Science Social - Conversations on History, Science, and Society

In the early modern era, European agriculture was in crisis. Soils had become depleted, crops grew smaller and fewer in number, and the growing seasons were shorter and cooler. Food production could no longer keep pace with population growth. To find solutions, some to turned to a field not commonly associated with agricultural production: alchemy. From the philosopher's stone to "vegetable salt" to early attempts in fertilization and modern chemical agriculture: host Stephanie Hood is joined by historian Justin Niermeier-Dohoney as they explore how people in the past dealt with similar ecological challenges to those we are facing today—and how some of their ideas may still provide clues for how to solve them. Learn more about agricultural uses of alchemy in early modern Europe: https://bit.ly/agriculture-and-alchemy About Justin Niermeier-Dohoney: https://www.fit.edu/faculty-profiles/n/niermeier-dohoney-justin/ and https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/people/jniermeier   This podcast is produced by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de Follow us on https://twitter.com/MPIWG Host: Stephanie Hood Concept and sound editing by Verena Braun Theme song by Podington Bear, CC NY-NC 3.0

The Belgian physicist Léon Rosenfeld conducted groundbreaking research in theoretical physics. Yet he, and his work, are barely known about. Together, podcast host Stephanie Hood and historian of physics Bernadette Lessel go on a search for clues from Rosenfeld's life: What made his research so important, during a time when the field of physics itself went through a significant shift? Might looking at its history change physics today, and if so, how? And why are some figures in science better remembered than others? Learn more about Leon Rosenfeld and his research: https://bit.ly/maths-final-theory About Bernadette Lessel: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/de/people/blessel   This podcast is produced by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de Follow us on https://twitter.com/MPIWG Host: Stephanie Hood Concept and sound editing by Verena Braun Theme song by Podington Bear, CC NY-NC 3.0

What is truth? When does a pandemic “end”? What decisions do we want to leave to artificial intelligence… and which would we rather not? These are some of the questions “that keep them up at night,” as science journalist Pakinam Amer puts it. “They” are researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science: Adrien de Sutter, Alexander Blum, Dora Vargha, and Yishu Mao. In this special episode of Science Social, Pakinam and host Stephanie Hood sit together with them to journey through the multifaceted ideas and concepts at the intersections of science, society, and history. In conversation, we explore how the science of the past is deeply connected to our present and future. And, we ask how diverse perspectives from these interdisciplinary spaces can help us to better understand and navigate our ever-evolving world—from devastating pandemics, to cutting-edge physics, to the dawn of AI.   Learn more about the researchers mentioned in the episode: Adrien de Sutter: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/de/people/adesutter Alexander Blum: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/de/people/ablum Dora Vargha: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/de/people/dvargha Yishu Mao: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/de/people/ymao Rocco Gaudenzi: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/de/people/rgaudenzi Benjamin Johnson: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/de/people/bjohnson Karolina Sobecka: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/de/people/kasobecka   This podcast is produced by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG), www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de Follow us on https://twitter.com/MPIWG Hosted and written by: Pakinam Amer and Stephanie Hood Produced by: Pakinam Amer, Verena Braun, and Stephanie Hood Sound editing by: Verena Braun Theme song by: Podington Bear - Pretty and Cruddy Beat, CC NY-NC 3.0 Transition Music by: Podington Bear - Flutterbee, CC NY-NC 3.0 Audio Quote Joe Biden: President Biden: "The pandemic is over" | 60 Minutes

Leonardo da Vinci is commonly known as the great inventor of creative machines, the artist of the famous drawing of the Vitruvian Man. But Leonardo was also an avid reader: his personal library contained nearly 200 books on science and technology, literature, and religion. The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG), with the Museo Galileo and the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, has reconstructed the lost book collection for the exhibition "Leonardo's Intellectual Cosmos," where visitors can now marvel at many of these outstanding old works. What can his books and codices tell us about this world-renowned artist, scientist, and intellectual, who continuously crossed boundaries between disciplines? How did the Renaissance era in which he lived influence his thinking and ideas? And what can we learn from him about science and public trust in science today? In this podcast episode, host Stephanie Hood welcomes Jürgen Renn, MPIWG Director and one of the curators of the exhibition, which is now open to visitors at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Due to the current pandemic situation, Jürgen Renn joins the podcast remotely. About Jürgen Renn: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/renn Learn more about the exhibition: http://bit.ly/leonardo-exhibition Visitor information: http://bit.ly/Leonardo-visitors Go to the virtual exhibition: https://leonardo-online.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/de/   This podcast is produced by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de Follow us on https://twitter.com/MPIWG Host: Stephanie Hood Concept and sound editing by Verena Braun Theme song by Podington Bear, CC NY-NC 3.0

Analogies have been used throughout history as a means of explaining the world, and of grasping phenomena that could not otherwise be understood. In this episode of the "Science Social" podcast series, host Stephanie Hood and Postdoctoral Fellow Hannah Erlwein visit the "Islamic Golden Age," a period of cultural, theological, and scientific flourishing where analogies were central to understanding how the world was made and how science and religion connected. From the art of debating to Newton's shoot for the moon, from Aristotle to Avicenna, from mind-boggling "What Ifs?" to current advances in artificial intelligence, we explore how people are, and always have been, analogical beings. Learn more about Analogies in Premodern Islamic Theology: http://bit.ly/knowing-the-unobservable Listen to Hannah Erlwein's Podcast Kalamopod: https://anchor.fm/kalamopod About Hannah Erlwein: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/herlwein   This podcast is produced by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de Follow us on https://twitter.com/MPIWG Host: Stephanie Hood Concept and sound editing by Verena Braun Theme song by Podington Bear, CC NY-NC 3.0

