Episodes

  • Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin’s Crystalline Chemistry, Part 1

    Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin’s Crystalline Chemistry, Part 1
    Jul 6 2026
    Dorothy Hodgkin's career in X-ray crystallography impacted a lot of science in the 10th century. Part one of her story covers her early life and formative experiences that led her to her field of research. Research: "Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,Biophysical Society. “Profiles in Biophysics: Dorothy Hodgkin.” 2016. https://www.biophysics.org/profiles/dorothy-hodgkinBoon, Rachel. “Curator Rachel Boon celebrates the work of Dorothy Hodgkin.” Science Museum. 12/10/2014. https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/celebrating-dorothy-hodgkin-britains-first-female-winner-of-a-nobel-science-prize/Bragg, Sir William. “Concerning The Nature Of Things.” London. Bell & Sons. 1932. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.222386/Bud, Robert. "Discoverers and developers of penicillin (act. 1928–1950)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. May 21, 2009. Oxford University Press. Date of access 22 Jun. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-97279Dodson, Guy. “Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin, O.M. 12 May 1910--29 July 1994.” Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society , Dec., 2002, Vol. 48 (Dec., 2002). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3650256DOROTHY CROWFOOT HODGKIN. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach 2026. Wed. 24 Jun 2026. https://www.nobelprize.org/stories/women-who-changed-science/dorothy-hodgkin/Ferry, Georgina. "Dorothy Hodgkin". Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dorothy-Hodgkin. Accessed 24 June 2026.Ferry, Georgina. "Hodgkin, Dorothy Mary Crowfoot (1910–1994), chemist and crystallographer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. May 21, 2009. Oxford University Press. Date of access 22 Jun. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-55028Ferry, Georgina. “Dorothy Hodgkin: A Life.” Bloomsbury. 1998, 2014.Ferry, Georgina. “Dorothy Hodgkin: on proteins and patterns.” The Lancet, 384, 1496-1497. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)61912-7/fulltextFerry, Georgina. “The making of an exceptional scientist.” Nature. Vol. 464. April 29, 2010.Gamble, Jessa. “When Hodgkin met Thatcher.” Nature. Vol. 514. October 16, 2014.Hodgkin, Dorothy Crowfoot. “The X-ray analysis of complicated molecules.” Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1964. https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/hodgkin-lecture-1.pdfHodgkin, Dorothy. “The Pugwash Movement.” India International Centre Quarterly. Vol. 13, No. 2. June 1986. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23001474Howard, Judith A.K. “Dorothy Hodgkin and her contributions to biochemistry.” Nature Reviews. Vol. 4. November 2003.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631003072/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=8d7c4045. Accessed 23 June 2026.Pearce, JMS. “Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin OM, FRS (1910-1994).” Hektoen International. https://hekint.org/2020/11/04/dorothy-crowfoot-hodgkin-om-frs-1910-1994/Perutz, Max. “Dorothy Crowfoot ” The Independent. Via The Crystallographic Community. https://www.iucr.org/people/crystallographers/dorothy-crowfoot-hodgkin-by-m.f.-perutzPietzsch, Jochim. “Perspectives: Enhancing X-ray vision.” Nobel Prize. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1964/perspectives/Ramaseshan, S. “Dorothy Hodgkin and the Indian Connection.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London , Jan., 1996. http://www.jstor.com/stable/531845Root-Bernstein, Robert. “Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin: Structure as Art.” Leonardo , 2007, Vol. 40, No. 3 (2007). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20206415Science History Institute Museum and Library. “Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin.” https://www.sciencehistory.org/education/scientific-biographies/dorothy-crowfoot-hodgkin/The Royal Society. “Dorothy Hodgkin FRS.” https://royalsociety.org/about-us/who-we-are/diversity-inclusion/case-studies/scientists-with-disabilities/dorothy-hodgkin/“Science for peace Building cultures of cooperation and non-violence through scientific collaboration.” 2025. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep73183.6University of Oxford History of Science Museum. “Modelling the Structure of Penicillin.” https://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/backfromthedead/exhibition/the-structure-of-penicillin/index.htmlVijayan, M. “An outstanding scientist and great humanist: An obituary of Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin.” Current Science, 10 August 1994, Vol. 67, No. 3 (10 August 1994). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24095820Wallace, Rob. “Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin: Captured by Crystals.” National World War II 3/16/2022. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/dorothy-hodgkin-penicillin-insulinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    38 mins
  • SYMHC Classics: Sarah Bradlee Fulton

    SYMHC Classics: Sarah Bradlee Fulton
    Jul 4 2026

    This 2023 episode covers Sarah Bradlee Fulton, sometimes called the Mother of the Boston Tea Party. But available information about her is basically a series of anecdotes, and can’t really be corroborated.

