In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a new public interest in health inequities research. With this new focus, there also has come new funding with many researchers and institutions clamoring to receive lucrative funding and recognition in the field, but there are no official guidelines to distinguish a health equity expert. In this episode we sit down with Dr. Elle Lett who coined the term "health equity tourism" to describe when privileged and previously unengaged scholars enter the health equity field without developing the necessary expertise. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producers: Padmini Raghunath & Sarah Kaplan Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

Of all wealthy countries, the United States is the most dangerous place to have a baby. Our maternal mortality rate is abysmal, and over the past five years it’s only gotten worse. And there are huge racial disparities: Black women are three times more likely to die than white women. Despite some claims to the contrary, the problem isn’t race, it’s racism. In this episode we trace the origins of this harrowing statistic back to the dawn of American gynecology—a field that was built on the bodies of enslaved women. And we’ll meet eight women who have dedicated their lives to understanding and solving this complex problem. Credits Host: Alexis Pedrick  Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Certain medical instruments have built-in methods of correcting for race. They’re based on the premise that Black bodies are inherently different from White bodies. The tool that measures kidney function, for example, underestimates how severe some Black patients’ kidney disease is, and prevents them from getting transplants. Medical students and doctors have been trying to do away with race correction tools once and for all. And they’re starting to see some success. About Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race “Correcting Race” is Episode 9 of Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race, a podcast and magazine project that explores the historical roots and persistent legacies of racism in American science and medicine. Published through Distillations, the Science History Institute’s highly acclaimed digital content platform, the project examines the scientific origins of support for racist theories, practices, and policies. Innateis made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Credits  |   Resource List   |   Transcript Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.   Resource List A Unifying Approach for GFR Estimation: Recommendations of the NKF-ASN Task Force on Reassessing the Inclusion of Race in Diagnosing Kidney Disease, by Cynthia Delgado, Mukta Baweja, Deidra C Crews, Nwamaka D Eneanya, Crystal A Gadegbeku, Lesley A Inker, Mallika L Mendu, W Greg Miller, Marva M Moxey-Mims, Glenda V Roberts, Wendy L St Peter, Curtis Warfield, Neil R Powe A Yearslong Push to Remove Racist Bias From Kidney Testing Gains New Ground, by Theresa Gaffney   ‘An entire system is changing’: UW Medicine stops using race-based equation to calculate kidney function, by Shannon Hong  Breathing Race into the Machine: The Surprising Career of the Spirometer from Plantation to Genetics, by Lundy Braun  Expert Panel Recommends Against Use of Race in Assessment of Kidney Function, by Usha Lee McFarling  Hidden in Plain Sight – Reconsidering the Use of Race Correction in Clinical Algorithms, by Darshali A. Vyas, Leo G. Eisenstein, and David S. Jones Medical student advocates to end racism in medicine, by Anh Nguyen  Precision in GFR Reporting Let’s Stop Playing the Race Card, by Vanessa Grubbs  Reconsidering the Consequences of Using Race to Estimate Kidney Function, by Nwamaka Denise Eneanya,  Wei Yang, Peter Philip Reese

When the plague broke out in San Francisco in 1900 the public health department poured all of their energy into stopping its spread in Chinatown, as if Chinatown were the problem. This episode reveals why they did it, what it has to do with race science, and what it tells us about the history of public health. Credits Host: Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

In 2005 the FDA approved a pill to treat high blood preassure only in African Americans. This so-called miracle drug was named BiDil, and it became the first race-specific drug in the United States. It might sound like a good a good thing, but it had the unintended consequence of perpetuating the myth that race is a biological construct.  Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.   Resource List Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-first Century, by Dorothy Roberts Oprah’s Unhealthy Mistake, by Osagie K. Obasogie Race in a Bottle: The Story of BiDil and Racialized Medicine in a Post-Genomic Age, by Jonathan Kahn Saving Sam: Drugs, Race, and Discovering the Secrets of Heart Disease, by Jay Cohn The Slavery Hypertension Hypothesis: Dissemination and Appeal of a Modern Race Theory, by Jay S Kaufman, Susan A Hall Superior: The Return of Race Science, by Angela Saini

The word “Tuskegee” has come to symbolize the Black community’s mistrust of the medical establishment. It has become American lore. However, most people don’t know what actually happened in Macon County, Alabama, from 1932 to 1972. This episode unravels the myths of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Syphilis Study (the correct name of the study) through conversations with descendants and historians. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Resource List Black Journal; 301; The Tuskegee Study: A Human Experiment Descendants of men from horrifying Tuskegee study want to calm virus vaccine fears, by David Montgomery  Examining Tuskegee: The infamous Syphilis Study and Its Legacy  Nova: The Deadly Deception  Susceptible to Kindness: Miss Evers’ Boys and the Tuskegee Syphis Study  Tuskegee Legacy Stories Under the Shadow of Tuskegee: African Americans and Health Care, by Vanessa Northington Gamble Voices For Our Fathers Legacy Foundation

In 1991, as crews broke ground on a new federal office building in lower Manhattan, they discovered human skeletons. It soon became clear that it was the oldest and largest African cemetery in the country. The federal government was ready to keep building, but people from all over the African diaspora were moved to treat this site with dignity, respect, and scientific excellence. When bioarchaeologist Michael Blakey took over, that's exactly what they got. But it wasn't easy. Credits Host: Alexis Pedrick  Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.   Resource List Archaeology under the Blinding Light of Race, by Michael Blakey African Burial Ground Project: Paradigm for Cooperation? by Michael Blakey The African Burial Ground in New York City: Memory, Spirituality, and Space, by Andrea E. Frohne The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery, documentary film by David Kutz Reassessing the “Sankofa Symbol” in New York's African Burial Ground, by Erik R. Seeman The New York African Burial Ground Final Reports, by multiple authors

In 2019, Abdul-Aliy Muhammad, a community organizer and journalist, learned that the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology had a collection of skulls that belonged to enslaved people. As Muhammad demanded that the university return these skulls, they discovered that claiming ownership over bodies of marginalized people is not just a relic of the past—it continues to this day. Credits Host: Alexis Pedrick  Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Resource List It’s past time for Penn Museum to repatriate the Morton skull collection, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad Penn Museum seeks to rebury stolen skulls of Black Philadelphians and ignites pushback, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad Penn Museum owes reparations for previously holding remains of a MOVE bombing victim, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad City of Philadelphia should thoroughly investigate the MOVE remains’ broken chain of custody, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad Black Philadelphians in the Samuel George Morton Cranial Collection , by Paul Wolff Mitchell Some skulls in a Penn Museum collection may be the remains of enslaved people taken from a nearby burial ground, by Stephan Salisbury Remains of children killed in MOVE bombing sat in a box at Penn Museum for decades, by Maya Kassutto The fault in his seeds: Lost notes to the case of bias in Samuel George Morton's cranial race science, by Paul Wolff Mitchell She Was Killed by the Police. Why Were Her Bones in a Museum?, by Bronwen Dickey Corpse Selling and Stealing were Once Integral to Medical Training, by Christopher D.E. Willoughby Medicine, Racism, and the Legacies of the Morton Skull Collection, by Christopher D.E. Willoughby Final Report of the Independent Investigation into the City of Philadelphia’s Possession of Human Remains of Victims of the 1985 Bombing of the MOVE Organization, prepared by Dechert LLP and Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads LLP, for the city of Philadelphia The Odyssey of the MOVE remains, prepared by the Tucker Law Group for the University of Pennsylvania Move: Confrontation in Philadelphia, film by Jane Mancini and Karen Pomer Let the Fire Burn, film by Jason Osder Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (MOVE) Records, archival collection at Temple University's Urban Archives

In the 1990s a liberal population geneticist launched the Human Genome Diversity Project. The goal was to sequence the genomes of “isolated” and “disappearing” indigenous groups throughout the world. The project did not go as planned—indigenous groups protested it, and scientists and anthropologists criticized it. This episode examines what went wrong and asks the question: can anti-racist scientists create racist science?  About Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race “The Vampire Project” is Episode 4 of Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race, a podcast and magazine project that explores the historical roots and persistent legacies of racism in American science and medicine. Published through Distillations, the Science History Institute’s highly acclaimed digital content platform, the project examines the scientific origins of support for racist theories, practices, and policies. Innate is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.

