Distillations

Series produced by Distillations

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Science + Culture + History

Each episode of Distillations takes a deep dive into a moment of science-related history in order to shed light on the present. Produced by the Science History Institute.


170 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Fizzy Water
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Piece image
The unnatural history of a carbonated drink.

Bought by WRIR


  • Added: Feb 16, 2017
  • Length: 13:27
  • Purchases: 1
Second Skin
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Piece image
The unexpected origin of the sports bra.

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Feb 16, 2017
  • Length: 17:10
  • Purchases: 1
This Is Not Your Great-Grandfather's Taxidermy
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: Famous taxidermist Carl Akeley posing with the leopard he killed with his bare hands
Taxidermy is back. This time, with glitter.

Bought by WXDU


  • Added: Jul 07, 2016
  • Length: 26:05
  • Purchases: 1
Where Have All the FEMA Trailers Gone?
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: FEMA trailer with bicycles. , Credit: Courtesy of Akasha Rabut
Ten years later and thousands of miles away, Hurricane Katrina lives on.

  • Added: Dec 02, 2015
  • Length: 27:58
Science and the Supernatural in the 17th Century
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
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Once upon a time science and the supernatural were not so far apart.

  • Added: Nov 18, 2015
  • Length: 01:42:26
Acts of God, Acts of Men:
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: Weather Made to Order? , Credit: May 28, 1954 Collier's magazine cover.
When we turn nature into a weapon.

  • Added: Nov 18, 2015
  • Length: 36:16
Distillations Turns 200
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Piece image
This is Distillations’s 200th episode, and we’re celebrating! We pored through hundreds of shows and pieced together some of the funniest, grossest...

  • Added: Nov 18, 2015
  • Length: 37:10
Old Brains, New Brains: The Human Mind, Past and Present
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: Brain illustration , Credit: The Popular Science Monthly, 1894
The early days of neuroscience relied on tragedy to strike before doctors could peek inside the brains of humans. Today advanced technology helps s...

  • Added: May 28, 2015
  • Length: 43:39
Fads and Faith: Belief vs. Fact in the Struggle for Health
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: 1963 CDC poster for the oral polio vaccine., Credit: Wikimedia Commons
In 2014 the United States had 650 reported cases of measles, a disease made preventable by a vaccine introduced 30 years ago. The majority of these...

  • Added: Apr 01, 2015
  • Length: 01:27:06
Innovation & Obsolescence: The Life, Death, and Occasional Rebirth of Technologies
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: Ben Gross' personal video discs and player. , Credit: Photograph by Mariel Carr.
Some technologies flash in the pan so quickly they hardly leave a trace (Google Glass anyone?); while others seem to stick around long past their u...

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Apr 01, 2015
  • Length: 38:38
  • Purchases: 1
Trash Talk: The Persistence of Waste
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: Buckhorn Mesa landfill., Credit: courtesy of Flickr user Alan Levine.
During our short time on Earth we humans have created a lot of stuff. Some of it's life-altering, like the device you’re using right now and some o...

Bought by XRAY.fm and WTJU


  • Added: Jan 21, 2015
  • Length: 39:39
  • Purchases: 2
Life with HIV: Success without a Cure?
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: AIDS awareness painting in Chimoio, Mozambique. , Credit: Courtesy of Flickr user Ton Rulkens.
Thirty years ago an HIV diagnosis was a death sentence. Today, sophisticated drug cocktails known as highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART...

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Dec 17, 2014
  • Length: 38:57
  • Purchases: 1
Babies on Demand: Reproduction in a Technological Age
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: In vitro fertilization (IVF) in progress. , Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
At the beginning of the 19th century women in the United States had an average of seven or eight children. By 1900 they had only three or four, and...

  • Added: Dec 03, 2014
  • Length: 40:27
Fogs of War: The Many Lives of Chemical Weapons
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: Gas mask exercise, Scott Field, Illinois.1942. , Credit: Library of Congress
Chemical weapons have played a chilling role in human history ever since World War I. As accounts of recent uses permeate the news, we decided to f...

  • Added: Nov 07, 2014
  • Length: 44:21
Wake up and Smell the Story: Sniffing out Health and Sickness
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: Illustration of a nose., Credit: Wikimedia Commons
If you asked people which of their senses they most feared losing, they'd probably say sight or hearing. But what about the ability to smell? We ex...

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Sep 25, 2014
  • Length: 43:58
  • Purchases: 1
The Teeth Beneath Your Feet: Oddities in Urban Archaeology
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: URS Corporation archaeologists excavate at a site beside I-95 in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia., Credit: Mariel Carr
Where can you find a teacup, the molar of a goat, and an arrowhead all in one place? At an urban archaeology site, that’s where.

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Aug 12, 2014
  • Length: 36:50
  • Purchases: 1
Why the Chicken Became a Nugget and Other Tales of Processed Food
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: Crisco and chicken nuggets, Credit: CHF collections and Evan Amos, Wikimedia Commons.
Have you ever wondered how chicken nuggets are made? Or what propylene glycol monostearate, monocalcium phosphate, or other listed ingredients are ...

Bought by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, WTJU, RadioFreePalmer, and WYAP


  • Added: Jul 22, 2014
  • Length: 27:24
  • Purchases: 4
Meet Joe Palca: A Radio Story About Making Radio Stories
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: Joe Palca tracks a story at NPR, Credit: Photo courtesy of Joe Palca
Joe Palca is one of the best science storytellers out there. As an NPR science correspondent he’s covered all sorts of obscure topics, from soccer-...

Bought by WTJU, Radio Newark, and WTJU


  • Added: Jul 22, 2014
  • Length: 09:03
  • Purchases: 3
Alchemy's Rainbow: Pigment Science and the Art of Conservation
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: An Alchemist in his Studio, Thomas Wijck. , Credit: CHF Collections
This episode explores the colorful (and sometimes risk-filled) history of pigments and painters, and the conservators who save paintings from the r...

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Jul 22, 2014
  • Length: 30:34
  • Purchases: 1
Intoxication & Civilization: Beer's Ancient Past
From: Distillations
Series: Distillations
Caption: Solid Comfort, 1906., Credit: Library of Congress
This show takes on the frothy subject of beer, and explores the science, culture, and history behind the suds.

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Jul 22, 2014
  • Length: 30:45
  • Purchases: 1

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