When someone tells you “that is a stupid idea,” how do you react? Do you reconsider your position? Do you dig your heels in and get defensive? Do you quit, or work harder?

Being unpopular is a regular state of affairs for scientists. The nature of the work requires you to disrupt paradigms and make people uncomfortable. How a scientist reacts to that criticism is crucial to their success.

Galileo got told he was wrong by the Pope himself. Seriously, the entire Catholic Church told him his idea that the Earth went around the Sun was flawed. But he stood his ground, and ended up in jail.

Ignaz Semmelweis had a simpler idea -- that doctors should wash their hands. But that idea was met with opposition as well. He stood his ground and ended up in an asylum.

Dr Wayne Lautt of SciMar has spent 30 years being told his ideas are unfounded. How should he react? What are the consequences of pushing back?

These science stories from history shed light on the modern research being done on Type 2 Diabetes. Specifically we highlight the work of SciMar as they examine the hormone HISS - Hepatic Insulin Sensitizing Substance - and the effect it has on glucose levels in people who are insulin resistant. www.SciMar.ca
Learn more about SciMar at https://scimar.ca/

When someone tells you “that is a stupid idea,” how do you react? Do you reconsider your position? Do you dig your heels in and get defensive? Do you quit, or work harder? Being unpopular is a regular state of affairs for scientists. The nature of the work requires you to disrupt paradigms and make people uncomfortable. How a scientist reacts to that criticism is crucial to their success. Galileo got told he was wrong by the Pope himself. Seriously, the entire Catholic Church told him his idea that the Earth went around the Sun was flawed. But he stood his ground, and ended up in jail. Ignaz Semmelweis had a simpler idea -- that doctors should wash their hands. But that idea was met with opposition as well. He stood his ground and ended up in an asylum. Dr Wayne Lautt of SciMar has spent 30 years being told his ideas are unfounded. How should he react? What are the consequences of pushing back? These science stories from history shed light on the modern research being done on Type 2 Diabetes. Specifically we highlight the work of SciMar as they examine the hormone HISS - Hepatic Insulin Sensitizing Substance - and the effect it has on glucose levels in people who are insulin resistant. www.SciMar.ca Learn more about SciMar at https://scimar.ca/

Why Unpopular Science is Good Science

In Season 2 of the series we will share a new collection of surprising and unusual stories from the history of science.
In each episode we will feature two seemingly unrelated stories from the past. Then, Dan Riskin will connect the dots between those stories and offer insight into how that history impacts modern medical research.

We are learning from the past so we can understand the present, and inform the future.

Along the way we will learn how a professor at Stanford turned mild mannered young men into cruel vicious prison guards, and how the Irish Potato Famine really had nothing to do with potatoes.

We will ask questions such as: “Did we learn the wrong lesson from the sinking of the Titanic?” “How many people did Orson Wells actually fool?” and “What exactly is Maple Syrup Urine Disease?”

In these ten episodes we will also follow along with SciMar as they take their breakthrough science into the testing phase. Will the things they discovered in a row of test tubes in the lab be repeatable in real people? And will that prove to be the final cure for type 2 diabetes?

So, if you are intrigued by science, get excited about the process of discovery, and want to have the best stories at your next dinner party, this is the show for you. We promise a season full of guinea pigs, Corona beer, shipwrecks, and cobras.

--

The series is produced by SciMar, a medical research company developing a new way to detect, treat and cure type 2 diabetes. Rather than insulin from the pancreas, they are focused on hepatalin, a hormone that comes from the liver. We will use historical stories to shine a light on where this modern company is headed.

Society & Culture

Documentary

Science

History

In Season 2 of the series we will share a new collection of surprising and unusual stories from the history of science. In each episode we will feature two seemingly unrelated stories from the past. Then, Dan Riskin will connect the dots between those stories and offer insight into how that history impacts modern medical research. We are learning from the past so we can understand the present, and inform the future. Along the way we will learn how a professor at Stanford turned mild mannered young men into cruel vicious prison guards, and how the Irish Potato Famine really had nothing to do with potatoes. We will ask questions such as: “Did we learn the wrong lesson from the sinking of the Titanic?” “How many people did Orson Wells actually fool?” and “What exactly is Maple Syrup Urine Disease?” In these ten episodes we will also follow along with SciMar as they take their breakthrough science into the testing phase. Will the things they discovered in a row of test tubes in the lab be repeatable in real people? And will that prove to be the final cure for type 2 diabetes? So, if you are intrigued by science, get excited about the process of discovery, and want to have the best stories at your next dinner party, this is the show for you. We promise a season full of guinea pigs, Corona beer, shipwrecks, and cobras. -- The series is produced by SciMar, a medical research company developing a new way to detect, treat and cure type 2 diabetes. Rather than insulin from the pancreas, they are focused on hepatalin, a hormone that comes from the liver. We will use historical stories to shine a light on where this modern company is headed.

Share Why Unpopular Science is Good Science

Sign up to save your podcasts

Why Unpopular Science is Good Science

Why Unpopular Science is Good Science

More shows like Inside the Breakthrough - How Science Comes to Life

This American Life

Radiolab

Freakonomics Radio

Hidden Brain

The Moth

Invisibilia

99% Invisible

the memory palace

Gastropod

Science Vs

Science Friday

Twenty Thousand Hertz

Throughline

Unexplainable

What's Your Problem?