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  • Washington, Adams, and Smallpox: An MHS Interview

    Washington, Adams, and Smallpox: An MHS Interview
    2025/10/07
    In this episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle Birchak speaks with Dr. Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai of the Massachusetts Historical Society about the hidden epidemic that shaped the American Revolution. While battles raged, smallpox quietly threatened to destroy the Continental Army and colonial communities. From George Washington’s controversial order to inoculate his soldiers to Abigail Adams’s letters describing her family’s ordeal, this conversation reveals how trust in science, courage, and collective action helped secure America’s future. Three Things Listeners Will Learn: How smallpox ravaged North America during the Revolutionary War and why it was considered more dangerous than the battlefield.Why George Washington’s decision to inoculate the Continental Army may have saved the Revolution.How Abigail and John Adams’s letters reveal the fears, risks, and resilience of ordinary families facing inoculation. Resources & Further Reading: Massachusetts Historical SocietyMassachusetts Historical Society – Adams Family Papers Mount Vernon – George Washington and Smallpox InoculationCenters for Disease Control (CDC) – History of SmallpoxWHO – Eradication of Smallpox 🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com 📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h 🌍 Let’s Connect! Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history Mastodon: https://mathsciencehistory@mathstodon.xyz YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory 🎧 Enjoying the Podcast? ☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show! Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs! Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform Check out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved. Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers 🎵 Audio Editor: Podcast mixed by David Aviles Until next time, carpe diem!
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    1 時間 3 分
  • FLASHCARDS FRIDAY: The Physics You Use!

    FLASHCARDS FRIDAY: The Physics You Use!
    2025/10/03

    Think physics only lives in textbooks and science labs? Think again. In this episode, we break down how physics is baked into your everyday life, from the way you walk and sip your coffee to how your phone works and why doors are designed the way they are.

    No jargon, no equations, just real-world science you already use, without realizing it.

    If you've ever opened a faucet, turned a steering wheel, or spilled your latte, congratulations: you're a physicist in disguise. Tune in and learn how the universe is quietly working with you, every step of the way.

    🔍 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

    1. Why walking without falling is a physics masterpiece, and what inverted pendulums have to do with it.

    2. The science behind everyday things like sloshing coffee, door handles, and boiling water.

    3. How your smartphone uses physics every time you swipe, tilt, or tap.

    🔗 Resources Mentioned:

    • Physics Classroom – Real-World Applications of Newton's Laws

    • How Stuff Works – How Touchscreens Work

    • Veritasium: Why It’s Hard to Walk on Ice (YouTube)

    • MinutePhysics: The Physics of Sloshing Coffee

    🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
    📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

    🌍 Let’s Connect!
    Bluesky:     https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
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    Threads:     https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history
    YouTube:     Math! Science! History! - YouTube
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    🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?

    If you love Math, Science, History, here’s how you can help:
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    🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
    Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers
    🎵 Sound Editor: David Aviles

    Until next time, carpe diem!
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    12 分
  • Ludwig Boltzmann: Entropy, Atoms, and Mental Health

    Ludwig Boltzmann: Entropy, Atoms, and Mental Health
    2025/09/30

    What does it cost to carry a brilliant idea? Ludwig Boltzmann gave us the statistical foundations of entropy and the famous S = k log W, yet his life was marked by relentless skepticism, isolation, and personal struggle. In this episode, we weave Boltzmann’s story with the modern mental health crisis in academia, where anxiety, depression, and burnout affect scientists at alarming rates. We’ll explore how probability explains not only the arrow of time, but also why community, resilience, and care are essential for science to thrive.

    3 Things Listeners Will Learn:

    1. How Ludwig Boltzmann’s statistical mechanics shaped modern physics and why his ideas met fierce resistance.
    2. The scale of today’s mental health crisis in academia — from graduate students to faculty.
    3. Practical tools like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and community support that can help foster resilience in science.

    Resources & Further Reading:

    • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (U.S.)
    • International Association for Suicide Prevention Global Helpline Directory
    • Evans, T. M., et al. “Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education.” Nature Biotechnology (2018).
    • Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Boltzmann’s Work in Statistical Physics
    • Nobel Prize: Jean Perrin’s Nobel Lecture (1926)

    🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
    📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

    🌍 Let’s Connect!
    Bluesky:     https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
    Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history
    Facebook:     https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory
    LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/
    Threads:     https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history
    YouTube:     Math! Science! History! - YouTube
    Pinterest:     https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory


    🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?

