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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 to ERGs. In this episode, host Christine Dela Rosa asks Is there a shortcut to innovative ideas?  Joined by debaters Shannon Winter and Kelvin Yap, they argue whether hackathons really are good for business. Are they a...

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...

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

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' really earned that title.  Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found...

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. Newton DID stand on the shoulders of giants to translate the universe...but he also had his rivals. 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 Learn more about your ad-choices at...

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. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

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 a story that traverses the globe and challenges all our assumptions. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Greg tells Maren the story of 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. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

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 a story filled with intrigue and lost voices, and they come to understand why all these voices are so important to listen to in the first place. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant Learn more about your ad-choices at...

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 to be as big a deal to Earth Sciences as Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is to the Life Sciences. Yet the idea was ignored for 50 years...  Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant Learn more about your ad-choices at...

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 the wild characters and moral quandaries that have defined our modern sex lives. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

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, but also untangles the story of its development, including separating fact from fiction in the film 'A Beautiful Mind'. [*Winning not guaranteed. Sorry] Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant Learn more about...

 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 an extraordinary woman who completely changed the way we literally SEE viruses. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

This is the story of not just one set of brothers, but three. A story that does pre-flight checks in Italy, takes off in France, and soars to the US, with a quick layover in Brazil. Along the way Greg tells Maren about the contenders who some claim really flew first, and their journey ends at a surprise destination: the Moon. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found at https://linktr.ee/surprisinglybrilliant Learn more about your ad-choices at...

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, but how biased that world is too. Maren tells Greg a tale of biophysics, Alexander Graham Bell, the future of brain implants, and how we can reframe our perceptions of language and sensory experience. Show notes, sources, and transcript can be found...

We kick off Season 2 with the story of your most requested person… but it’s not the story you may be expecting… and, it turns out, 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, but the twist leads us somewhere else entirely. Transcript of the episode can be found here Experts and Sources found here Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

New amazing stories from science history are coming Thursday, November 19th! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Fourth Astronaut, but who also pioneered, and coined the term for, ‘Software Engineering’. Experts: Rod Pyle- https://www.planetary.org/connect/our-experts/profiles/rod-pyle.html Zoe Corbyn-https://www.theguardian.com/profile/zoe-corbyn Sources Found here:...

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 espionage, and the daunting potential future of medicine without this life-saving substance.  Experts: Mariya Lobanovska- https://tang.path.ox.ac.uk/content/dr-mariya-lobanovska Kevin Brown-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC539899/ Sources found...

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 of medical tech ever developed. Expert: Dr Ehsan Samei - Professor of radiology at Duke University, North Carolina Sources can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lY3UIVCIOoSPYXxvI0Sk6zeB9dlASEMU_9tsF-O2Tlo/edit Learn more about your ad-choices at...

Maren tells Greg the story of a gruesome disease and the woman who came up with a solution...but disappeared from history until now. Oh and also—there are armadillos. Experts: Paul Wermager Carisa Brewster Dagmawi Abebe Sources Found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-29XrkwQJnPk3awY6BoxkYhDVehxTl-fPbxBTHq3Aeg/edit?usp=sharing Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

Greg tells Maren a true crime science history story about a famous chef who served her entrees with a special side... of death! Expert: Dr. Claas Kirchhelle Sources found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GK5NDp6m_bEerPNSbOQTCci5zJJiUmLAXWmHBtK-yOc/edit?usp=sharing Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers