Told You So! with Matt Kaplan

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Apr 3, 2026

Matt Kaplan, science writer and author of Told You So, chronicles scientists who were right but ignored. He discusses clashes between science and power, Galileo and the birth of experimental methods, Semmelweis’s handwashing breakthrough and punishment, Pasteur’s contested legacy, Katalin Karikó’s mRNA struggle, and proposals to fix funding biases. Short, surprising stories about truth, resistance, and how science changes.

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ANECDOTE

Semmelweis Cutting Childbed Fever With Chlorine

Ignaz Semmelweis discovered that doctors carried

ANECDOTE

Pierre-Charles Louis Challenged Leeches With Data

Pierre-Charles Louis recorded treatment outcomes and showed early bleeding harmed pneumonia patients, challenging leeching practices.

ANECDOTE

Pasteur's Public Triumphs and Private Plots

Louis Pasteur publicly claimed credit for vaccines while secretly using others' methods and burying negative outcomes.

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What happens when scientists are right and nobody wants to hear it? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore the frustrating history of brilliant minds who were ignored, mocked, and punished for telling the truth with science writer Matt Kaplan.

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