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    32 mins
  • Behind the Scenes Minis: Stairs and Trains

    Behind the Scenes Minis: Stairs and Trains
    Jul 3 2026

    Tracy talks about her visit to the Bunker Hill monument. She then describes a very early morning start when she went to visit Oxford on her recent trip to England.

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    29 mins
  • Elizabeth Blackwell's Curious Herbal

    Elizabeth Blackwell's Curious Herbal
    Jul 1 2026
    Elizabeth Blackwell was born in London in the early 18th century, and was known in her lifetime for her achievements as a botanical illustrator. Research: “A Genuine Copy of a Letter &c.” Stockholm, August 20. H. Carpenter in Fleet Street, 1747. https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Genuine_Copy_of_a_Letter_from_a_Mercha.html?id=EPRbAAAAQAAJAlexander, Isabella and Cristina S. Martinez. “2. The First Copyright Case under the 1735 Engravings Act: 
The Germination of Visual Copyright?” From Circulation and Control: Artistic Culture and Intellectual Property in the Nineteenth Century. Marie-Stéphanie Delamaire and Will Slauter, editors. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0247Beharrel, Will. “Elizabeth Blackwell's Curious Herbal.” The Linnean Society. 7/28/2021. https://www.linnean.org/news/2021/07/28/elizabeth-blackwells-curious-herbalBlackwell, Elizabeth (1737). A Curious Herbal. Containing Five Hundred Cuts of the most useful Plants, which are now used in the Practice of Physick. Engraved on folio Copper Plates, after Drawings, taken from the Life. By Elizabeth Blackwell. To which is added a short Description of ye Plants; and their common Uses in Physick. London: Printed for Samuel Harding in St Martin’s Lane, MDCCXXXVII (1737) Rubenstein QK99.A1 B53 1737 folio v.1 c.1. Scan of preface. https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein/files/2022/10/blackwell-preface-scaled.jpgBruce, James. “Lives of Eminent Men of Aberdeen.” Aberdeen. The University Press. 1841. https://archive.org/details/b33028722/Chelsea Physic Garden. “Curious Herbal; Curious Tale.” Newsletter. Spring-Summer 2005.Child, Lydia Maria. “Biographies of Good Wives.” Boston: Munroe & Francis. 1850. https://archive.org/details/biographiesofgoo00chil_0Elliott, Brent. “The World of the Renaissance Herbal.” Renaissance Studies. Vol. 25, No. 1. February 2011. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24420235Evenden, Doreen A. "Blackwell [née Simpson], Elizabeth (1699–1758), botanical author and artist." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. August 08, 2024. Oxford University Press. Date of access 18 Jun. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2540Grosjean, A. N. L. "Blackwell, Alexander (bap. 1709, d. 1747), agricultural improver and government agent in Sweden." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. June 08, 2023. Oxford University Press. Date of access 18 Jun. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2539Huler, Scott. “A Beautiful Find.” Duke Mag. 9/5/2023. https://dukemag.duke.edu/stories/beautiful-findMadge, Bruce. “Elizabeth Blackwell—the forgotten herbalist?” Health Information & Libraries Journal, 18: 144-152. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-1842.2001.00330.xMonroe, Nicky. “Elizabeth Blackwell’s Curious Herbal.” RHS Libraries and Collections. https://www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/libraries-at-rhs/articles/elizabeth-blackwellNewman, Joyce. “Will The Real Elizabeth Blackwell Please Stand Up?” New York Botanical Garden. 7/1/2013. https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/2013/07/exhibit-news/will-the-real-elizabeth-blackwell-please-stand-up/O’Keeffe, Lynda. “Guest post by Lynda O’Keeffe – A Curious Herbal Elizabeth Blackwell’s Pioneering Masterpiece of Botanical Art.” All Things Georgan. 3/8/2024. https://georgianera.wordpress.com/2024/03/08/guest-post-by-lynda-okeeffe-a-curious-herbal-elizabeth-blackwells-pioneering-masterpiece-of-botanical-art/Pardoe, Heather and Maureen Lazarus. “Images of Botany: Celebrating the Contribution of Women to the History of Botanical Illustration.” Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals, Volume 14, Number 4, Fall 2018, pp. 545–566.RHS Digital Collections. “Elizabeth Blackwell's Curious Herbal.” https://collections.rhs.org.uk/collection/111276Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. “Elizabeth Blackwell: Prison, Plotting and the Curious Herbal.” https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/heritage-blog/elizabeth-blackwell-prison-plotting-and-curious-herbalShirk, Henrietta Nickels. “Contributions to Botany, the Female Science, by Two Eighteenth-century Women Technical Communicators.” Technical Communication Quarterly. Vol. 6, No. 3. Summer 1997.Tyson, Janet Stiles. “Introducing Elizabeth Blackwell to Hans Sloane.” British Library Untold Lives Blog. 5/18/2021. Via Archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20210619032948/https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2021/05/introducing-elizabeth-blackwell-to-hans-sloane.htmlTyson, Janet Stiles. “The Rubenstein Library’s disruptive copy of A Curious Herbal.” 11/14/2022. https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein/2022/11/14/a-curious-herbal/Tyson, Janet. “'A Curious Herbal' as Material Witness.” The Linnean Society. 1/10/2023. https://www.linnean.org/news/2023/01/10/a-curious-herbal-as-material-witnessSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    35 mins
  • The Many Meanings of the Bunker Hill Monument

