From comets to blood transfusions, embryology, and the debate over the pineal gland: Descartes’ impact on science, especially medicine.
Dec 2019
Ep. 231: Descartes's "Discourse" on Wisdom and Certainty (Part One)
<p>On René Descartes's <em>Discourse on Method</em> (1637), an overview of his work that distills his method, outlines his famous <em>Meditations</em>, presents a provisional (Stoic) ethics, and considers whether he wants to be a public intellectual. This is all meant as a prefac ... Show More
39m 55s
Jan 2021
Jean-Baptiste Denis and the Blood Transfusion Race, 1
In the 17th century, Europe was obsessed with science – and very competitively so. When it came to blood transfusions, there was a great deal of conflict in France's scientific community. And Jean-Baptiste Denis was right in the middle of it. Learn more about your ad-choices at h ... Show More
31m 31s
Jun 2007
ARMAGEDDON - Super Volcanoes, Meteorites and Earthquakes
This week a rabies-based Trojan Horse that smuggles drugs across the blood-brain barrier, why first-borns are brighter, progress with Parkinson's and a lunar telescope more powerful than Hubble. Plus in this week's ARMAGEDDON-focused show we look at supervolcanes, earthquakes and ... Show More
57m 12s
Dec 2020
SYSK Selects: How Chaos Theory Changed the Universe
<p>Since the age of Descartes, science has put all of its eggs in the basket of determinism, the idea that with accurate enough measurements any aspect of the universe could be predicted. But the universe, it turns out, is not so tidy. Explore the final frontier with Josh and Chu ... Show More
55m 31s