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Wonder Cupboard asks what science is, how it works, and how it came to be. Elena Falco and Ian Bridgeman present a new topic on the history and philosophy of science every episode.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ history and philosophy of science • scientific concepts: numbers, life, simulation • science in society: vaccines, segregation psychology • material culture and practices: lab coats, language, peer review • environment and technology: ice, air conditioning, sunbathing • aesthetics and beauty in scienceThis podcast explores what science is, how it functions, and how it developed by combining history of science with philosophical questions about knowledge and evidence. Across episodes, the hosts trace how scientific ideas and practices emerge from particular cultural moments, and how they later become normalized in everyday life—sometimes on the basis of strong evidence, and sometimes through more dubious or contested claims.
A recurring theme is the “infrastructure” of science and modern living: how technologies and material practices such as cooling, climate control, and even leisure habits like sunbathing have shaped societies and expectations. The show also examines iconic symbols and institutions associated with scientific authority, including professional clothing and the social signals it sends, as well as public health tools like vaccination and the politics and power dynamics that surround them.
Alongside these historical case studies, the podcast regularly tackles foundational conceptual issues, such as what it means for something to be alive, what numbers are, how scientific language is created and recorded, and why scientific methods are capable of producing reliable results. It also engages with debates about aesthetics and “beauty” in scientific theorizing and in interpreting nature, sometimes with guest experts.
Overall, the content tends to connect big abstract questions—realism versus instrumentalism, the nature of explanation, the status of hypotheses—to concrete stories about people, controversies, and changing social values, showing science as a human activity embedded in broader history.
| Episodes: |
018 – Sunbathing2020-Jul-31 55 minutes |
017 – Air Conditioning2020-Jun-29 56 minutes |
016 – Ice2020-Jun-04 74 minutes |
015 – Are Viruses Alive?2020-Apr-27 48 minutes |
014 – Beauty Part 2 with Simon Watt2020-Apr-04 69 minutes |
013 – Beauty Part 1 with Sabine Hossenfelder2020-Feb-04 51 minutes |
012 – Merry Christmas2019-Dec-26 23 minutes |
011 – Vaccines and Power2019-Dec-01 50 minutes |
010 – Do We Live in a Simulation?2019-Oct-13 59 minutes |
009 – Lab Coats2019-May-19 48 minutes |
008 – Valentine's Special: Mamie & Kenneth2019-Feb-14 27 minutes |
007 – What Are Numbers?2019-Jan-29 48 minutes |
006 – Mesmerism2018-Dec-12 69 minutes |
005 – What's the Language of Science?2018-Sep-11 38 minutes |
004 – Flat Earth2018-Aug-30 67 minutes |
003 – Sexy Plants2018-Jul-15 54 minutes |
002 – Why Does Science Work?2018-Mar-22 42 minutes |
001 – Galileo2018-Mar-19 57 minutes |