This week’s most noteworthy podcast episodes take up the subjects of the histories of significant plants, access to the commons in England, and a famous medical illustration.
Noteworthy Podcasts (Week Ending 19 September 2025)
history of medicine
The Woman Who Couldn’t Wake Up
My lingering state of feeling perpetually sleep deprived made me take particular notice of a recent Columbia University Press “Off the Page” podcast episode in which Quinn Eastman discussed his new book “The Woman Who Couldn’t Wake Up; Hypersomnia and the Science of Sleepiness” with Melek Firat Altay.
Three Generations, No Imbeciles
Any discussion of eugenics today – or for that matter even mentioning the word “eugenics” without spitting on the floor and cursing afterword to make one’s revulsion to it clear – is fraught with peril indeed. Should such a discussion be attempted, one of two phrases, and perhaps even both, are likely to be mentioned almost right from the start: national socialism and Buck v. Bell.