Now this really is a weird one. Joseph Needham was an English chemist who wrote the definitive book on the history of Chinese science. But this podcast is anything but as dull as that sounds. I don't usually worry about spoilers on here because usually the events are aleady, well, history. But in this case, I just suggest you give it a listen. It won't be what you expect.
http://www.tvo.org/TVOsites/WebObjects/TvoMicrosite.woa?bi?1294524000000
