
historyAug 8, 202459:45pending
What If… Science Counterfactuals w/ Adam Rutherford
About this episode
To kick off our new series on counterfactual histories David talks to the geneticist and science writer Adam Rutherford about whether ‘What Ifs’ make sense in science. If one person doesn’t make the big discovery, will someone else do it? Are scientific breakthroughs the product of genius or of wealth and power? And how might the world have been a completely different place if the Haber-Bosch process had not been developed in Germany in 1913?
Sign up now to PPF+ to get ad-free listening and all our bonus episodes: 24 bonuses per year for just £5 a month or a £50 annual subscription www.ppfideas.com
Next time: What if… the French Revolution had happened in China?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Get every episode summarized
Each time Past Present Future publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Past Present Future

The Lives of the Philosophers: Elizabeth Anscombe
Past Present Future
Sep 13, 20261:01:27pending

Now & Then with Robert Saunders: Gladstone vs Disraeli Part 2 (Burnham vs Badeno...
Past Present Future
Sep 9, 202655:08pending

Now & Then with Robert Saunders: Gladstone vs Disraeli – The Bulgarian Horrors
Past Present Future
Sep 6, 202656:43pending

The Lives of the Philosophers: Jean-Paul Sartre
Past Present Future
Sep 2, 202654:57pending