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    Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!
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    Check out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store

    Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
    Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers

    🎵 Audio Editor: Podcast mixed by David Aviles

    Until next time, carpe diem!
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    32 分
  • FLASHCARDS: Ahmed Zewail - The Scientist Who Captured Molecules in Motion

    FLASHCARDS: Ahmed Zewail - The Scientist Who Captured Molecules in Motion
    2025/09/26
    What if you could watch molecules move in real time? Nobel Prize-winning chemist Ahmed Zewail made that possible by pioneering femtochemistry, capturing chemical reactions in quadrillionths of a second. In this Flashcards Friday episode, Gabrielle Birchak uncovers Zewail’s remarkable journey: from his modest childhood in Egypt, to facing challenges as an immigrant scientist in the U.S., to transforming the very foundations of chemistry. Along the way, we explore how his resilience, persistence, and vision helped him rise above obstacles and leave a legacy that continues to inspire scientists across the globe. Three Things You’ll Learn How Ahmed Zewail invented femtochemistry and why it transformed our understanding of chemical reactions.What adversities Zewail overcame as a Sunni Muslim scientist from Egypt working in the U.S. and navigating skepticism.Why resilience matters in science — and how Zewail’s persistence can inspire your own path. Resources & Further Reading Ahmed Zewail – Facts - NobelPrize.org Laser femtochemistry - PubMed – By Ahmed Zewail Ahmed Zewail, 1946–2016 - www.caltech.edu Ahmed Hassan Zewail. 26 February 1946—2 August 2016 | Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com 📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h 🌍 Let’s Connect! Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory 🎧 Enjoying the Podcast? If you love Math, Science, History, here’s how you can help:🌟 Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!📢 Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!🔔 Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform ☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal 🛍 Check out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store 🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved. Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers 🎵 Sound Editor: David Aviles Until next time, carpe diem!
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    10 分
  • Quasicrystals Explained: From Forbidden Symmetry to Practical Uses

    Quasicrystals Explained: From Forbidden Symmetry to Practical Uses
    2025/09/23
    In this episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle uncovers the fascinating story of quasicrystals, once thought impossible, now proven to exist both in the lab and in meteorites from space. Listeners will learn how quasicrystals challenged centuries of crystallography, the math that explains their strange patterns, and the surprising ways they’re used today, from non‑stick coatings to futuristic photonics. Three Things You’ll Learn Why quasicrystals broke the old definition of crystals and forced scientists to rewrite the rules.How Penrose tilings and higher‑dimensional geometry reveal the math behind quasiperiodic order.Where quasicrystals are used today in technology, industry, and even planetary science. Resources & Links Dan Shechtman’s Nobel Lecture: Nobel Prize 2011 in ChemistryPaul J. Steinhardt, The Second Kind of Impossible (2019)Marjorie Senechal, Quasicrystals and Geometry (1995)Luca Bindi et al., “Natural Quasicrystals,” Science (2009): https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1170827 🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com 📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h 🌍 Let’s Connect! Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory 🎧 Enjoying the Podcast? ☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show! Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs! Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform Check out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store 🎵 Audio Editor: Podcast mixed by David Aviles Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved. Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers Pulses by P Richmond from Pixabay Marimba Ambient Music by Mircea Iancu from Pixabay A choir of fairies by Music by Alban_Gogh from Pixabay Chocolate Galaxy Waltz Music by aidanpinsent from Pixabay Alien Atmosphere Music by Musinova from Pixabay SFX: Metallic scrape Sound Effect by floraphonic from Pixabay Shine1 Sound Effect by Benjamin Adams from Pixabay Sparkle Sound Effect by Koi Roylers from Pixabay Metal Shop Sound Effect by freesound_community from Pixabay Until next time, carpe diem!
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    25 分
  • FLASHCARDS! Alcuin of York

    FLASHCARDS! Alcuin of York
    2025/09/19

    In this episode of Math Science History, we journey back to 8th-century England to uncover the story of Alcuin of York, a quiet but powerful force behind the Carolingian Renaissance. From his beginnings in the cathedral school of York to his influential role as Charlemagne’s advisor, Alcuin shaped the future of Western education, preserved ancient texts, and helped revive a culture of learning in a world on the brink of intellectual collapse. Discover how this humble teacher from northern England helped build the foundations for modern classrooms and script systems—and even shared a few brain-teasing puzzles along the way.

    Three Things You’ll Learn

    How Alcuin’s work at the Palace School of Charlemagne helped ignite the Carolingian Renaissance

    Why the trivium and quadrivium became the foundation for medieval education—and how they still echo in modern curricula

    The surprising origins of the wolf, goat, and cabbage river-crossing puzzle and its connection to Alcuin’s teaching style

    Resources and Further Reading

    Bullough, Donald A. Alcuin: Achievement and Reputation. Brill, 2004.

    McKitterick, Rosamond. Charlemagne: The Formation of a European Identity. Cambridge University Press, 2008.

    Folkerts, Menso. “Alcuin's Propositiones ad acuendos juvenes.” Historia Mathematica 5, no. 4 (1978): 385–404.

