For much of the 20th century, it felt like at any moment the world might turn upside down via a new discovery. From tectonic plates to DNA's double helix to humans on the moon, the headlines featured marvel after marvel. But in the race for knowledge, new research suggests we've slowed from our early sprint. In the journal Nature this month, researchers used a new technique to qualify, and then quantify, scientific breakthroughs. The results? Our proportion of blockbuster discoveries to regular science has shrunk, and shrunk a lot. This week, Brooke sits down with William J. Broad, science journalist and senior writer at The New York Times, to discuss the merits of the analysis, and what it might mean for science.

This is a segment from our January 20, 2023 show, Great Expectations.