In the 1970s Barry Mehler started tracking race scientists and he noticed something funny: they all had the same funding source. One wealthy man was using his incredible resources to prop up any scientist he could find who would validate his white supremacist ideology—and make it seem like it was backed by a legitimate scientific consensus. About Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race “Keepers of the Flame” is Episode 3 of Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race, a podcast and magazine project that explores the historical roots and persistent legacies of racism in American science and medicine. Published through Distillations, the Science History Institute’s highly acclaimed digital content platform, the project examines the scientific origins of support for racist theories, practices, and policies. Innate is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.   Resource List ‘The American Breed’: Nazi eugenics and the origins of the Pioneer Fund, by Paul Lombardo  The Funding of Scientific Racism: Wickliffe Draper and the Pioneer Fund, by William Tucker The New Eugenics: Academic Racism in the U.S. Today, by Barry Mehler  The Phil Donahue Show  Superior: The Return of Race Science, by Angela Saini

In 1793 a yellow fever epidemic almost destroyed Philadelphia. The young city was saved by two Black preachers, Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, who organized the free Black community in providing essential services and nursing the sick and dying. Allen and Jones were assured of two things: that stepping up would help them gain full equality and citizenship, and that they were immune to the disease. Neither promise turned out to be true.  About Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race “Calamity in Philadelphia” is Episode 2 of Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race, a podcast and magazine project that explores the historical roots and persistent legacies of racism in American science and medicine. Published through Distillations, the Science History Institute’s highly acclaimed digital content platform, the project examines the scientific origins of support for racist theories, practices, and policies. Innate is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Richard Allen voiceover by Jason Carr “Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Resource List How the Politics of Race Played Out During the 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic, by Alicia Ault A short account of the malignant fever, lately prevalent in Philadelphia: with a statement of the proceedings that took place on the subject in different parts of the United States, by Mathew Carey Medicalizing Blackness: Making Racial Difference in the Atlantic World, 1780-1840, by Rana A. Hogarth A narrative of the proceedings of the black people, during the late awful calamity in Philadelphia, in the year 1793, by Absalom Jones and Richard Allen Freedom’s Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers, by Richard Newman Observations upon the origin of the malignant bilious, or yellow fever in Philadelphia, and upon the means of preventing it: addressed to the citizens of Philadelphia, by Benjamin Rush Bishop Richard Allen: Apostle of Freedom, produced by Dr. Mark Tyler Transcript

In 2018 ancient DNA researchers revealed their analysis of a 10,000 year old skeleton called Cheddar Man. He was the oldest complete skeleton ever discovered in England, and the revelation that he had dark skin challenged assumptions many people had about what the earliest people in Britain looked like. 

It might seem as though the way we think about race now is how we’ve always thought about it—but it isn’t. Race was born out of the Enlightenment in Europe, along with the invention of modern western science. And it was tied to the politics of the age—imperialism and later slavery. This episode traces the origins of race science to the Enlightenment, examines how the Bible influenced racial theories, and considers how we still have a hard time letting go of the idea of race. About Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race “Origin Stories” is Episode 1 of Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race, a podcast and magazine project that explores the historical roots and persistent legacies of racism in American science and medicine. Published through Distillations, the Science History Institute’s highly acclaimed digital content platform, the project examines the scientific origins of support for racist theories, practices, and policies. Innate is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer "Innate Theme" composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Special thanks to our colleagues, Jacqueline Boytim and James Voelkel, for their help with this episode. Resource List Archaeology under the Blinding Light of Race, by Michael Blakey  Breathing Race into the Machine: the Surprising Career of the Spirometer from Plantation to Genetics, by Lundy Braun  Divine Variations: How Christian Thought Became Racial Science, by Terence Keel  Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-first Century, by Dorothy Roberts "Jesus Loves the little Children," song by Cedarmont Kids  Medicalizing Blackness: Making Racial Differences in the Atlantic World, 1780-1840, by Rana Hogarth The Nuremberg Chronicle, by Hartmann Schedel Superior: The Return of Race Science, by Angela Saini Find the full transcript here.

Our new season, Innate: How Science Invented the Myth of Race, drops on February 7th.

What comes to mind when you think of a chemistry lab? Maybe it’s smoke billowing out of glassware, or colorful test tubes, or vats of toxic substances. Chemistry and hazardous solvents just seem to go hand in hand. But chemists like James Mack think there’s a greener way: It’s called mechanochemistry, a kind of chemistry that uses physical force to grind materials instead of solvents. And it’s getting the attention of such huge corporations as Exxon Mobil. Still, some chemists are not ready to give up their traditional techniques. “I thought they were married to the molecules,” says Mack, who is pictured above placing vials into a machine that uses fast-spinning ball bearings to pulverize molecules. “Little did I know they were actually married to the flask.”   Credits Host: Elisabeth Berry Drago Reporter, Producer, and Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath

The Disappearing Spoon, a podcast collaboration between the Science History Institute and New York Times best-selling author Sam Kean, returns for its third season on March 8, 2022. To celebrate, our producer, Padmini Parthasarathy, sat down with Kean to talk about his book The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code. This interview is a great companion piece for the new season of The Disappearing Spoon, which tackles all sorts of strange and interesting stories about the geniuses we know well—from Einstein and his great scientific blunder that turned out to be correct, to Monet and the cataracts that almost made him put down his brush forever. Listen as Kean talks about violin protégé Niccolo Paganini, whose genes were both a blessing and a curse, the scientific arms race that led to the mapping of the human genome, and the sometimes-murky lines between human and non-human. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Associate Producer: Padmini Parthasarathy Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Photo: Wikimedia Commons

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about Alessandro Moreschi, the so-called Angel of Rome. His voice earned him fame and money. So what's the secret behind the voice? What was his trick? It turns out that his trick can also make you taller and prevent baldness. The only catch: it requires castration. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about the strange origin story of the American Medical Association. The creation of this powerful medical society can be traced back to a duel between two doctors at Transylvania University in Kentucky. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about Hermann Muller, a geneticist who in the 1920s discovered that radiation causes genetic mutations. This discovery happened around the same time that other geneticists were starting to link cancer with genetic mutations. Had both of these parties communicated they would have gotten a 50-year head start in cancer research. So why didn't scientists make this realization sooner? It turns out that Muller was a real jerk. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

On this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about a murder mystery that rocked Boston in 1849. Harvard University alum and physician George Parkman had gone missing. The last place he was seen alive was at the Harvard medical building, which had plenty of bodies, but police couldn't find Parkman’s there. That is until a janitor intervened and implicated a medical school professor. The ensuing murder trial was a media circus equivalent to the O. J. Simpson trial. And just like that trial, it also familiarized the layperson with forensic and anatomical sciences. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Photo: Wellcome Collection

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean breaks down the history of nitrocellulose. This thick, transparent liquid was the world’s first plastic and could be shaped into anything, including billiard balls and photography film. With nitrocellulose film, you could run reels of pictures together quickly, which gave birth to the first movies. The only fatal flaw with this plastic is that it’s also extremely combustible—so much so that it can burn underwater once it gets going. This led to notable tragedies in movie theaters, as well as in hospitals that used nitrocellulose X-rays such as the Cleveland Clinic Hospital, where 122 people died in a fire in 1929. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about Mary Ward, a budding naturalist and astronomer from Ireland. She spent a lot of time observing plants and animals through a microscope and published a book of detailed sketches that dazzled readers and colleagues in the 1800s. However, her career was cut short by a strange curiosity of that time period: the automobile. They weren’t the same cars that are around today, but her death was the first car death recorded in history, and it foreshadowed the carnage the automobile continues to leave behind. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about memory fugues, a psychological disorder that wipes out biographical information from people’s brains. It is estimated that roughly 1 in 100,000 people seeking help for mental disorders have them. This disorder happens worldwide and it usually afflicts people in their 20s. Scientists have only recently started to piece together what is going on in the brains of those impaired by it. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

On this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean delves deep into the science behind the evolution of animal and human bodies. Like animals, human bodies have also evolved to adhere to the demands of ever-changing climates. This raises a question: how will human bodies respond to climate change? Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

In this episode of Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean discusses the horrors of a particular genetic disease that was, literally, sweeping through London in the 1700s. In 1666, the Great Fire of London consumed about 13,000 homes and caused the modern equivalent about $1.3 billion in damage. After the Great Fire, London officials made chimneys mandatory in all homes and buildings. All these new chimneys meant there was a big demand for sweepers. Who did they employ to clean these narrow, soot-filled chimneys you ask? Very young boys. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

Animal trials have always been part of society, but we are not talking about the ones with lab mice. In medieval times dozens of animals were tried in human courts for committing human crimes. It sounds silly, but the practice raises an uncomfortable question that we are still grappling with today: if we hold animals accountable in court, doesn’t that mean that they deserve some sort of legal protection? We kill them for food and skin them for leather after all. What about medical and product trials that sacrifice thousands of animals despite the fact that they have had diminishing returns throughout the years? Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

The Disappearing Spoon, a podcast collaboration between the Science History Institute and New York Times best-selling author Sam Kean, returns for its second season on October 5, 2021. To celebrate, our producer, Rigoberto Hernandez, sat down with Kean to talk about his new book The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science. This interview is a great companion piece for The Disappearing Spoon series since some of the stories in the book relate directly to some of the stories in the upcoming season. In this interview Kean talks about some of the case studies in his book, including how Thomas Edison shifted his ethics on the death penalty because of a grudge, how a part-time chemist from Philadelphia became an unlikely spy, and how an American doctor purposefully infected people in Guatemala with venereal diseases—all in the name of science. Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

The human brain is mysterious and complicated. So much so, one might be tempted to argue that it only makes sense that we still don’t have a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, despite decades of research. But this isn’t the whole story. We’ve partnered with Vox’s Unexplainable science podcast to talk about how Alzheimer’s researchers have been stubbornly pursuing a single theory for decades. The Amyloid Hypothesis is the reigning champ amongst pharmaceutical companies and scientific scholars and it has pushed all other theories to the wayside. Over the years scientists have developed many drugs based on the Amyloid Hypothesis but the the clinical trials keep failing. Now some researchers are starting to wonder if the reason we still don’t have a cure is that we’ve put all of our scientific eggs in one faulty basket.  You can hear more about the Alzheimer’s disease on the previous Distillations Podcast episodes: The Alzheimer’s Copernicus Problem Parts 1 and 2. Credits: Distillations: Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Unexplainable: This episode was produced by Rigo Hernandez, Alexis Pedrick, Dylan Scott, and Byrd Pinkerton. It was edited by Noam Hassenfeld and Brian Resnick, with help from Meradith Hoddinott and Mandy Nguyen, who also did the fact checking. Noam Hassenfeld wrote the music, Cristian Ayala did the mixing and sound design.  Image courtesy of Vox Media Group.

