There Is No One History of Science (but It’s All Interconnected)

What is truth? When does a pandemic “end”? What decisions do we want to leave to artificial intelligence… and which would we rather not?

These are some of the questions “that keep them up at night,” as science journalist Pakinam Amer puts it. “They” are researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science: Adrien de Sutter, Alexander Blum, Dora Vargha, and Yishu Mao. In this special episode of Science Social, Pakinam and host Stephanie Hood sit together with them to journey through the multifaceted ideas and concepts at the intersections of science, society, and history.

In conversation, we explore how the science of the past is deeply connected to our present and future. And, we ask how diverse perspectives from these interdisciplinary spaces can help us to better understand and navigate our ever-evolving world—from devastating pandemics, to cutting-edge physics, to the dawn of AI.