Over the past century, physicists and astronomers have brought to light one of the most elusive and powerful phenomena in our universe: black holes. Unobservable to the human eye, even their sheer existence has been contested until recently. The breathtaking first-ever image of a black hole, taken by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) in 2019, marks just one step in a complex ongoing history of revealing and understanding them. Further recent discoveries, including telescope pictures of a black hole in polarized light, continue to amaze and captivate not only scientists but the world at large. So what did it take for black holes to go from theoretical construct to observed reality? How did Einstein's theory of general relativity play a role in their discovery and elucidation? And how do we continue to discover and "see" black holes, even in our own galaxy? Join "Science Social" podcast host Stephanie Hood on a journey through history-in-the-making with scholars Alexander Blum and Juan Andres Leon Gomez, who weave together 100 years of fascinating human stories and scientific insights that have shed light on the existence of these fields of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing—no particles, or even light—can escape. Learn more about General Relativity and the Discovery of Black Holes: http://bit.ly/GeneralRelativity-BlackHoles About Alexander Blum: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/ablum About Juan-Andres Leon Gomez: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/jaleon     This podcast is produced by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de Follow us on https://twitter.com/MPIWG Host: Stephanie Hood Concept and sound editing by Verena Braun Theme song by Podington Bear, CC NY-NC 3.0

Some people use them as doorstops, a few even for weightlifting, and others actually read them! In this podcast episode we talk about books—or specifically, handbooks and manuals. From cooking to chemistry, these seemingly simple objects provide knowledge in a structured and standardized order. Yet despite their ubiquity and centuries-long history, many of us today are more likely to sit down in front of our computer and google "How To...". In this episode of Science Social, host Stephanie Hood chats with historians Mathias Grote and Elaine Leong about manuals, handbooks, and how we have gathered, framed, and used knowledge on a daily basis. Are handbooks still relevant when we have almost-instant access to YouTube tutorials? Is the cellphone the modern equivalent of a manual? How has knowledge been democratized, today and in the past? Are handbooks always neutral information? And how do we define what knowledge is reliable, especially in the digital realm? About Mathias Grote: http://bit.ly/MathiasGrote About Elaine Leong: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/eleong   This podcast episode is based on the Learning by the Book project and edited British Journal for the History of Science (BJHS) volume by Angela Creager, Mathias Grote, and Elaine Leong. It has received funding from the German Historical Institute in Washington, Princeton University, and the MPIWG. Many thanks also go to the British Society for the History of Science for making the book volume open access, and to Simon Werrett and team at the BJHS for the pleasant and smooth production process of the book! About Angela Creager: http://bit.ly/AngelaCreager Read BJHS Themes - Learning by the Book Open Access Volume: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjhs-themes German Historical Institute in Washington: https://www.ghi-dc.org/ British Society for the History of Science: https://www.bshs.org.uk   This podcast is produced by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG), www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de Follow us on https://twitter.com/MPIWG Host: Stephanie Hood Concept and sound editing by Verena Braun Theme song by Podington Bear, CC NY-NC 3.0

Digitization has changed our present lives in many unexpected ways—also for historical research. So what happens if we look at the past through a digital lens? Scholars Shih-Pei Chen and Joseph Dennis use LoGaRT, a set of online digital tools for investigating a historical resource called Chinese Local Gazetteers. In doing so they work at an intersection between history and Big Data, and where digitization is transforming an entire academic field. In this third episode of the Science Social podcast, Shih-Pei and Joseph chat about open access, the differences between doing research pre- and post-digitization, and why it's sometimes smarter not to wait for that copy of a hard-to-get book. And yes, we'll also explain why Local Gazetteers are the most amazing written works you've probably never heard of! Learn more about LoGaRT: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/LoGaRT About Shih-Pei Chen: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/schen About Joe Dennis: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/jdennis   This podcast is produced by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de Follow us on https://twitter.com/MPIWG Host: Stephanie Hood Concept and sound editing by Verena Braun Theme song by Podington Bear, CC NY-NC 3.0

It seems straightforward: we wear a mask because it protects us from pollution, from a contagious virus. Yet the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that this seemingly simple object can also become a powerful symbol—one that can divide or unite us, silence or empower us. So how is it that this small piece of fabric can have political meaning? What role does it play in different cultures around the globe? And what can a mask reveal to us about social inequalities? In this second episode of "Science Social," scholars Carolin Roeder and Marianna Szczygielska unveil layer by layer the hidden stories of perhaps the most iconic object of the coronavirus pandemic: the face mask. Learn more about "The Mask - Arrayed": https://themaskarrayed.net/ About Carolin Roeder: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/croeder About Marianna Szczygielska: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/szczygielska   This podcast is produced by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de Follow us on https://twitter.com/MPIWG Host: Stephanie Hood Concept and sound editing by Verena Braun Theme song by Podington Bear, CC NY-NC 3.0

China is well on its way to becoming a global leader in science. The country has become the world's largest producer of scientific articles, pours a staggering amount of money into funding research, and is home to scientists whose groundbreaking and sometimes controversial findings increasingly make international news. If science needs freedom to thrive, how is this rise possible where a political system limits rights and controls information on a wide scale? How does science interact with societal values and ethical principles? And what does China's rise in science mean globally? Political sociologist and sinologist Anna Lisa Ahlers answers some burning questions on China's stunning ascent in this first episode of the "Science Social" podcast series. About Anna Lisa Ahlers: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/alahlers More about Anna Lisa's research China in the Global System of Science: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/China-and-Science   This podcast is produced by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de Follow us on https://twitter.com/MPIWG Host: Stephanie Hood Concept and sound editing by Verena Braun Theme song by Podington Bear, CC NY-NC 3.0