Ever since the book A Discovery of Witches debuted in 2011, the All Souls franchise has taken on a life of its own with devoted fans all over the world. The TV show and annual All Souls Con—which the Science History Institute occasionally hosts—is based on the trilogy of books about witches, vampires, and demons by author Deborah Harkness. Distillations sat down with Jen Daine and Cait Parnell, the hosts of the All Souls podcast, Chamomile and Clove; art historian Stephenie McGucken; and medievalist actor, journalist, and author Sarah Durn to talk about the series’ alchemical roots, the material culture in the TV show, and how the book’s found-family theme mirrors the fandom. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

Since humans have been living we’ve also been dying—best case scenario: after eight or nine decades and plenty of good times. But we’re not wholly content with that. Never have been, probably never will be. In fact, working on how not to die is one of the most human things about us. It’s occupied the minds of everyone from ancient Chinese emperors and medieval European alchemists to now, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. They think it’s within sight and completely different from how this quest was approached in the past. Or is it? Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

Jeremiah McCall is a history teacher at Cincinnati Country Day School and the author of Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary School. He talked to Distillations about what it's like to use video games in his history classes, the criteria he uses in choosing games, and why he likes his students to question the media they are consuming. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

The pandemic made gamers out of many Americans, including our producer, Rigoberto Hernandez. He played a lot of historical video games and it got him thinking: can you learn history from video games even though they are obviously fiction? Throughout history there have been many moral panics about people consuming historical fiction and taking what they read and watch as fact, so how do video games stack up? It turns out that they can empower players in better ways than TV shows, films, and books. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

Anna Reeser is a historian of technology and Laila McNeil is a historian of science. Together they co-founded and are editors-in-chief of Lady Science, an independent magazine about women, gender, history, and popular culture of science. Now the duo has a new book titled Forces of Nature: The Women Who Changed Science. They talked to us about moving beyond biographies, how women who had knowledge about the natural world are suspect, and reintegrating women’s history into the mainstream.

For decades, the official fire policy of the Forest Service was to put out all fires as soon as they appeared. That might seem logical, but there is such a thing as a good fire, the kind that helps stabilize ecosystems and promotes biodiversity. Native American communities understood this and regularly practiced light burning. So why did the Forest Service ignore this in favor of unabated fire suppression? In 1910 a massive fire known as “the big blow up” or “the big burn” devastated northern Idaho and Western Montana. It left a huge mark on the then five-year-old Forest Service and had consequences we still see today. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

Ghost hunters on television all seem to have a common goal: to prove that ghosts are real using sophisticated, yet inexact technology. Colin Dickey, the author of Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places, says this is not an accident. The relationship between technology and ghosthunters is as old as the telegraph. But Dickey is not interested in proving they are real; he is fascinated with what the ghost stories we tell reveal about our society. Credits: Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

The 19th century was a time of rapid technological leaps: the telegraph, the steam boat, the radio were invented during this century. But this era was also the peak of spiritualism: the belief that ghosts and spirits were real and could be communicated with after death. Seances were all the rage. People tried to talk to their dead loved ones using Ouija boards and automatic writing. Although it might seem contradictory, it's not a coincidence that this was all happening at the same time. There have always been questions about life after death, but in the 19th century people found new ways to investigate them using these new cutting-edge technological tools. And part of it was that some of these new tools felt supernatural in and of themselves. The radio, the telegraph, the phonograph: these allowed us to speak over inconceivable distances, communicate instantly from an ocean away, and even preserve human voices in time and after death. But something else was going on in the 19th century. The people who were trying to figure out if we could really talk to ghosts were not just on the fringes - many of them were scientists. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Music: "Lanterns Ascending" - Jerry Lacey "Shapeshifter" - Martin Klem "Behind that Door" - Farrell Wooten "First Sign" - Mahlert "Black Core" - Guy Copeland "Maximum State" - Ethan Sloan "String Quartet No. 3, Op. 41 Adagio Part 4" - Traditional "Chronicles of a Mystic Dream" - Grant Newman "Deep Cellar" - Experia "Shapeless Inside" - Cobby Costa "Aquamarine" - Mahlert "Decomposed" - Philip Ayers Special thanks to Charley Levin and Lena Kidd-Nicolella for their portrayal of Maggie and Kate Fox. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

In the 19th century a mysterious illness afflicted rural New England. Often called the Great White Plague for how pale it made its victims, it was also called “consumption” because of the way it literally consumed people from the inside out, gradually making them weaker, paler, and more lifeless until they were gone. Today we know it as tuberculosis, an infectious bacterial disease that attacks the lungs and causes a hacking cough, a wasting fever, and night sweats. But back then the main suspect was vampires. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

This summer leave reality behind and join Distillations for an entire season about fantasy! We're talking vampires! Ghosts! Witches! And we promise, it all has to do with the history of science. Season launches on June 29.

Last year Distillations talked to people who have special insight into the coronavirus crisis—biomedical researchers, physicians, public health experts, and historians. In this episode we talk to Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, a biotech company that developed one of the three emergency-approved COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. The Moderna vaccine is unique in that it uses a new technology that has been decades in the making called messenger RNA, or mRNA. Bancel reflects on the development timeline of the vaccine: from learning about the virus while reading the Wall Street Journal in 2019 to the moment he finally got his own shot at a Moderna facility. He talks about the promise of mRNA and what’s ahead for Moderna. Credits Host: Alexis Pedrick Senior Producer: Mariel Carr  Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Researcher: Jessica Wade Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

In the 1700s human dissection was a big taboo—people feared that it would leave their bodies mangled on Judgment Day, when God would raise the dead. As a result, government officials banned most dissections. This led to some unintended consequences, most notably a shortage of bodies for anatomists to dissect. To meet the heightened demand, a new profession emerged: grave-robbers. These so-called resurrectionists dug up the bodies of poor people to sell to anatomists, which led to riots in the streets. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Music: "Trois Gnossiennes 3," "Stately Shadows," "Darklit Carpet," "Vernouillet," and "Tossed" by Blue Dot Sessions. "Conjunto Sol del Peru," by Pockra (Vol. 2: Musica de los Andes Peruanos). "Conjunto Sol del Peru," by Wuaylias Tusy (Vol. 2: Musica de los Andes Peruanos). "Conjunto Sol del Peru," by Ckashampa (Vol. 2: Musica de los Andes Peruanos) Image courtesy of the Wellcome Collection.

How an early 20th century doctor pitted one scourge (malaria) against another (syphilis). Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Music: “Delamine” by Blue Dot Sessions. ​​​​​​​All other music composed by Jonathan Pfeffer.

The ivory-billed woodpecker is sometimes called the Lord God bird, a nickname it earned because that’s what people cried out the first time they ever saw one: “Lord God, what a bird.” Even though the last confirmed sighting was in the 1930s, birders have been claiming they have seen the Lord God bird throughout the years, turning it into a myth. The sad part is it didn’t need to be this way. And it’s all Hitler’s fault. As crazy as it sounds, the ivory-billed woodpecker was one of last victims of the Nazi war machine.  Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

If Ted Talks were around in the early 1990s, Horace Fletcher would have given his fair share of them. Fletcher was a health reformer who thought people didn’t chew their food nearly enough. He believed that most swallowed food way too quickly. This had all sorts of detrimental health consequences, he said, including nasty bowel movements.​​ So he over-chewed his food. He once chewed a green onion 722 times before he let himself swallow it. His idea became such a sensation that it became a movement known as "Fletcherism." His ideas made it to the White House and could have even changed the tide of World War I. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Music: Photo: Science History Institute.

Shakespeare had a go at at the longest word in the English language with “honorific-abilitude-in-i-tat-i-bus.” If you play the game of stacking suffixes and prefixes together, you can get “antidisestablishmentarianism,” one letter longer for a total of 28 letters. But the longest word by far appeared in 1964 in Chemical Abstracts, a dictionary-like reference for chemists. The word describes a protein in what’s called the tobacco mosaic virus, and it runs 1,185 letters long. Besides being too long to write here, it tells us a lot about the unusual chemistry of carbon. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Delamine” by Blue Dot Sessions. All other music composed by Jonathan Pfeffer.

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. Credits 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.

From the Disappearing Spoon, our new podcast! Radium was once the trendiest element in the world. It glowed alluringly in the dark and was hailed it as a medical panacea. It was also the basis of Marie Curie’s research—for which she won her second Nobel Prize in 1911. But by 1920 radium was scarce and its cost was eye-popping: one hundred thousand dollars per gram. When Curie’s research ground to a halt because of the expense, thousands of American women stepped in to raise money for the precious chemical element.

From our new podcast, the Disappearing Spoon: The so-called “Peking Man” fossils are some of the first ancient human remains discovered in mainland Asia. So when they disappeared during World War II, it was called one of the worst disasters in the history of archaeology. Now some archeologists claim to have tracked them down. The only problem is they’re underneath a parking lot. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Original Music by Jonathan Pfeffer Wang Fan - Zero (from An Anthology of Chinese Experimental Music 1992-2008) Listening to the Pine-trees (from Chine / Musique Classique) Sarah Hennies – Fleas Wang Changcun - Through the Tide of Faces (from An Anthology of Chinese Experimental Music 1992-2008) Zhegu Fei (The Partridge) (from Chine / Musique Classique) All other music composed by Jonathan Pfeffer.

