Surprisingly Brilliant

By Seeker

Society & Culture Natural Sciences History

What's Surprisingly Brilliant about?

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

4.5

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LAST EPISODE

The Impossible Picture

12.09.2021

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: ...

Surprisingly Brilliant episodes:

12.09.2021 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: ...
09.27.2021 Introducing: Work Check Introducing a new podcast from our friends at Atlassian, the makers of teamwork software like Jira, Confluence, and Trello: ‘Work Check’ brings you fun and fiery debates over today's trendiest workplace practices, from dogfooding to agile at scale, asynchronous collaboration ...
04.30.2021 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 ...
02.18.2021 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, ...
02.11.2021 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 ...
02.04.2021 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 ...
01.28.2021 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 ...
01.21.2021 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 ...
01.14.2021 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 ...
01.07.2021 The World in a Jar A forgotten figure, shrouded in mystery, is the true voice behind our modern understanding of perhaps the most important issue facing humanity today: climate change. Maren tells Greg about Eunice Foote, and a story filled with…intrigue and lost voices, and ...
12.31.2020 The Puzzle Beneath Your Feet This week Greg tells Maren about shovel-faced reptiles, giant ferns, land bridges, and classified war-time research. This is the story of how we worked out what shaped - and shapes - our planet. The story of an idea that's said ...
12.24.2020 The Reinvention of Sex One pill changed the world forever. It replaced crocodile dung inserted into the vagina. It involved rabbit embryos fertilized in a test tube. And it may be available for men in the future. Maren tells Greg a story filled with ...
12.17.2020 The Way To Win At Everything Chess... Poker... Rock Paper Scissors... Your daily commute..? Nuclear war..? AND your Social Media?? Turns out you can form a winning strategy for all of these using 'Game Theory' - and in this episode Greg not only tells Maren how, ...
12.10.2020 The Virus Queen The first human coronavirus, yoga, and the recorder all have something in common: they were all mastered by the same woman. In this episode, Maren tells Greg the story of June Almeida, an extraordinary woman who completely changed the way ...
12.03.2020 The Question Of Who Flew First This is the story of not just one set of brothers, but three: the Wrights, the Montgolfiers & the Lilienthals. It’s a story that does pre-flight checks in Italy, takes off in France, and soars to the US, with a ...
11.26.2020 The Electronic Ear A story that spans from the tiniest cells in your inner ear to a technology that changed the world and will shape our future. It takes us through all of recorded history, uncovering not only how we hear the world, ...
11.19.2020 The Twist In The Tale We kick off Season 2 with the story of your most requested person: Rosalind Franklin. But it’s not the story we should be remembering her for either. Greg tells Maren the tale of how the structure of DNA was unravelled, ...
11.16.2020 Season 2 Is Here! New amazing stories from science history are coming Thursday, November 19th! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06.25.2020 The Fourth Astronaut Meet the ‘Rope Mother’ - the lady whose code, weaved into copper wire and magnetic rings, saved the Apollo 11 mission to the moon… Greg tells Maren the story of an incredible person who has not only been called The ...
06.18.2020 The Fungus that Shaped the World The course of World War II, the development of successful cancer treatment, and just being able to go outside without fear all come down to one thing: the humble Penicillium fungus. Maren tells Greg a tale of accidental discoveries, fungal ...
06.11.2020 The Mystery & Might of Ectoplasm What do a children’s birthday party, an accidental discovery, a shoe shop gadget, and Marie Curie have in common?? Have a listen to find out, as Greg tells Maren the amazing origin story of one of the most important pieces ...
06.04.2020 The Chemist Who Saved the Lepers Maren tells Greg the story of a gruesome disease and the woman who came up with a solution...but who disappeared from history until now: Alice Ball. Oh and also - there are armadillos. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be ...
05.28.2020 The Case Of Death By Peach Melba Greg tells Maren a true crime science history story about a famous chef who served her entrees with a special side... of death! This is the story of Mary Mallon, aka “Typhoid Mary”. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be ...
05.21.2020 The Deadly Buzz Maren tells Greg the story of a historic plague...or is it? It's a tale of a gruesome disease and how a few courageous, self-experimenting scientists finally figured out what role mosquitos play in public health. Show notes, sources, and transcript ...
05.14.2020 The Thick Brown Muck Greg tells Maren about the discovery of one of medicine’s biggest breakthroughs -a drug that has saved millions of lives: Insulin. It’s a story about drug development & testing, a dog called Marjorie… and a missing person? Show notes, sources, ...
05.07.2020 The Great Air Debate The discovery of one of our most important elements is hugely disputed. Maren tells Greg the twists and turns of the story of oxygen, the battle between Lavoisier & Priestley, a self-effacing… Pomeranian, a revolutionary, a teenage girl, and the ...
04.30.2020 The Queen of Nuclear Research The Queen of Nuclear Research very few people - including those working in Physics - know of! Greg tells Maren a trans-Pacific tale of passion, dedication, and the work of a gifted scientist who fundamentally changed physics forever, yet (some ...
04.23.2020 The Admiral and the Moth Maren tells Greg about the person responsible for the foundations of modern computing, yet her name is rarely mentioned in the history books. Her innovations have made possible many of the things we take for granted today—like personal computing, stock ...
04.16.2020 The Inventor From The Future A man you know. A story you don’t. His electric revolution lit up America but he also worked on what’s been called early radar, robotics, and... a death ray? Greg tells Maren the full story of Nikola Tesla, and also ...
04.09.2020 The Case of Botanical Espionage Grab a gin and tonic as you listen to Maren tell the story of a miraculous discovery, espionage and economic cartels all surrounding...a tree? A very special tree that cures malaria, shaped the development of the modern world as we ...
04.02.2020 The Annoying Noise Perhaps the biggest accidental discovery story in the history of the universe. Well, definitely about the history of the universe. Greg tells Maren about a weird sound, and how two guys, Wilson & Penzias, figured out what it was, rocking ...
03.26.2020 The Discovery of Dragons Meet the ‘Princess of Paleontology’ you may not have heard of. Maren tells Greg all about the lady who’s life work was finding the fossils that would eventually change the way scientists thought about the entirety of Earth’s natural history ...
03.17.2020 Introducing: Surprisingly Brilliant For centuries, science has given us breakthroughs that have changed how we view our planet, or universe and even our own bodies. But, achieving these breakthroughs didn’t come easy. This podcast will tell you the stories of the bizarre journeys, ...