    The Alcuin Club: www.alcuinclub.org.uk

    🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
    📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

    Let’s Connect!
    Bluesky:     https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
    Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history
    Facebook:     https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory
    LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/
    Threads:     https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history
    YouTube:     Math! Science! History! - YouTube
    Pinterest:     https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory

    🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?

    If you love Math, Science, History, here’s how you can help:
    🌟 Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!
    📢 Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!
    🔔 Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform

    ☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal

    🛍 Check out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store

    🎵Audio mixed by David Aviles

    🎵 Music:
    On Matters of Consequence from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers CC0
    Farseer, from Vindsvept CC 4.0
    Until next time, carpe diem!
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    10 分
  • Science Under Siege

    Science Under Siege
    2025/09/16
    In this urgent episode of Math! Science! History, Gabrielle Birchak exposes how the United States is dismantling its scientific foundation through lawsuits, defunding, censorship, and intimidation. From shuttered labs to banned books and silenced climate scientists, Gabrielle connects today’s attacks on knowledge to historical examples of authoritarian suppression—from Galileo’s house arrest to the German Reich’s university purges and Stalin’s pseudoscience. This is more than a culture war; it’s a battle for truth itself. If science falls, society falters. History has shown us the red flags—will we recognize them before it’s too late? Three key takeaways Historical Warnings – How past regimes like Germany's Third Reich, Stalin’s Soviet Union, and Mao’s China crippled their own futures by silencing science. Present-Day Threats – The U.S. government’s defunding of universities, dismantling of climate research, and politicization of curricula. How to Act – Practical ways to defend truth, support at-risk scholars, protect data, and safeguard scientific integrity globally. Resources & References · Scholars at Risk · IIE Scholar Rescue Fund · Union of Concerned Scientists · American Association for the Advancement of Science · Climate Mirror · Internet Archive · WHO Foundation · iNaturalist 🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com 📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h 🌍 Let’s Connect! Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory 🎧 Enjoying the Podcast? ☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show! Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs! Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform Check out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved. Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers 🎵 Audio Editor: Podcast mixed by David Aviles Sound Effect by Amy from Pixabay MMM Ominous Music by Max from Pixabay Radio static by Sound Effect by DRAGON-STUDIO from Pixabay Fire swoosh Sound Effect by Krzysztof Szymanski from Pixabay Keyboard sound by Sound Effect by Rinku from Pixabay Power off sound Effect by DRAGON-STUDIO from Pixabay Evil cyberpunk drones by Bertsz from Pixabay Until next time, carpe diem!
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    45 分
  • FLASHCARDS! More than 24 Hours in a Day

    FLASHCARDS! More than 24 Hours in a Day
    2025/09/05
    Trains, telegraphs, and global trade turned local solar time into a worldwide system, yet the story didn’t stop at 24 neat slices. In this Flashcards! episode, we explore why there are more than 24 time zones, how half-hour and 45-minute offsets came to be, how the International Date Line adds extra zones, why the North Pole has no official time, and how you’d pick a clock for a polar meeting (with a nod to Nunavut coffee culture near the top of the world). G.M.T.- Great Mini Takeaways Prime Time: Why the “24-zone” model grew to include half-hour and 45-minute offsets. Date Line Design: How zigzags in the Pacific create “tomorrow” (and even UTC+14). Polar Protocol: No time zone at the North Pole, so teams pick one and sync. Links & Resources What is Greenwich Mean Time? Royal Museums Greenwich. Royal Museums Greenwich The International Date Line explained. Timeanddate.com. Time and Date Time in Kiribati (GILT/PHOT/LINT; includes UTC+14) Overview. Time and Date Samoa’s 2011 “skipped day” (time-zone shift) Wired magazine. WIRED Alert, Nunavut (northernmost continuously inhabited place) Background. Wikipedia Tim Hortons locations in Nunavut (Iqaluit listings) Official directory. locations.timhortons.ca (Note: You’ll hear a shout-out to coffee “near the top of the world” in Nunavut; official Tim Hortons locations are listed for Iqaluit. Alert is the northernmost inhabited place, but it’s a military station without a public Tim’s listing.) (OTHER NOTE! Collaborate with us! Add to our Nerd Party Playlist! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7hIpM6G5lrW2HzksRb3BhH?si=PHH1lWf7QnaDXhyFQ6pKAg&pt=e10662069c4799e2452cbb99b070546a&pi=yLQAM-wwRz2ev) 🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com 📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h 🌍 Let’s Connect! Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/math.science.history Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathsciencehistory LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/math-science-history/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@math.science.history YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory 🎧 Enjoying the Podcast? If you love Math, Science, History, here’s how you can help:🌟 Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!📢 Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!🔔 Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform ☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal 🛍 Check out our merch: https://www.mathsciencehistory.com/the-store 🎵 Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved. Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers Until next time, carpe diem!
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    11 分