The Science History Institute has launched a second podcast! We've teamed up with New York Times best-selling author Sam Kean to bring you even more stories from our scientific past. Don’t worry, Distillations podcast isn’t going anywhere; we’re still producing the in-depth narrative-style episodes you know and love! We’ve just doubled your history of science listening pleasure. For the next 10 weeks we’ll bring you stories from the footnotes of the history of science, from the saga of the male birth control pill to this inaugural episode: how the smallpox vaccine made its way around the world before refrigeration. Amid all the logistical headaches of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, one huge challenge involves the cold chain. The cold chain is a network of freezers and refrigerators that keep vaccine doses at the consistently cold temperatures they need to stay viable. Though complicated, this is all doable in the 21st century. But how did the world’s very first vaccine, created for smallpox in 1796, make it around the world? Live carriers—specifically, orphan boys. Credits Host: Sam Kean Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer “Delamine” by Blue Dot Sessions "La Flecha Incaia" by El Conjunto Sol Del Peru. All other music composed by Jonathan Pfeffer.  

Did you know that Gandhi hated iodine? Or that Silicon Valley was almost called Germanium Valley? Our producer Rigoberto Hernandez talked about these stories and more with Sam Kean, author of The Disappearing Spoon, a book about the stories behind the periodic table. The New York Times best-selling author and regular Distillations magazine contributor described how Dmitri Mendeleev’s publisher accidentally shaped the periodic table, why gallium is a popular element for pranksters, and what inspired the title of his book. Kean, Sam. The Disappearing Spoon. New York: Little, Brown & Company, 2010. Credits Host: Elisabeth Berry Drago & Alexis Pedrick Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Original music by Jonathan Pfeffer

Distillations is hard at work on our next season. It’s not quite ready, but we have a treat for you in the meantime. We interviewed Wendy Zukerman, the host and executive producer of one of our favorite podcasts, Science Vs. In normal times the show pits facts against fads—they talk about everything from detox diets to the supposed benefits of Cannabidiol, or CBD. Since early 2020, however, they’ve been reporting about the Coronavirus pandemic. But they actually started even earlier than that—in the fall of 2019 they coincidentally produced an episode all about global pandemics. We talked with Wendy about whether or not she's psychic, the challenges of pivoting to news reporting, and why it's so important for Science Vs. to tell history of science stories. The latest season of Science Vs. (which is not about COVID-19) just launched on March 4! Credits Host: Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Original music by Jonathan Pfeffer

As the pandemic began raging again this fall we talked with nurse Linda Ruggiero about what it's like to be on the front lines for a second wave. She talks about how treatment has changed, what we still don't know about the disease, and how every nurse she knows is suffering from PTSD.  Host: Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music by Blue Dot Sessions. Photograph of Linda Ruggiero by Kyle Cassidy.

We've collaborated with Philadelphia photographer Kyle Cassidy to tell the stories of our city's essential workers. This fall his large-scale portraits of nurses, sanitation workers, Instacart shoppers, mask-makers, and delivery drivers will be on display on the exterior of the Science History Institute, in Old City Philadelphia. Find out more at sciencehistory.org/pandemic. Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music by Blue Dot Sessions: "Arlan Vale," "Alum Drum," "Setting Pace," "Kalstead," "Drone Pine," and "Raskt Landsby."

Outer space is crowded. Satellites, pieces of rocket, and stuff that astronauts left behind, such as cameras and poop, are just floating around. This space junk can pose a threat to our communication systems. In this episode we talk with Lisa Ruth Rand, a fellow at the Science History Institute, about her upcoming book on space junk. She tells us how space weather—that’s right, there’s space weather—can have an effect on what falls on Earth. She also talks about how our views on space debris reveal our attitudes back on Earth and how space junk truly made the space age global. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison Resource List Interview with Marie Ruman. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, January 24, 1978. Judd, Bridget. “NASA’s Skylab met its demise in Australia more than 40 years ago—but was it really an accident?” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, May 30, 2020.  The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, “Cosmos 954.” January 25, 1978, American Archive of Public Broadcasting.  Rand, Lisa Ruth. “Orbital Decay: Space Junk and the Environmental History of Earth’s Planetary Borderlands.” PhD diss., University of Pennsylvania, 2016.  Rand, Lisa Ruth. “Wasted Space: The History of Orbiting Junk.” Science History Institute, December 5, 2019. Trudeau, Pierre Elliott. Speech at the House of Commons of Canada, January 24, 1978. 

Outer space belongs to everyone and no one, at least that’s what the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 says. On its face, this seems like an uncontroversial statement. But in the 1970s a group of equatorial countries challenged this idea. Only the richest and most powerful countries can afford to reach outer space in the first place, they argued, so in principle these nations controlled it. The protesting countries were ignored at the time, but to some their warnings seem more urgent now that it isn’t just wealthy nations with space programs, but also individual billionaires. Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Worldwide nearly 3 million workers die on the job each year. U.S. workers experience roughly that same number of injuries and illnesses each year. Work is hard and dangerous, and we have the data to prove it. But who started collecting that data? The answer takes us back to Paracelsus, an early modern physician and alchemist who noticed that the miners he lived among often became very ill or died. His inquiries laid the foundation for occupational health and the workplace safety standards we have today. Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison

Earning a PhD can be grueling for the healthiest student. But what is it like for a student with widespread pain and fatigue? Is it even possible? Marine geologist and geophysicist Gabriela Serrato Marks tells us that academia was not set up for people like her, and she wants to change that. Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Original Music by Zach Young

There’s a common assumption that to be a scientist you must also be a genius, someone who excelled at school and learns easily and quickly. But are these really the qualities necessary to produce new scientific knowledge? Collin Diedrich is a research scientist with a doctorate in molecular virology and microbiology. On paper he might seem to be the archetypal smart scientist, but the reality is more complicated. Collin has multiple learning disabilities, and he has struggled to overcome the stigma that comes with them for his entire life. In this episode we explore how our narrow definition of intelligence not only holds back people such as Collin, but also prevents the creation of new scientific knowledge that benefits us all. This is the second of two episodes about science and disability and was produced in collaboration with the Science and Disability oral history project at the Science History Institute. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison Resource List Martucci, Jessica. “History Lab: Through the Lens of Disability.” Science History Institute, June 22, 2019.   Martucci, Jessica. “Through the Lens of Disability.” Distillations, November 8, 2018.  Martucci, Jessica. “Science and Disability.” Distillations, August 18, 2017.  Diedrich, Collin. Oral history conducted on 19 and 22 June 2017 by Jessica Martucci and Gregory S. Waters, Science and Disability project, Science History Institute.   

July 26th, 2020 marked the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. But the history of disability in the United States goes back much further. Historian Kim Nielsen tells us that disability has always been part of American life, from precolonial times to today. Our producer Rigoberto Hernandez talked with Nielsen about her book A Disability History of the United States.  

Everyone knows that observation is a key part of the scientific method, but what does that mean for scientists who can’t see? Judith Summers-Gates is a successful, visually impaired chemist who uses a telescope to read street signs. If the thought of a blind scientist gives you pause, you’re not alone. But stop and ask yourself why. What assumptions do we make about how knowledge is produced? And who gets to produce it? And who gets to participate in science? In this episode we go deep into the history of how vision came to dominate scientific observation and how blind scientists challenge our assumptions. This is the first of two episodes about science and disability and was produced in collaboration with the Science and Disability oral history project at the Science History Institute. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison Resource List Lemonick, Sam. “Artificial intelligence tools could benefit chemists with disabilities. So why aren’t they?” C&EN, March 18, 2019.  Martucci, Jessica. “History Lab: Through the Lens of Disability.” Science History Institute, June 22, 2019.   Martucci, Jessica. “Through the Lens of Disability.” Distillations, November 8, 2018.  Martucci, Jessica. “Science and Disability.” Distillations, August 18, 2017.  Slaton, Amy. “Body? What Body? Considering Ability and Disability in STEM Disciplines.”120th ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, January 23, 2013. Summers-Gates, Judith. Oral history conducted on 20 January and 6 February 2017 by Jessica Martucci and Lee Sullivan Berry, Science and Disability project, Science History Institute. 

We’ve long been fascinated by the mysteries of reproduction. But that curiosity is piqued most intensely when something unexpected happens. The study of such “monstrous births,” as scientists once called them, propelled forward our understanding of how embryos and fetuses develop. And the key to unlocking this knowledge was found gathering dust in the basement of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a macabre collection assembled by Czar Peter the Great. The story behind this collection reveals a little-known corner of the history of the life sciences and raises some big questions, like how do bodies we see as abnormal inform and define what we see as normal? And how does this influence how we think about disability today? Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison Music by Blue Dot Sessions: "When in the West," "Calisson," "Entwined Oddity," "Stately Shadows," "Louver," "Tuck and Point," "Our Only Lark." Additional songs by the Audio Network.

Our new season starts August 4th! 

Over the past few weeks Distillations has been talking to people who have special insight into the coronavirus crisis—biomedical researchers, physicians, public health experts, and historians. In this episode we talk with Magda Marquet, a biochemical engineer and an entrepreneur. Marquet has spent decades working on DNA vaccines, one of the many techniques being used to create a vaccine for Covid-19. She also sits on the board of Arcturus Therapeutics, which is developing a vaccine for the disease. She tells us about how a company she cofounded, AltheaDx, is taking on the mental health crisis, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. And she discusses her hopes that the lessons learned during the pandemic might change society for the better.  Credits  |  Transcript Credits Host: Lisa Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr  Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Researcher: Jessica Wade Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Original music by Zach Young.