    The Many Meanings of the Bunker Hill Monument
    Jun 29 2026

    Very soon after it was completed in 1842, the Bunker Hill monument started to be about a lot more than just the battle that took place on June 17, 1775.

    Research:

    • "Battle of Bunker Hill." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Nov. 2025. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2FBattle-of-Bunker-Hill%2F18086&ebboatid=9265928. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
    • Markoe, Lauren. “Gun Owners take Aim at New Law.” The Patriot Ledger. Oct. 10 and 11 1998.
    • National Park Service. “Peter Brown.” Last updated 2/26/2025. https://www.nps.gov/people/peter-brown.htm
    • National Park Service. “Remembering Revolution: Bunker Hill Monument.” Last updated 1/2/2025. https://www.nps.gov/bost/remembering-revolution.htm#27EBF851-37AB-4F4E-AA50-9BEDD914F0CC
    • Webster, Daniel. “Dedication Speech for the Unveiling of the Bunker Hill Monument.” 6/17/1843. Via American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/dedication-speech-unveiling-bunker-hill-monument
    • National Park Service. “The Bunker Hill Monument Association: Expressing Gratitude and Patriotism.” Last updated 1/22/2024. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bhma.htm
    • National Park Service. “Bunker Hill Lodge.” Last updated 1/12/2026. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bh-lodge.htm
    • National Park Service. “King Solomon's Lodge.” Last updated 3/30/2023. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bh-ksl.htm
    • Warren, George Washington. “The history of the Bunker Hill monument association during the first century of the United States of America.” Bunker Hill Monument Association. https://archive.org/details/historyofbunkerh00warr/
    • The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire. “Caleb Stark.” https://www.socnh.org/caleb-stark/
    • Stebbins, G.B. “May Day – North and South.” The liberator. v.16:no.21(1846:May 22). Via Digital Commonwealth. https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:gb19h555q
    • Mansfield, Howard. “Silent Witness.” Yankee. Mar/Apr2025, Vol. 89 Issue 2, p80-106.
    • National Park Service. “Bunker Hill Monument Projection, 1998.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bunker-hill-monument-projection-1998.htm
    • Hay, John. “Broken Hearths: Melville's ‘Israel Potter’ and the Bunker Hill Monument.” The New England Quarterly , June 2016, Vol. 89, No. 2 (June 2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24718238
    • Purcell, Sarah J. “Commemoration, Public Art, and the Changing Meaning of the Bunker Hill Monument.” The Public Historian , Vol. 25, No. 2 (Spring 2003). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2003.25.2.55
    • Everett, Edward. “An oration delivered at Charlestown, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1850.” Boston. 1850. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822038214979
    • National Park Service. “Irish Claims to the Revolution.” 2/26/2025. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/irish-claims-to-the-revolution.htm
    • “Unworthy of Concord: A Know-nothing Appeal.” Pilot, Volume 38, Number 18, 1 May 1875. https://newspapers.bc.edu/?a=d&d=pilot18750501-01.2.19&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------+%2C+4----------------
    • National Park Service. “Operation POW.” March 1, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/operation-pow.htm

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    46 mins
  • SYMHC Classics: Four Paperclippers

    SYMHC Classics: Four Paperclippers
    Jun 27 2026

    This 2021 episode talks about several specialists – most with some involvement with the Nazi party – who entered the U.S. and became citizens through Operation Paperclip.

