samkean.bsky.social

Where's Genghis Khan’s lost grave?🪦What scrolls on Troy vanished with the Library of Alexandria?📜What forgotten civilizations lie beneath Amazon jungles?🌴 Find out in “The Museum of Lost Things", out tomorrow! Order now!👇 www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-museum... www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-...

Lassoing giraffes? 🦒 Wrasslin’ Rhinos?! 🦏 When new animals were needed for the Berlin Zoo, its keeper went full cowboy on them. His exploits were as wild as the Serengeti itself. New episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Birds do it. 🦉 Bees do it. 🐝 But do astronauts a thousand miles above the trees do it? 🚀👩‍🚀 Maybe! Everything you need to know about sex in space. The Disappearing Spoon podcast returns for a new season! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

DC: I'm speaking tomorrow on my new book at 2pm at the Georgetown Barnes & Noble. Hope you to see you all there! @barnesandnoble.com www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-museum...

New York: I'm speaking at the Upper West Side Barnes & Noble tomorrow night at 7p. Hope to see everyone there! @barnesandnoble.com www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-museum...

Get up to 35% off my new book, The Museum of Lost Things (audio + e-versions, too!) IF YOU PRE-ORDER before 9/11. See the code here: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-museum... Plus, two Barnes&Noble talks soon: Upper West Side NYC: 9/16, 7p Georgetown DC: 9/19, 2p @barnesandnoble.com

That's why my bosses at SFGATE just rolled out an app that lets you read everything we write there, ad free, for just a few bucks a month. This is how we beat Google. It's also how good people keep their jobs. Please consider subscribing. www.sfgate.com/news/article...

My new book is out two weeks from today! The Museum of Lost Things, about the greatest lost treasure in history. Enjoy this preview, and you can pre-order RIGHT NOW: www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-... www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-museum... bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

In one month ... I have a new book out!🥳“The Museum of Lost Things,” on history’s greatest lost treasures. My widest-ranging book yet, and Amazon named it a Best Book of September. Pre-order now!👇 www.amazon.com/Museum-Lost-... www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-museum... bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

In the 1960s, NASA needed better spacesuits. So they turned to the one firm on earth capable of meeting their strict standards: the Playtex underwear company. Season finale—and a glimpse at my new book—below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

His book on evolution rocked 1800s England. Not Charles Darwin. Robert Chambers, whose infamous tome both horrified Darwin, yet paved the way for him. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Nurse Laura Cobb saved more lives than Clara Barton or Florence Nightingale, and under far worse conditions—in a brutal World War II concentration camp. So why did the world forget her? podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

In the 1950s, scientists hated politics. Then Allen Astin got fired over, of all things, a battery. After that, scientists knew they had to play politics—or face professional annihilation. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

No one in Columbus’s time believed the world was flat. So why did so many children learn this bogus “fact” in school? It all goes back to Rip van Winkle. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

When the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, the two most scientific detectives in the world took on the case. But they overlooked the real enemy—their own petty prejudice. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

The Smyth Report is the strangest book ever written on atomic bombs—as well as highly effective science propaganda, warping our view of everything from the Manhattan Project to Robert Oppenheimer. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

When a British sub sank with all hands, biologist JBS Haldane volunteered to investigate by experimenting on himself—even if it meant losing his own life in the process. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

There’s only one thing Dr. John Haldane loved more than running dangerous experiments on himself—running them on his son Jack. But the duo would revolutionize our understanding of the human body, and save many sailors' lives in the process. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

At age 28, a burned-out Charles Lindbergh took an unpaid internship in a medical lab. His goal? To build an artificial heart—and make human beings immortal. The Disappearing Spoon podcast returns for a new season! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

A century ago, teacher John Scopes was charged with the “crime” of teaching evolution. But Scopes was hardly a defiant Galileo, nobly standing up for truth. In fact, he never even taught evolution. (Really.) But he was still a hero. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Astronomer Jules Janssen was desperate to escape the siege of Paris and observe an eclipse. So he decided to flee in a balloon—despite the German army’s promise to shoot him if he tried. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

In the 1970s, paramedic units were illegal in the United States. One (very bad) television show, Emergency!, set out to change that—and saved tens of thousands of lives in the process. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

A British spy (and murderer) convinced biologists that the Forest Owlet was extinct. But after his frauds were exposed, one biologist grew obsessed with finding out whether it was still alive. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

He was a brilliant ornithologist—and a spy so colorful that James Bond was based on him. Richard Meinertzhagen was also a liar and a thief, and perpetrated the biggest fraud in biology history. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

Taxonomy has an ugly history of naming species after despicable people—even Adolf Hitler. But taxonomists have resisted most efforts to change such names, for reasons both good and bad. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

The eagle that made John James Audubon famous—the Bird of Washington—was a fraud. In fact, historians now know that much of Audubon’s legendary life was built on lies. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

In 1826, John James Audubon’s career was in ruins—until he hatched a desperate plan, involving a rare eagle. When the gamble paid off, it made Audubon the most famous ornithologist in history. New episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

This Thursday, 1pm EST, I'm chatting online about Dinner with King Tut with the fabulous @scifri.bsky.social crew! Join for a lively discussion and Q&A. Free and open to all at this link: www.youtube.com/live/xkD-bPg...

