History & Culture/Books

Agatha Christie: From Pharmacist’s Apprentice to Poison Expert

The following is an excerpt from A is for Arsenic by Kathryn Harkup. Listen to SciFri on September 24, 2015 to hear Harkup talk more about the influence of Agatha Christie and her novels. Agatha Christie’s knowledge of poisons was certainly exceptional. Few other novelists can claim to have been read by pathologists as reference […]

SciFri Book Club Meet-Up

Join the SciFri Book Club This Summer

A Sleepless Night Aboard the Spaceship

The Day the Moon Blew Up

How Math is Like Baking: You Just Need a Recipe

The following is an excerpt from How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics, by Eugenia Cheng. Listen to SciFri on May 8, 2015, to hear Cheng talk more about practical math applications. Pie: Abstractions as Blueprints Cottage pie, shepherd’s pie, and fisherman’s pie are all more or less the same—the […]

Attack of the Luddites!

The following is an excerpt from Sydney Padua's graphic novel The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage. Tune in to SciFri on Friday, April 24, to hear Padua talk more about her work. Click on the images to enlarge   Excerpted from The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage by Sydney Padua. Copyright © 2015 […]

How a Bar Fight Paved the Way for Heart Surgery

The following is an excerpt from The Man Who Touched His Own Heart by Rob Dunn. Listen to SciFri on Friday, February 13, 2015, to hear Dunn discuss more about the book. It was July of 1893, and the city of Chicago was melting. It was the summer of the World’s Fair, when inventions from […]

SciFri Book Club: David Grann Answers Your Questions

David Grann ventured into the heart of the Amazon’s “Green Hell” in search of the truth behind explorer Percy Fawcett’s 1925 disappearance—and lived to tell about it. Below, The Lost City of Z author answers questions from the SciFri Book Club. Warning: a few mini-spoilers ahead.  Question: Of all the explorers who have perished on […]

Join the SciFri Book Club LIVE in NYC

UPDATE: Due to inclement weather in the New York City area, the Science Friday Book Club's discussion of The Lost City of Z has been re-scheduled. Our make-up date will be Thursday, February 5th. All other details concerning the event remain the same, including our start time of 6:30 p.m. We hope to see you there!   If you are unable to make the […]