We talk about COVID-19 with Robert Langer, a chemical engineer and an entrepreneur, who runs the largest biomedical engineering research laboratory in the world at MIT. He has also started numerous biotech companies, including Moderna Therapeutics, a company that’s been making headlines for the COVID-19 vaccine they’re developing. Langer told us about his work with the Gates Foundation to develop a way for vaccines to self-boost in the body, his work with the sneaker company New Balance to create masks, and his thoughts about how diagnostic testing could be better. Credits Host: Alexis Pedrick Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Researcher: Jessica Wade Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer Original music composed by Zach Young.  

Over the next several weeks Distillations will be talking to people who have special insight into the coronavirus crisis—biomedical researchers, physicians, public health experts, and historians. In this episode we talk to Mark Stevenson, the chief operating officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific, an instrumentation company that has designed a diagnostic test for the novel coronavirus. The company is also working on a serology test, which will determine who has already had the virus. He tells us how the company developed those tests and the role they play in managing this pandemic. Credits Host: Alexis Pedrick Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Researcher: Jessica Wade Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

Our senior producer, Mariel Carr, talks with John Maraganore, the CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a company developing an antiviral medication for COVID-19. When news broke in January about the new coronavirus, John Maraganore made the decision to pause other drugs in development and pivot to working on an antiviral medication for this new and alarmingly infectious virus. He says it was a difficult decision, but this virus had all the ingredients to become a pandemic. “And when you have a public health crisis like this, that’s what you do.”

Over the next several weeks Distillations will be talking to people who have special insight into the coronavirus crisis—biomedical researchers, physicians, public health experts, and historians. In this episode our producer Rigberto Hernandez talks with Katrine Bosley, who has worked in the biotech industry for more than 30 years. Until recently she was the CEO of Editas Medicine, a company that focuses on a gene-editing technology known as CRISPR. She’s now on the board of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital and is advising the facility on its quest to create a COVID-19 vaccine. She tells us how CRISPR can be used to make faster diagnostic tests and how the hospital in Boston is creating a vaccine using a gene therapy method.  “One of the things that’s important for all of us competing against this virus is to have a lot of technologically different strategies to try to make a vaccine.” Credits Hosts: Elisabeth Berry Drago, Alexis Pedrick  Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Researcher: Jessica Wade Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer

We talk to William Haseltine, a scientist, entrepreneur, and author who has lived through three epidemics (polio, HIV/AIDS, and now COVID-19). He tells us how his lab in the 1980s was better prepared to deal with HIV/AIDS than we are now for COVID-19 and what he thinks lies ahead for us with this pandemic.   Over the next several weeks Distillations will be talking to people who have special insight into the coronavirus crisis—biomedical researchers, physicians, public health experts, and historians. Credits Hosts: Elisabeth Berry Drago, Alexis Pedrick  Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Researcher: Jessica Wade Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer​​​​​​​

Over the next several weeks Distillations will be talking to people who have special insight into the coronavirus crisis—biomedical researchers, physicians, public health experts, and historians. In this episode we speak with Susan Weiss, a microbiology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the director for the Penn Center for Research on Coronavirus and Emerging Pathogens. She’ll talk about her 40-years of experience researching coronaviruses, how her field reacted to the 2002 SARS and 2012 MERS outbreaks, and the importance of studying diseases that transfer from animals to humans.  Credits Hosts: Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Researcher: Jessica Wade Additional production: Dan Drago

Over the next several weeks Distillations will be talking to people who have special insight into the coronavirus crisis—biomedical researchers, physicians, public health experts, and historians.  In this episode we speak with Sue Desmond-Hellmann, an oncologist who worked with HIV patients in San Francisco in the 1980s during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. She was also the CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation up until December 2019. Desmond-Hellmann tells us about her experiences working as a doctor during the HIV/AIDS epidemic and as a CEO of the Gates Foundation during the Ebola pandemic. She also discusses what we learned from HIV and Ebola that can help us in fighting COVID-19.  Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Researcher: Lisa Grissom Image: by Krista Kennell/Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit.

Over the next several weeks Distillations will be talking to people with special insight into the coronavirus crisis—biomedical researchers, physicians, public health experts, and historians. In this episode we speak with John C. Martin, a biomedical researcher and former CEO of Gilead Sciences. Gilead is a pharmaceutical giant best known for its antiviral therapies for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, but it’s also the company behind remdesivir, an antiviral drug that has recently made headlines as a possible treatment for COVID-19. Martin talked to senior producer Mariel Carr about remdesivir, antiviral treatments for HIV and other illnesses, and working with Anthony “Tony” Fauci. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music: "Balti," "Tuck and Point," and "Slimheart" by Blue Dot Sessions. Research Notes "Fauci: New Drug Remdesivir Cuts Down Coronavirus Recovery Time," NBC Nightly News. April 29, 2020.

The historical curator of a new exhibition at the Mütter Museum discusses the eerie parallels between the 1918-1919 flu pandemic and the coronavirus. In the fall of 1918 the (misnomered) Spanish flu ravaged much of the world. Philadelphia was hit especially hard: it had the highest death rate of any major American city. Over the course of six weeks 12,000 people in the city died. Hospitals were overcrowded and bodies piled up. When the Mütter Museum embarked on the multiyear exhibition and public art project Spit Spreads Death, the curators and researchers behind it had no idea how relevant it would become—or how quickly.

Over the past few years our producers have been saving all the raw tape from our tracking sessions (maybe to blackmail us at some point?) But because we all need some levity these days, we dug it out for your listening pleasure. We hope these outtakes (improvised songs about the history of science, complaints about squeaky chairs, and musings about various forms of a dystopian future) amuse you as much as they amused us. "Climbing the Mountain" by Podington Bear.

Stay tuned for our upcoming season, dropping in summer 2020!

Philadelphia just had the wettest decade on record, and all that precipitation has wreaked havoc on the city’s waterways. Like most old cities, Philadelphia has a combined sewer system—that is, one pipe is used to carry both sewage and stormwater. When it rains a lot, the system gets overwhelmed, forcing the water department to send raw sewage into rivers and creeks. City officials and engineers knew this was going to be a problem when they built the sewer system in the 1800s. The reason why they used a combined system anyway can be best explained by two forces: knowledge ceilings and path dependency. In this episode we’re going to explore how the city got to this point and how, in an interesting twist, it led to Philadelphia having one of the most innovative water systems in the country.    Philadelphia is home of the Distillations podcast. For this episode we are going to break down three centuries of water-pollution history in our backyard. It is a special collaboration with the Philadelphia Inquirer as part of their series From the Source: Stories of the Delaware River. Credits Host: Elisabeth Berry Drago Reporter: Rigoberto Hernandez, Sebastian Echeverri Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez  Audio Engineer: James Morrison  Additional production: Dan Drago Special thanks to the Science History Institutes, oral history department, and the museum team for doing some of the research that went into this episode. This includes Rebecca Ortenberg, Christy Schneider, Samantha Blatt, Zackary Biro, and Grey Pierce. Resource List Grabar, Henry. “Tunnel Vision.” Slate, January 2, 2019. Handy, Jam. “Waters of the Commonwealth.” Pennsylvania Sanitary Water Board, 1951.  Henninger, Danya. “The Incredible Fairmount Water Works: Explosions, Mark Twain and the Long-Lost Philadelphia Aquarium.” Billy Penn, October 10, 2015. Kummer, Frank. “The Secret Scourge of Climate Change? More Raw Sewage in Philadelphia’s Waterways.” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 13, 2019. Levine, Adam. “Fairmount Water Works.” Philadelphia Water Department Water and Drainage History Course, 2015.  Nemiroff, Sydney P., dir. “Road Ahead: Milestone 3.” Philadelphia Department of Records, ca. 1960.  Schulman, Alexis. “Sustainable Cities and Institutional Change: The Transformation of Urban Stormwater Management.” PhD diss., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018.   Stutz, Bruce. “Philadelphia Is Tackling Its Stormwater Problem.” Yale Environment 360 (March 29, 2018). 

In 1970 Jane Hodgson became the only person in the United States ever convicted for performing an abortion in a hospital. A patient came to her St. Paul, Minnesota OB/GYN practice seeking an abortion. She had two kids, was pregnant with her third, and had rubella.  Minnesota's abortion law was one of the strictest in the country, but Jane Hodgson broke it. Then she called her local DA and turned herself in. This is a bonus episode exploring one part of the story from our last episode: Roe v. Wade v. Rubella. Special thanks to Physicians for Reproductive Health for giving us permission to use the 2000 oral history interview with Jane Hodgson.

The story of how abortion became legal in the United States isn’t as straightforward as many of us think. The common narrative is that feminist activism and the sexual liberation movement in the 1960s led to Roe v. Wade in 1973. But it turns out the path to Roe led over some unexpected and unsettling terrain, and involves a complicated story involving culture, society, disease, and our prejudices and fears about disability. In the 1960s a rubella epidemic swept the United States and panicked every pregnant woman in the country. Rubella, also called German measles, is a disease we hardly remember anymore, but it’s the “R” in the MMR vaccine. Though the virus is relatively harmless for most people, when contracted during pregnancy, it can severely harm the developing fetus. During the epidemic many pregnant women who may have never identified as abortion-rights advocates suddenly found themselves seeking abortions and dismantling barriers to access. Though not everyone agreed with these women, people listened. And this historical moment, sparked by a virus, helped pave the way for the legalization of abortion.