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    36 mins
  • Behind the Scenes Minis: Pacts and Facts

    Behind the Scenes Minis: Pacts and Facts
    Jun 26 2026

    Holly talks about the agreement known as the Pact of the Catacombs and recent developments related to it. There's then discussion of Daguerre's Legion of Honor medal.

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    25 mins
  • Louis Le Prince, the Missing Inventor of Motion Pictures

    Louis Le Prince, the Missing Inventor of Motion Pictures
    Jun 24 2026

    On September 16, 1890, Louis Le Prince vanished. He was never seen or heard from again. While that is the most well-known thing about him, he had a whole life before that which involved some very intriguing things.

    Research:

    • “Amongst the persons …” The Leeds Mercury. August 2, 1870. https://www.newspapers.com/image/390297596/?match=1&terms=%22Louis%20Le Prince%22
    • Atreyee Gupta. “The Disappearance of Louis Le Prince.” Materials Today. Volume 11, Issues 7–8. 2008. Page 56, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-7021(08)70160-3.
    • Aulas, Jean-Jacques and Jacques Pfend. “Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, inventeur et artiste, précurseur du cinéma.” 1895. Vol. 32. 2000. https://doi.org/10.4000/1895.110
    • Britannica Editors. "Étienne-Jules Marey". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Etienne-Jules-Marey
    • Casey, Keiron. “The mystery of Louis Le Prince, the father of cinematography.” Science + Media Museum. Aug. 29, 2013. https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/louis-le-prince-created-the-first-ever-moving-pictures/
    • “CINEMATOGRAPHY Pioneers of Early Cinema: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince (1841-1890?).” National Media Museum. https://www.meiermovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/PioneersOfEarlyCinemaLouisLe Prince.pdf
    • “First Surviving Film.” Guinness World Records. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-surviving-film
    • Fischer, Paul. “The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies.” Simon & Schuster. 2022.
    • “Hannibal Goodwin.” National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/hannibal-goodwin
    • Kelley, Peter. “Louis A. A. Le Prince and the Whitley Family.” Oak Leaves. Oakwood and District Historical Society. Summer 2002. https://www.oakwoodchurch.info/Oak%20Leaves%20Part%203%20-%20Louis%20A%20A%20Le%20Prince%20and%20the%20Whitley%20Family%20by%20Peter%20Kelley.pdf
    • Le Prince, A. “METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ANIMATED PICTURES OF NATURAL SCENERY AND LIFE.” U.S. Patent Office. Jan. 10, 1888. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/26/13/3c/c0bd20490abc9b/US376247.pdf
    • Lewis, Maria. “The tragedy of Louis Le Prince.” ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image). https://www.acmi.net.au/stories-and-ideas/tragedy-louis-le-prince/
    • “The Life, Mystery and Legacy of Louis Le Prince.” Leeds Museums & Galleries. https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/blog-life-mystery-and-legacy-of-louis-le-prince-fylq
    • Marey, Etienne-Jules. “Chronophotographic gun.” Google Arts and Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/chronophotographic-gun-%C3%89tienne-jules-marey-otto-lund/KAFgqcxSaDadqw?hl=en
    • “New research centre honours father of film.” The Reporter. University of Leeds. May 19, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20120205020340/http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/490/s6.htm
    • “PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT NITROBENZENE.” Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp140-c1-b.pdf
    • Rawlence, Christopher. “The Missing Reel: the untold story of the lost inventor of moving pictures.” New York : Atheneum : Maxwell Macmillan International. 1990. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/missingreeluntol0000rawl/mode/1up
    • “Single-lens Cine Camera by Louis Le Prince.” Science Museum Group. https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co18634/le-prince-single-lens-cine-camera-cine-camera-cinematograph
    • Swift, John. "Siege of Paris". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Jan. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Siege-of-Paris-1870-1871
    • Britannica Editors. "Franco-German War". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/event/Franco-German-War
    • Youngs, Ian. “Louis Le Prince, who shot the world's first film in Leeds.” BBC. June 23, 2015. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33198686

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    48 mins