Distillations | Science History Institute

The debut of the female birth control pill in 1960 was revolutionary. The combination of progesterone and estrogen allowed women to control their reproductive lives much more easily and effectively. But the pill had many unpleasant and even dangerous side effects. In fact, some doctors argue that it wouldn’t win government approval today. So why haven’t scientists tried to create a birth control pill for men? It turns out they have. In the 1950s scientists created a really good one. But it had one problem—you can’t drink alcohol when you take it.

Host: Sam Kean
Senior Producer: Mariel Carr
Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez
Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

Music:

Jean-Claude Risset - Mutations
Peter B - The Growling Dog Hit
Perry & Kingsley - Cosmic Ballad
Charlie Hoistman - Ptpar(({|i|[i*8,Pbind(\scale,[0,2,4,7,9],\degree,Pseq(32.fib.fold(0,10),4)+(2*i+i)-10,\dur,1+2**i%2/6)]}!4).flat).play // #supercollider
Régis Renouard Larivière - Contrée
Raymond Scott - Lightworks
Deerhoof - Despareceré
Juk Suk Reet Meate - B3 (excerpt from Solo 1978/79)
Ben Vida - Ssseeeeiiiiii
Marmots - Sheath and Knife
Tim Walters - play{({|k|({|i|y=SinOsc;y.ar(i*k*k,y.ar(i*k**i/[4,5])*Decay.kr(Dust.kr(1/4**i),y.ar(0.1)+1*k+i,k*999))}!8).product}!16).sum}//#supercollider
Eva-Maria Houben - quatuor iv
Young Marble Giants - Zebra Trucks
All other music composed by Jonathan Pfeffer.