots will one day replace humans.

Fears of artificial intelligence aren't new, but they do seem increasingly common. Elon Musk declared that creating artificial intelligence is akin to "summoning the demon." And Hollywood has done a solid job of convincing us that we're approaching an age of artificial superintelligence—when machines' capabilities will greatly exceed those of humans. We turned to philosopher and University of California, Berkeley professor John Searle to get his take on how realistic these concerns are. He says he takes the threat just as seriously as if someone said "shoes have been walked on for centuries. Any day now, they might come out of the closet and walk all over us."

00:04 Intro 02:06 Human-Centered Therapy....with Robots 19:56 John Searle interview

Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: John Searle Reporter: Anna Stitt Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez

Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

Have you noticed any antlered rabbits mounted on the wall of your local coffee shop? Or maybe some geese with butterfly wings? That's because taxidermy has made a comeback. Our producer, Mariel Carr, wanted to know why, so she spent a few months exploring the alternative—or rogue—taxidermy scene in Philadelphia. Rogue taxidermy takes an artistic approach to the traditional craft. It combines materials, and even animals, in unconventional ways. And it seems to involve a fair amount of glitter.

Meet Beth Beverly, a young taxidermist; John Whitenight, an eccentric collector of Victorian taxidermy; and the polar bears and gorillas at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Together they explain taxidermy's long history of combining art and science, and describe the role arsenic played in taxidermy's rise to prominence in the 19th century.

00:04 Intro 01:13 This Is Not Your Great-Grandfather's Taxidermy

Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Reporter: Mariel CarrProducer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez

"Boop" and "Climbing the Mountain" courtesy of Podington Bear and the Free Music Archive.

Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.

We're guessing you know who Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton are, and maybe you're even familiar with Linus Pauling or Roald Hoffmann. But it turns out that a lot of people can't name a single female scientist besides Marie Curie. Exasperated by this fact, radio producer Poncie Rutsch made a podcast she titled Babes of Science. The show profiles accomplished scientists from history who also happened to be women.

We became such fans of the show that we decided to create a special Babes of Science and Distillations collaborative episode. In it Rutsch profiles Barbara McClintock, a cytogeneticist who discovered transposons, or "jumping genes," and whose radical ideas made it hard for her to gain acceptance in the field.

00:04 Intro 01:46 Babes of Science: Barbara McClintock 14:37 Interview with Poncie Rutsch

Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Poncie Rutsch Reporter: Poncie RutschProducer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez

These songs courtesy of Free Music Archive:

A Way to Get By, Scott Grattonpiano lesson, The RebelGolden, Little Glass MenLittle Strings, The LosersDivider, Chris ZabriskieModulation of the Spirit, Little Glass MenSpontaneous Existence, Little Glass MenPieces of the Present, Scott Gratton

Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.

When you bite into a taco, quesadilla, or anything else involving a traditionally made corn tortilla, your taste buds get to experience the results of an ancient chemical process called nixtamalization. The technique dates to around 1500 BCE and involves cooking corn kernels with an alkaline substance, like lime or wood ash, which makes the dough softer, tastier, and much more nutritious.

Only in the 20th century did scientists figure out the secret of nixtamalization—the process releases niacin, one of the essential B vitamins. Our guest, archaeologist and nixtamalization expert Rachel Briggs, says that the historical chemical process transformed corn from a regular food into a viable dietary staple, one that cultures around the world continue to rely on for many of their calories. Without nixtamalization Mesoamerican civilizations like the Maya and the Aztec would not have survived, let alone flourished.

Benjamin Miller and Christina Martinez are the only chefs in Philadelphia making their tortillas from scratch. Our associate producer, Rigoberto Hernandez, visited the couple at their traditional Mexican restaurant in South Philadelphia to find out why they're so dedicated to handmade tortillas—and to see the nixtamalization process in action.

Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Rachel Briggs Reporter: Rigoberto HernandezProducer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez

Music courtesy of the Audio Network