Tune in to our next episode on December 17th.

Come see Distillations LIVE for our Halloween Spooktacular! The show is Wednesday, October 30th at 7pm at the Science History Institute in Old City Philadelphia.

Almost six million people in the United States have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. And with baby boomers getting older, those numbers are only expected to rise. This disease, despite being studied by scientists for more than 100 years, has no cure. In our two-part series we first dive into the personal lives of the people at the heart of this disease: the patients and their caregivers. Then we uncover why effective treatments for Alzheimer’s lag so far behind those for cancer, heart disease, and HIV. It turns out that for all the decades researchers have been at war with the disease, they’ve also been at war with each other. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick  Reporter: Rigoberto Hernandez Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Senior Producer: Mariel CarrAudio Engineer: James Morrison Music courtesy of the Audio Network. These songs were used courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions:  "Kalsted,""Stretch of Lonely," "Thin Passage," "Waltz and Fury," "Dash and Slope," "Gilroy Solo," 'House of Grendel," "Uncertain Ground," and "Watercool-Quiet." Research Notes “2019 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures.” Alzheimer’s Association, 2019. Begley, Sharon. “As Alzheimer’s Drug Developers Give Up on Today’s Patients, Where Is the Outrage?” Stat News. August 15, 2018. Begley, Sharon. “The Maddening Saga of How an Alzheimer’s ‘Cabal’ Thwarted Progress toward a Cure for Decades.” Stat News. June 25, 2019. “Biogen Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Positive Results.” CNBC. July 25, 2018. “The Clinical Trial Journey.” Mayo Clinic. Youtube video. June 5, 2019. Garde, Damian. “Alzheimer’s Study Sparks a New Round of Debate over the Amyloid Hypothesis.” Stat News. July 30, 2018. Hogan, Alex. “The Disappointing History of Alzheimer’s Research.” Stat News. May 21, 2019. Itzhaki, Ruth. “Alzheimer’s Disease: Mounting Evidence That Herpes Virus Is a Cause.” The Conversation. October 19, 2018. Keshavan, Meghana. “On Alzheimer’s, Scientists Head Back to the Drawing Board—and Once-Shunned Ideas Get an Audience.” Stat News. July 22, 2019. Li, Yun. “Biogen Posts It’s the Worst Day in 14 Years after Ending Trial for Blockbuster Alzheimer’s Drug.” CNBC. March 21, 2019.  “Lilly Alzheimer’s Drug Does Not Slow Memory Loss: Study.” CNBC. November 23, 2016.  “The MacNeil/Lehrer Report; Living with Alzheimer’s.” 1983-04-12, National Records and Archives Administration, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress), Boston and Washington, DC, accessed October 16, 2019.  “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour,” 1991-08-16, NewsHour Productions, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed October 22, 2019. Makin, Simon. “The Amyloid Hypothesis on Trial.” Nature. July 25, 2018. Prusiner, Stanley. Madness and Memory: The Discovery of Prions—A New Biological Principle of Disease. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014. Robakis, Nikolaos, et al. “Alzheimer’s Disease: A Re-examination of the Amyloid Hypothesis.” ALZforum.org. March 26, 1998. Shenk, David. “The Forgetting—Alzheimer’s: Portrait of an Epidemic.” New York: Anchor, 2013.  “Virginia Lee and John Trojanowski on the Protein Road Map to Alzheimer’s.” Science Watch. December 2011.

Almost six million people in the United States have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. And with baby boomers getting older, those numbers are only expected to rise. This disease, despite being studied by scientists for more than 100 years, has no cure. In our two-part series we first dive into the personal lives of the people at the heart of this disease: the patients and their caregivers. Then we uncover why effective treatments for Alzheimer’s lag so far behind those for cancer, heart disease, and HIV. It turns out that for all the decades researchers have been at war with the disease, they’ve also been at war with each other. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick  Reporter: Rigoberto Hernandez Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Senior Producer: Mariel CarrAudio Engineer: James Morrison Music courtesy of the Audio Network. These songs were used courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions:  "Kalsted,""Stretch of Lonely," "Thin Passage," "Waltz and Fury," "Dash and Slope," "Gilroy Solo," 'House of Grendel," "Uncertain Ground," and "Watercool-Quiet." Research Notes “2019 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures.” Alzheimer’s Association, 2019. Begley, Sharon. “As Alzheimer’s Drug Developers Give Up on Today’s Patients, Where Is the Outrage?” Stat News. August 15, 2018. Begley, Sharon. “The Maddening Saga of How an Alzheimer’s ‘Cabal’ Thwarted Progress toward a Cure for Decades.” Stat News. June 25, 2019. “Biogen Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Positive Results.” CNBC. July 25, 2018. “The Clinical Trial Journey.” Mayo Clinic. Youtube video. June 5, 2019. Garde, Damian. “Alzheimer’s Study Sparks a New Round of Debate over the Amyloid Hypothesis.” Stat News. July 30, 2018. Hogan, Alex. “The Disappointing History of Alzheimer’s Research.” Stat News. May 21, 2019. Itzhaki, Ruth. “Alzheimer’s Disease: Mounting Evidence That Herpes Virus Is a Cause.” The Conversation. October 19, 2018. Keshavan, Meghana. “On Alzheimer’s, Scientists Head Back to the Drawing Board—and Once-Shunned Ideas Get an Audience.” Stat News. July 22, 2019. Li, Yun. “Biogen Posts It’s the Worst Day in 14 Years after Ending Trial for Blockbuster Alzheimer’s Drug.” CNBC. March 21, 2019.  “Lilly Alzheimer’s Drug Does Not Slow Memory Loss: Study.” CNBC. November 23, 2016.  “The MacNeil/Lehrer Report; Living with Alzheimer’s.” 1983-04-12, National Records and Archives Administration, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress), Boston and Washington, DC, accessed October 16, 2019.  “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour,” 1991-08-16, NewsHour Productions, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed October 22, 2019. Makin, Simon. “The Amyloid Hypothesis on Trial.” Nature. July 25, 2018. Prusiner, Stanley. Madness and Memory: The Discovery of Prions—A New Biological Principle of Disease. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014. Robakis, Nikolaos, et al. “Alzheimer’s Disease: A Re-examination of the Amyloid Hypothesis.” ALZforum.org. March 26, 1998. Shenk, David. “The Forgetting—Alzheimer’s: Portrait of an Epidemic.” New York: Anchor, 2013.  “Virginia Lee and John Trojanowski on the Protein Road Map to Alzheimer’s.” Science Watch. December 2011.

Listen to The Alzheimer's Copernicus Problem on October 22nd. 

For almost as long as there have been television networks, science shows have been part of the TV landscape. But science programming didn’t begin by accident. At first it was a way for TV stations to build trust with their audiences; then it was used as a ploy to get families to buy more television sets. But as the world changed, so did science on TV. Distillations interviewed Ingrid Ockert, a fellow at the Science History Institute and a historian of science and media, about five key contributors to the science television landscape: the Johns Hopkins Science Review, Watch Mr. Wizard, NOVA, 3-2-1 Contact, and our favorite turtleneck-wearing celebrity scientist, Carl Sagan. Our conversation revealed that successful science shows have always had one thing in common: they don’t treat their audiences like dummies.

We're in the thick of producing episodes for our fall season! Here's a taste of what's coming.

The 17 rare earth elements are often called the spices or vitamins of industry. While we don’t need much of them, they’re sprinkled in small amounts through our most powerful, futuristic, and dare we say it, magical tools. They power our iPhones and computers; they’re in wind turbines and hybrid cars. They’re in dental implants, X-ray machines, and life-saving cancer drugs. They have unusual magnetic and electrical properties that make our gadgets faster, stronger, and lighter. And we've all been coasting along enjoying their magic for a while now. In fact, we've come to expect magic. But magic comes at a cost, and in the case of mining and processing rare earths, that cost is environmental devastation. Most of us in the Western world aren’t aware of the destruction/ because most rare earths are mined elsewhere. But some scientists are trying to find a more environmentally sound way to get them. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Reporter: Rigoberto Hernandez Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison Music courtesy of the Audio Network, Blue Dot Sessions, and the Free Music Archive. Research Notes Abraham, David. Elements of Power. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015.  The Californian Rare Earths Mine Caught between Trump and China. Bloomberg News, September 26, 2018.   “China-Japan Boat Crash Video Posted.” Al Jazeera, November 5, 2010.  “China Threatens to Cut Off Rare Earth Minerals as Trade War Escalates.” MSNBC, May 30, 2019.  “Colorado Experience: Uranium Mania.” Rocky Mountain PBS, November 2, 2017.  “Critical Materials Strategy.” U.S. Department of Energy, December 2010.   Desai, Pratima. “Tesla’s Electric Motor Shift to Spur Demand for Rare Earth Neodymium.”Reuters, March 12, 2018.  Gifford, Rob. “Yellow River Pollution Is Price of Economic Growth.” National Public Radio, All Things Considered, December 11, 2007.  Haxel, Gordon, Hedrick, James, Orris, Greta. “Rare Earth Elements—Critical Resources for High Technology.” U.S. Geological Survey, Fact Sheet 087-02, November 20, 2002.  Kalantzakos, Sophia. China and the Geopolitics of Rare Earths. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.  Kean, Sam. “Ytterby: The Tiny Swedish Island That Gave the Periodic Table Four Different Elements.” Slate, July 16, 2010.  Kim, Meeri. “Exposing the Trail of Devastation.” Sarah Lawrence College Magazine,” Fall 2018.  Klinger, Julie. Rare Earth Frontiers. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2017.  Lovins, Amory. “Clean Energy and Rare Earths: Why Not to Worry.” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May 23, 2017. “Obama Denounces China on Rare Earth Elements.” AFP News Agency, March 13, 2012.  “PBS NewsHour; June 14, 2010 7:00 pm–8:00 pm EDT.” American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress), Boston and Washington, DC. Accessed June 24, 2019.  “Running from Rare Earth Metals.” Bloomberg, June 30, 2015.  Salomon, Charlotte Abney. “Finding Yttrium: Joan Gadolin and the Development of a ‘Discovery.’” CHF Brown Bag Lecture Series, March 10, 2015.  “Story of Color Television.” RCA, 1956.  Thomson, Gene. “Hot Canyon.” Ames Laboratory, June 18, 2012.  Turner, Roger. “Material Matters: The Past and Present of Rare Earth Elements Essential to Our Future.” Joseph Priestley Society Lecture, Science History Institute, Philadelphia, February 14, 2019. 

