Electrified monks and scared frogs
The Story
The Times
4 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 15 August 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For this week's Times podcast we thought you might enjoy hearing from a regular guest on the Story; Tom Whipple. In his new podcast, Tom explores the stories behind great scientific discoveries. We've brought two of them together, one of electric current and a second on the capacity of muscles for a helping of double science.
If you'd like to hear more of Tom's series - all ten episodes are available in the Making Science feed.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, it's Adam Grant from Worklife, a podcast from TED. |
| 0:05.3 | This episode is brought to you by FreshWorks. |
| 0:08.0 | FreshWorks believes the complexity is the enemy of efficiency. |
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| 0:16.4 | where ROI is someday, not today. |
| 0:19.1 | You've been overcharged and underserved for way too long. |
| 0:22.7 | Uncomplicate with fresh service for IT and fresh desk for customer support. |
| 0:27.9 | And with FreshWorks AI-assisted service software, you'll work smarter, not harder. |
| 0:33.0 | FreshWorks uncomplicates. |
| 0:35.2 | Learn more at freshworks.com. Hello, it's freshworks.com. |
| 0:55.4 | Hello, it's Manbeen. At the weekend, we like to bring you a taster of some of our sister podcasts, |
| 1:01.7 | episodes that we know you'll enjoy. And this week, back by popular demand, one of our favourite guests on the story, the Times science expert Tom Whipple, now has a podcast of his own. |
| 1:08.5 | And yes, you're going to love it. |
| 1:12.6 | It's called Making Science, |
| 1:17.5 | and it's a chance to explore the weird and wonderful world of scientific discovery as we open up the Whipplepedia to bring you some unexpected tales, |
| 1:22.8 | including this one on electricity, |
| 1:24.8 | which includes a long line of electrocuted monks. |
| 1:42.5 | One day in 1746, 200 monks, briefly flinched, cried out in pain, and, while spread out in a circle half a kilometer wide, spasmed. |
| 1:56.8 | Watching this congline of convulsing clergy, their fellow monk Antoine Nollay smiled. |
| 2:05.7 | He was the one who had electrified them, and he was very pleased indeed. |
| 2:14.1 | It is singular, he later wrote, to see the multitude of different gestures |
| 2:19.3 | and to hear the instantaneous exclamation of those surprised by the shock. |
... |
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