In this episode of pplpod, we dive into the controversial and groundbreaking life of Charles Knowlton, a 19th-century American physician, atheist, and early birth control advocate. From supplementing his medical education by digging up and dissecting corpses—a crime that landed him in jail—to developing psychological theories of "early behaviorism" in his book Elements of Modern Materialism, Knowlton was a prominent freethinker who constantly challenged the norms of his era.

We explore the massive scandal surrounding his most famous work, The Fruits of Philosophy. Originally shared privately with his patients, this pioneering medical guide summarized the physiology of conception and detailed early methods of contraception, ...