The 17 rare earth elements are often called the spices or vitamins of industry. While we don’t need much of them, they’re sprinkled in small amounts through our most powerful, futuristic, and dare we say it, magical tools. They power our iPhones and computers; they’re in wind turbines and hybrid cars. They’re in dental implants, X-ray machines, and life-saving cancer drugs. They have unusual magnetic and electrical properties that make our gadgets faster, stronger, and lighter. And we've all been coasting along enjoying their magic for a while now. In fact, we've come to expect magic. But magic comes at a cost, and in the case of mining and processing rare earths, that cost is environmental devastation. Most of us in the Western world aren’t aware of the destruction/ because most rare earths are mined elsewhere. But some scientists are trying to find a more environmentally sound way to get them. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Reporter: Rigoberto Hernandez Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison Music courtesy of the Audio Network, Blue Dot Sessions, and the Free Music Archive. Research Notes Abraham, David. Elements of Power. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015.  The Californian Rare Earths Mine Caught between Trump and China. Bloomberg News, September 26, 2018.   “China-Japan Boat Crash Video Posted.” Al Jazeera, November 5, 2010.  “China Threatens to Cut Off Rare Earth Minerals as Trade War Escalates.” MSNBC, May 30, 2019.  “Colorado Experience: Uranium Mania.” Rocky Mountain PBS, November 2, 2017.  “Critical Materials Strategy.” U.S. Department of Energy, December 2010.   Desai, Pratima. “Tesla’s Electric Motor Shift to Spur Demand for Rare Earth Neodymium.”Reuters, March 12, 2018.  Gifford, Rob. “Yellow River Pollution Is Price of Economic Growth.” National Public Radio, All Things Considered, December 11, 2007.  Haxel, Gordon, Hedrick, James, Orris, Greta. “Rare Earth Elements—Critical Resources for High Technology.” U.S. Geological Survey, Fact Sheet 087-02, November 20, 2002.  Kalantzakos, Sophia. China and the Geopolitics of Rare Earths. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.  Kean, Sam. “Ytterby: The Tiny Swedish Island That Gave the Periodic Table Four Different Elements.” Slate, July 16, 2010.  Kim, Meeri. “Exposing the Trail of Devastation.” Sarah Lawrence College Magazine,” Fall 2018.  Klinger, Julie. Rare Earth Frontiers. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2017.  Lovins, Amory. “Clean Energy and Rare Earths: Why Not to Worry.” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May 23, 2017. “Obama Denounces China on Rare Earth Elements.” AFP News Agency, March 13, 2012.  “PBS NewsHour; June 14, 2010 7:00 pm–8:00 pm EDT.” American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress), Boston and Washington, DC. Accessed June 24, 2019.  “Running from Rare Earth Metals.” Bloomberg, June 30, 2015.  Salomon, Charlotte Abney. “Finding Yttrium: Joan Gadolin and the Development of a ‘Discovery.’” CHF Brown Bag Lecture Series, March 10, 2015.  “Story of Color Television.” RCA, 1956.  Thomson, Gene. “Hot Canyon.” Ames Laboratory, June 18, 2012.  Turner, Roger. “Material Matters: The Past and Present of Rare Earth Elements Essential to Our Future.” Joseph Priestley Society Lecture, Science History Institute, Philadelphia, February 14, 2019. 

Rare earths power our modern world. They make the magic happen. But at what cost? Tune in to our next episode on June 25th.

In the summer of 1969 the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, defied the laws of nature and caught fire. Time covered the event and cemented the fire’s place in national lore. The story that followed says this fire captured the country’s attention and brought to light the environmental hazards not only in Cleveland but in the country as a whole. And it went on to spark the modern environmental movement. This all sounds like such a nice, tidy story. But in reality things were much more complicated and involved politics, the space race, and just plain timing. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Reporter: Larry Buhl Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison Music courtesy of the Audio Network Research Notes “Carl Stokes and the River Fire.” National Park Service. Last updated May 2, 2019.  “The Cuyahoga River Fire: A New Mayor Tackles an Old Problem.” CSU Digital Humanities. YouTube video, 01:07, August 6, 2010. “The Cuyahoga River Fire, Part 1: Don’t Fall in the River.” CSU Center for Public History and Digital Humanities. Video, 01:23, 2010. “Cuyahoga River Pollution Ohio 1967.” YouTube video, 04:45, March 20, 2010.  Cuyahoga River Restoration. Doyle, Jack. “Burn On, Big River…,” Cuyahoga River Fires, PopHistoryDig.com, May 12, 2014.  Heaton, Michael. “Burning River Fest Parties in the Name of the Environment.” Plain Dealer, July 19, 2012. Holt, Lawrence R., and Diane Garey, dir. The Return of the Cuyahoga. 2008. Oley, PA: Bullfrog Films.  Rotman, Michael. “Cuyahoga River Fire.” Cleveland Historical Society, April 27, 2017.  Scott, Michael. “Scientists Monitor Cuyahoga River Quality to Adhere to Clean Water Act.” Plain Dealer, April 12, 2009. Stradling, David, and Richard Stradling. Where the River Burned: Carl Stokes and the Struggle to Save Cleveland. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2015.  “Year of the River: A Look at the Cuyahoga River 40 Years after It Caught Fire.” Special series, Plain Dealer, 2011.

When we think about the U.S.-Mexico border, it’s hard not to think about the current immigration conflict and the contentious idea to build a wall. But the concept of a border wall isn’t new: proposals for walls have been made for more than 100 years. Our story starts in 1947, when a group of Texas ranchers demanded a fence along their state’s border with Mexico. Their motivation, though, was to stop an outbreak of a disease that struck farm animals. The response to the crisis was complicated and often messy. But in the end two countries came together to solve a complex predicament—instead of building a wall.  Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producers: Rigoberto Hernandez, Alexis Pedrick Photo illustration by Jay Muhlin Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network. Research Notes Cervantes Sanchez, Juan, Roman Diaz, Ana Bertha Velazquez Camacho. “Una historia de vacunos y vacunas: Retrospectiva de la epizootia de Fiebre Aftosa en Mexico a 65 años de distancia.” Revista electronica de Veterinaria 11:B (May 2011). Clements, Kendrick. “Managing a National Crisis: The 1924 Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak in California.” California History84:3 (Spring 2007).  Domel, Jessica. “USDA Expands Fever Tick Fencing in South Texas.” Texas Agriculture Daily, January 2, 2019.  Dusenberry William. “Foot and Mouth Disease in Mexico, 1946-1951.” Agricultural History 29:2 (April 1955).  Fox, M. Kel. “The Campaign against Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Mexico, 1946-1951.” Journal of Arizona History 38:1 (Spring 1997).  Ledbetter, John. “Fighting Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Mexico: Popular Protest against Diplomatic Decisions.” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 104:(3), (January 2001). Machado, A. Manuel. “Aftosa and the Mexican-United States Sanitary Convention of 1928.” Agricultural History 39:4. (October 1965).  Mendoza, Mary. "Battling Afotsa: North-to-South Migration Accross the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1947-1954." Journal of the West, 54:1 (Winter 2015).  Mendoza, Mary. “Treacherous Terrain: Racial Exclusion and Environmental Control at the U.S.-Mexico Border.” Environmental History 23 (January 2018).  Mulvey, Ruth. “Cattle Killing Turns Peon against Doctor.” The Washington Post, January 4, 1948.   Outbreak. Department of Agriculture, Office of Public Affairs. 1949. Proctor, George. “An American Tragedy in Mexico: The Death of Robert Proctor.” Journal of Arizona History38:4 (1997).   Sill Wickware, Francis. “Crusade in Mexico.” Collier’s, August 20, 1949.  “Texas Cattle Fever.” U.S.Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library. 

When Mexico and the United States resolved their beef. 

