Distillations | Science History Institute

Rare earths power our modern world. They make the magic happen. But at what cost? Tune in to our next episode on June 25th.

Larry Buhl, a feature reporter who investigated the Cuyahoga River fires, digs into how a small 1969 blaze became a national myth. He examines misleading photos, Cleveland politics, other burning rivers, and the timing that turned a local story into a symbol. The conversation traces media, policy shifts, and the river’s surprising recovery.

When we think about the U.S.-Mexico border, it's hard not to think about the current immigration conflict and the contentious idea to build a wall. But the concept of a border wall isn't new: proposals for walls have been made for more than 100 years. Our story starts in 1947, when a group of Texas ranchers demanded a fence along their state's border with Mexico. Their motivation, though, was to stop an outbreak of a disease that struck farm animals. The response to the crisis was complicated and often messy. But in the end two countries came together to solve a complex predicament—instead of building a wall. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producers: Rigoberto Hernandez, Alexis Pedrick Photo illustration by Jay Muhlin Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network. Research Notes Cervantes Sanchez, Juan, Roman Diaz, Ana Bertha Velazquez Camacho. "Una historia de vacunos y vacunas: Retrospectiva de la epizootia de Fiebre Aftosa en Mexico a 65 años de distancia." Revista electronica de Veterinaria 11:B (May 2011). Clements, Kendrick. "Managing a National Crisis: The 1924 Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak in California." California History84:3 (Spring 2007). Domel, Jessica. "USDA Expands Fever Tick Fencing in South Texas." Texas Agriculture Daily, January 2, 2019. Dusenberry William. "Foot and Mouth Disease in Mexico, 1946-1951." Agricultural History 29:2 (April 1955). Fox, M. Kel. "The Campaign against Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Mexico, 1946-1951." Journal of Arizona History 38:1 (Spring 1997). Ledbetter, John. "Fighting Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Mexico: Popular Protest against Diplomatic Decisions." The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 104:(3), (January 2001). Machado, A. Manuel. "Aftosa and the Mexican-United States Sanitary Convention of 1928." Agricultural History 39:4. (October 1965). Mendoza, Mary. "Battling Afotsa: North-to-South Migration Accross the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1947-1954." Journal of the West, 54:1 (Winter 2015). Mendoza, Mary. "Treacherous Terrain: Racial Exclusion and Environmental Control at the U.S.-Mexico Border." Environmental History 23 (January 2018). Mulvey, Ruth. "Cattle Killing Turns Peon against Doctor." The Washington Post, January 4, 1948. Outbreak. Department of Agriculture, Office of Public Affairs. 1949. Proctor, George. "An American Tragedy in Mexico: The Death of Robert Proctor." Journal of Arizona History38:4 (1997). Sill Wickware, Francis. "Crusade in Mexico." Collier's, August 20, 1949. "Texas Cattle Fever." U.S.Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library.

When Mexico and the United States resolved their beef.

Kenton Yannick, processing archivist with archival anecdotes about Walter L. Badger. Jacob Roberts, historical writer on desalination and Freeport's plant. Rigoberto Hernandez, reporter with on‑the‑ground California accounts. They trace 1950s Texas drought, JFK's desalination push, early pilot plants and Badger's evaporation scheme. Conversations move to California droughts, environmental costs of brine, political lock‑in and the limits of desalination.

This Valentine's Day we could have just brought you some sappy love stories from science's past. But instead we offer you three tales of lust, loneliness, betrayal, pettiness, and not one, but two beheadings. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Reporters: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Audio Engineer: James Morrison Photo illustration by Jay Muhlin Additional audio production by Dan Drago Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network Research Notes Martha Drinnan "Is Laurel Hill Haunted?" Laurel Hill Cemetery Blog, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, April 30, 2018. https://laurelhillcemetery.blog/2018/04/30/is-laurel-hill-haunted/. Sherman, Conger. Guide to Laurel Hill Cemetery, Near Philadelphia, 1847. Philadelphia: C. Sherman, 1847. https://archive.org/details/guidetolaurelhi00shergoog. Strauss, Robert. "Grave Sights." Philadelphia Inquirer, October 29, 2010. https://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20101029_Grave_sights.html. It's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate Duveen, Denis. "Madame Lavoisier 1758–1836. Chymia 5 (1953): 13–29. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/27757161.pdf?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents. Everts, Sarah. "Acknowledging Madame Lavoisier." Artful Science (blog), C&EN, June 1, 2011. http://cenblog.org/artful-science/2011/06/01/acknowledging-madame-lavoisier/. Hoffmann, Roald. "Mme. Lavoisier." Scientific American 90 (2002): 22–24. http://www.roaldhoffmann.com/sites/all/files/mme_lavoisier.pdf. "The Human Side of Science: Edison and Tesla, Watson and Crick, and Other Personal Stories behind Science's Big Ideas (2016)." Schoolbag.info. https://schoolbag.info/science/human/6.html. "Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier." Wikipedia, accessed February 11, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marie-Anne_Paulze_Lavoisier&oldid=874565953. Touched by the Angels Clucas, Stephen, ed. John Dee: Interdisciplinary Studies in English Renaissance Thought. Dordrecht: Springer, 2006. Dee, John. The Compendious Rehearsal. London: Thomas Hearne, 1726. British Library (website), Collection Items. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/john-dee-is-accused-of-sorcery-after-staging-a-greek-play. Harkness, Deborah. John Dee's Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. In, Mystical Metal of Gold: Essays on Alchemy and Renaissance Culture, edited by Stanton J. Linden, 35–79. New York: AMS, 2007. Sherman, William Howard. John Dee: The Politics of Reading and Writing in the English Renaissance. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1997.