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor bizarre research that makes you laugh, then think—like this levitating frog. Some scientists despise them. But they benefit science in surprising ways. Episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

It's Nobel Prize week. Winning a Nobel is good—mostly. But laureates often go kooky and promote bizarre things like ESP, AIDS denialism, and worse. Psychologists now understand why. New podcast season starts today! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

DC folks - don't miss my talk at the Georgetown @barnesandnoble.com on Thursday night, the 4th, at 7pm. I'll have the mummy fish. 🐟 Hope to see you there! stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/978006...

Reminder: I’m giving a talk online about Dinner with King Tut tomorrow at 6:30p EST. Anyone in the world can watch, so don't miss out! Register below... www.si.edu/events/detai...

Hey, all, I’m speaking about my new book, Dinner with King Tut, on the world wide interwebs next week—August 14th, 6:30p, with the Smithsonian! Register below... www.si.edu/events/detai...

New York reminder: I'm speaking about my new book, Dinner with King Tut, @strandbookstore.bsky.social‬ tomorrow night at 7pm, along with @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social of Depths of Wikipedia! You can purchase signed copies, even if you can't make the event: www.strandbooks.com/events/event...

A reminder: I'm speaking about my new book, Dinner with King Tut, @politicsprose.bsky.social tomorrow night, 7pm. Joining me is the wonderful @melissablock.bsky.social of NPR fame! Hope to see you there... (Streaming link here: politics-prose.com/sam-kean)

To those in New York - I'm speaking about my new book, Dinner with King Tut, at ‪@strandbookstore.bsky.social‬ a week from today, July 9th, at 7pm. Joining me is the fabulous Annie Rauwerda of Depths of Wikipedia @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social‬! Hope to see you there...

Hey, DC - I'm speaking about my new book, Dinner with King Tut, @politicsprose.bsky.social a week from tomorrow, July 8th, at 7pm. Joining me is the wonderful @melissablock.bsky.social! Hope to see you there... politics-prose.com/sam-kean

Ever wonder how to make a mummy at home? You can learn right now, in this sneak-peak audiobook preview of my new book, Dinner with King Tut... podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Get the adventure started early!🔎 Anyone who pre-orders my NEW BOOK, Dinner with King Tut, can get a sneak peek and read the introduction and first chapter now. Just fill out the form at hachettebookgroup.formstack.com/forms/dinner...

Why did so many doctors and engineers enthusiastically embrace the Nazis? Vanity, opportunism, and pseudoscience. Listen now—and get a DISCOUNT PROMO CODE for my new book, Dinner with King Tut: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

My new book Dinner with King Tut was named a top nonfiction read of the summer by the New York Times! You can preorder now: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dinner-wit... www.amazon.com/Dinner-King-... www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/b...

When Charles Dickens included a scene about spontaneous combustion in one of his novels, some scientists went ballistic. It ignited one of the strangest controversies in literary history. New episode below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

It was one the largest epidemics in American history, resulting in 30,000 cases of paralysis. And it would be forgotten today if not for blues musicians who recorded the details in their songs. New podcast below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

Asbestos was once considered a miracle substance, due to its ability to stop the fires that plagued every city. Sadly, it also shreds people’s lungs—until one crusading doctor ended this scourge. Full story below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

Although forgotten today, rickets once devastated children, leaving their bones twisted. Finding the cause took decades, but ended with a startling discovery—nothing less than human photosynthesis. Story below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

Attention @barnesandnoble members! Through Friday, get 25% off my NEW BOOK, Dinner with King Tut. Act fast before the deal expires: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dinner-wit...

Compared to his father Charles, Leonard Darwin felt like a failure—a mediocre military officer and two-bit politician. Then Leonard found his calling: the dark world of eugenics. Hear his chilling tale below... podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

The birds and the bees and the ... frogs? 🐸 Last century, the best pregnancy tests in the world relied on our little croaking friends, who initiated a revolution in health care. Full story below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

In the 1950s, French doctor Marthe Gautier discovered the cause of Down syndrome. But a colleague allegedly stole credit from her—and is now on track to become a certified Catholic saint. Full story below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

The question seems simple: how many chromosomes do humans have? But every textbook in the world cited the wrong number, until a fiery Indonesian scientist went to war with his boss and proved the world wrong. Full story below! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...