This month, guest Daniel Goldberg gives a provocative look into the world of pain without lesion. How do - and should - doctors handle patients' pain when there's no visible cause?

Today we alight in Devonshire, England. The beaches in this gorgeous, southwestern coastal county have long been a major summer tourist destination. In this episode, we'll learn about how Devon's seaside resorts transformed from health spas into centers of epidemic disease. We'll also discover just what kinds of behaviors could land you in the insane asylums of Victorian Devonshire.

Warning: This episode contains frank discussions of human anatomy and some violence.

Ever wondered why wonder is so important in science? We're taught from an early edge that science is a world of wonder, and encouraged to indulge our natural curiosity as a first step to achieving scientific rationality. Today, we'll investigate the fascinating history of wonder, including times when wonder was not in fashion and times when it led grown men to kick old women in the stomach. (Yes, you will need to listen to find what that refers to.)

Most of us encounter science through the the world of popular science: the books, TV shows, museum exhibits, kits, and toys that are packaged for general consumption. Today, we explore the early days of mass-produced popular science, particularly the books written for women and children.

Creationism and intelligent design are widely understood as the province of American Protestants. Today's episode explores how people in some of the world's other religious traditions - particularly Jews, Catholics, and Muslims - have positioned themselves in the evolution-intelligent design debate.

How did the Civil War and the Cold War affect the acceptance of evolution in the United States? Tune in to today's program to find out. This is the second episode in a three-part series on the history behind the evolution-intelligent design controversy.

Show notes available here.

This episode inaugurates our series on the history behind the evolution-intelligent design controversy. Today, we examine the deep history of scientific method, and how the rules evolved to the point where intelligent design cannot follow them.

Show notes available here.

This month, guest essayist Scott Lough concludes his exploration of time's strange behavior, this time focusing on how early human societies understood and measured it.

Show notes available here.

This episode explores two cases when we have realized that what we thought was common sense - well - wasn't.

Show notes available here.

This episode transports us to two conferences that can change the way we think about the sciences' past. First, you will tag along with me to the History of Science Society (HSS) annual meeting that took place recently in Washington, DC. I'll share with you some excerpts from Ted Porter's fascinating lecture on "How Science Became Technical."

Then, we'll travel back a half-century to the first Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, a remarkable event at which 21 eminent scientists - including Leo Szilard, Joseph Rotblat, and Herman Muller - met to discuss the threat posed to world peace by thermonuclear weapons.

Show notes available here.