Egyptian scriptures from 1200 BCE describe painful, migraine-like headaches, so we know the disorder has afflicted people for at least three thousand years. Still, the condition continues to mystify us today. Anne Hoffman is a reporter, a professor, and a chronic migraine sufferer. She spent the past year tracing the history of migraines, hoping to discover clues about a treatment that actually works for her. The journey took her in some interesting directions. One common theme she found? A whole lot of stigma. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Reporter: Anne Hoffman Photo illustration by Jay Muhlin Additional audio production by Dan Drago Music Theme music composed by Zach Young. "Valantis" and "Valantis Vespers" by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network. Research Notes Interviews Matthew Crawford, Doan Fellow, Science History Institute. Margaret Heaney, professor of neurobiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Joanna Kempner, sociologist and author of Not Tonight: Migraine and the Politics of Gender and Health. Anne MacGregor, medical researcher and clinician. Brian McGeeney, assistant professor of neurology, Boston University School of Medicine. Sources Brooklyn Museum, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. "Hildegarde of Bingen." McClory, Robert. "Hildegard of Bingen: No Ordinary Saint." National Catholic Reporter, March 24, 2012. Meares, Hadley. "The Medieval Prophetess Who Used Her Visions to Criticize the Church." Atlas Obscura, July 13, 2016. PBS Frontline. "Hildegard's Scivias." Songfacts. Für Hildegard Von Bingen. Wikipedia. "Scivias." Last modified October 23, 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scivias. Cannabidiol (CBD): Bazelot, Michaël, Chen Tong, Ibeas Bih, Dallas Mark, Clementino Nunn, Alistair V. W. Whalley Benjamin. "Molecular Targets of Cannabidiol in Neurological Disorders." Neurotherapeutics 12 (2015): 699–730. Chen, Angus. "Some of the Parts: Is Marijuana's 'Entourage Effect' Scientifically Valid?" Scientific American, April 20, 2017. Grinspoon, Peter. "Cannabidiol (CBD)—What We Know and What We Don't." Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, August 24, 2018. Science Vs. "CBD: Weed Wonder Drug?" Podcast audio, November 15, 2018.. Migraine: Kempner, Joanna. "The Birth of the Dreaded 'Migraine Personality.'" Migraine Again, November 30, 2017. Neighmond, Patti. "Why Women Suffer More Migraines Than Men." Shots: Health News from NPR, National Public Radio, April 16, 2012. Peterlin, B. Lee, Saurabh Gupta, Thomas N. Ward, and Anne MacGregor. "Sex Matters: Evaluating Sex and Gender in Migraine and Headache Research." Headache 51(6) (2011): 839–842. Sharkey, Lauren. "Why Don't We Know More about Migraines?" BBC Future, British Broadcasting Corporation, July 2, 2018. Wikipedia. "Aretaeus of Cappadocia." Last modified December 6, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aretaeus_of_Cappadocia. Cannabis for Migraine: Mandal, Ananya. "Migraine History." News-Medical, August 23, 2018. MDede. "Are Cannabinoids and Hallucinogens Viable Treatment Options for Headache Relief?" Neurology Reviews 22(5) (2014): 22–23. Available at MDedge, Clinical Neurology News. Archival: Grass—The History of Marijuana. Directed by Ron Mann. Toronto: Sphinx Productions, 1999. Hildegard of Bingen. Directed by James Runcie. London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1994. Reefer Madness. Directed by Louis J. Gasnier. Los Angeles: George A. Hirliman Productions, 1938.

Happy holidays from all of us here at Distillations. This holiday season our gift to you is a sneak peak at some of the stories we have in the works for 2019.