In the late 1950s a Texas town on the Gulf of Mexico was suffering from a devastating, decade-long drought. But while the wells ran dry, the ocean lapped at the town’s shore, taunting the thirsty residents with its endless supply of undrinkable water. Undrinkable, that is, until President John F. Kennedy stepped in to save the day with the promise of science. The evolving technology of desalination wouldn’t just end droughts: it would give us as much water as we wanted. It would allow us to inhabit otherwise uninhabitable places. It would let us make the deserts bloom. But at what cost? Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producers: Rigoberto Hernandez, Alexis Pedrick Reporter: Rigoberto Hernandez Photo illustration by Jay Muhlin Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.  Research Notes Barringer, Felicity. “As ‘Yuck Factor’ Subsides, Treated Wastewater Flows from Taps.” New York Times, February 9, 2012.  Burnett, John. “When the Sky Ran Dry.” Texas Monthly, July 2012.  “Countries Who Rely on Desalination.” World Atlas.  Gies, Erica. “Desalination Breakthrough: Saving the Sea from Salt.” Scientific American, June 6, 2016. “Is Desalination the Future of Drought Relief in California?” PBS NewsHour, October 30, 2015. Jaehnig, Kenton, and Jacob Roberts. “Nor Any Drop to Drink.” Distillations, November 2018. Leahy, Stephen, and Katherine Purvis. “Peak Salt: Is the Desalination Dream over for the Gulf States?” Guardian, September 29, 2016. Madrigal, Alexis. “The Many Failures and Few Successes of Zany Iceberg Towing Schemes.” Atlantic, August 10, 2011. Miller, Joanna M. “Desalting Plant Opens Amid Surplus.” Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1992. “President Hails Desalting Plant; He Flips Switch to Dedicate Water Project in Texas.” New York Times, June 22, 1961.  Pulwarty, Roger, John Wiener, and David Ware. “Bite without Bark: How the Socioeconomic Context of the 1950s U.S. Drought Minimized Responses to a Multiyear Extreme Climate Event.” Weather and Climate Extremes 11 (2016): 80–94. Rivard, Ry. “The Desalination Plant Is Finished but the Debate over It Isn’t.” Voice of San Diego, August 30, 2016.  “San Diego’s Oversupply of Water Reaches a New, Absurd Level.” Voice of San Diego, February 2, 2016.  “With the Drought Waning, the Future of Desalination Is Murkier.” Voice of San Diego, June 5, 2017. “The Year in San Diego Water Wars.” Voice of San Diego, December 29, 2015. Simon, Matt. “Desalination Is Booming. But What about All That Toxic Brine.” Wired, January, 14, 2019. “The 1976–1977 California Drought: A Review.” California Department of Water Resources, May 1978. Voutchkov, Nikolay. “Desalination—Past, Present and Future.” International Water Association, August 17, 2016.  Video Archive “The California Drought 1976–77: A Two Year History” (video). California Department of Water Resources. “The MacNeil/Lehrer Report; Drought in the West.” Broadcast on February 11, 1977. National Records and Archives Administration, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA, and Washington, DC, accessed March 19, 2019. “White House Today (1961).” Lake Jackson Historical Museum, 1961. Texas Archive of the Moving Image.

This Valentine’s Day we could have just brought you some sappy love stories from science’s past. But instead we offer you three tales of lust, loneliness, betrayal, pettiness, and not one, but two beheadings. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Reporters: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Audio Engineer: James Morrison Photo illustration by Jay Muhlin Additional audio production by Dan Drago Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network Research Notes Martha Drinnan “Is Laurel Hill Haunted?” Laurel Hill Cemetery Blog, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, April 30, 2018. https://laurelhillcemetery.blog/2018/04/30/is-laurel-hill-haunted/. Sherman, Conger. Guide to Laurel Hill Cemetery, Near Philadelphia, 1847. Philadelphia: C. Sherman, 1847. https://archive.org/details/guidetolaurelhi00shergoog. Strauss, Robert. “Grave Sights.” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 29, 2010. https://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20101029_Grave_sights.html. It's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate Duveen, Denis. “Madame Lavoisier 1758–1836. Chymia 5 (1953): 13–29. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/27757161.pdf?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents. Everts, Sarah. “Acknowledging Madame Lavoisier.” Artful Science (blog), C&EN, June 1, 2011. http://cenblog.org/artful-science/2011/06/01/acknowledging-madame-lavoisier/. Hoffmann, Roald. “Mme. Lavoisier.” Scientific American 90 (2002): 22–24. http://www.roaldhoffmann.com/sites/all/files/mme_lavoisier.pdf. “The Human Side of Science: Edison and Tesla, Watson and Crick, and Other Personal Stories behind Science’s Big Ideas (2016).” Schoolbag.info. https://schoolbag.info/science/human/6.html. “Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier.” Wikipedia, accessed February 11, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marie-Anne_Paulze_Lavoisier&oldid=874565953. Touched by the Angels Clucas, Stephen, ed. John Dee: Interdisciplinary Studies in English Renaissance Thought. Dordrecht: Springer, 2006. Dee, John. The Compendious Rehearsal. London: Thomas Hearne, 1726. British Library (website), Collection Items. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/john-dee-is-accused-of-sorcery-after-staging-a-greek-play. Harkness, Deborah. John Dee’s Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. In, Mystical Metal of Gold: Essays on Alchemy and Renaissance Culture, edited by Stanton J. Linden, 35–79. New York: AMS, 2007. Sherman, William Howard. John Dee: The Politics of Reading and Writing in the English Renaissance. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1997.

Egyptian scriptures from 1200 BCE describe painful, migraine-like headaches, so we know the disorder has afflicted people for at least three thousand years. Still, the condition continues to mystify us today. Anne Hoffman is a reporter, a professor, and a chronic migraine sufferer. She spent the past year tracing the history of migraines, hoping to discover clues about a treatment that actually works for her. The journey took her in some interesting directions. One common theme she found? A whole lot of stigma. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Reporter: Anne Hoffman Photo illustration by Jay Muhlin Additional audio production by Dan Drago Music Theme music composed by Zach Young. "Valantis" and "Valantis Vespers" by Blue Dot Sessions, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network. Research Notes Interviews Matthew Crawford, Doan Fellow, Science History Institute. Margaret Heaney, professor of neurobiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Joanna Kempner, sociologist and author of Not Tonight: Migraine and the Politics of Gender and Health. Anne MacGregor, medical researcher and clinician. Brian McGeeney, assistant professor of neurology, Boston University School of Medicine.  Sources Brooklyn Museum, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. “Hildegarde of Bingen.” McClory, Robert. “Hildegard of Bingen: No Ordinary Saint.” National Catholic Reporter, March 24, 2012. Meares, Hadley. “The Medieval Prophetess Who Used Her Visions to Criticize the Church.” Atlas Obscura, July 13, 2016. PBS Frontline. “Hildegard’s Scivias.” Songfacts. Für Hildegard Von Bingen. Wikipedia. “Scivias.” Last modified October 23, 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scivias. Cannabidiol (CBD): Bazelot, Michaël, Chen Tong, Ibeas Bih, Dallas Mark, Clementino Nunn, Alistair V. W. Whalley Benjamin. “Molecular Targets of Cannabidiol in Neurological Disorders.” Neurotherapeutics 12 (2015): 699–730. Chen, Angus. “Some of the Parts: Is Marijuana’s ‘Entourage Effect’ Scientifically Valid?” Scientific American, April 20, 2017. Grinspoon, Peter. “Cannabidiol (CBD)—What We Know and What We Don’t.” Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, August 24, 2018. Science Vs. “CBD: Weed Wonder Drug?” Podcast audio, November 15, 2018.. Migraine: Kempner, Joanna. “The Birth of the Dreaded ‘Migraine Personality.’” Migraine Again, November 30, 2017. Neighmond, Patti. “Why Women Suffer More Migraines Than Men.” Shots: Health News from NPR, National Public Radio, April 16, 2012. Peterlin, B. Lee, Saurabh Gupta, Thomas N. Ward, and Anne MacGregor. “Sex Matters: Evaluating Sex and Gender in Migraine and Headache Research.” Headache 51(6) (2011): 839–842. Sharkey, Lauren. “Why Don’t We Know More about Migraines?” BBC Future, British Broadcasting Corporation, July 2, 2018. Wikipedia. “Aretaeus of Cappadocia.” Last modified December 6, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aretaeus_of_Cappadocia. Cannabis for Migraine: Mandal, Ananya. “Migraine History.” News-Medical, August 23, 2018. MDede. “Are Cannabinoids and Hallucinogens Viable Treatment Options for Headache Relief?” Neurology Reviews 22(5) (2014): 22–23. Available at MDedge, Clinical Neurology News. Archival: Grass—The History of Marijuana. Directed by Ron Mann. Toronto: Sphinx Productions, 1999. Hildegard of Bingen. Directed by James Runcie. London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1994. Reefer Madness. Directed by Louis J. Gasnier. Los Angeles: George A. Hirliman Productions, 1938.

Happy holidays from all of us here at Distillations. This holiday season our gift to you is a sneak peak at some of the stories we have in the works for 2019.

In April 1988 Harvard University was awarded a patent that was the first of its kind. U.S. Patent Number 4,736,866 was small, white, and furry, with red beady eyes. His name was OncoMouse. The mouse, genetically engineered to have a predisposition for cancer, allowed researchers to study the disease in an intact living organism. It promised to transform cancer research, but not everyone was happy. Most critics were wary of patenting life forms at all. But academic scientists were also worried about the collision of commercial and academic science. It forced them to face difficult questions: Who should pay for science? Who does scientific knowledge belong to? And should science be for the good of the public or for profit? Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago. Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Reporter: Jessie Wright-Mendoza   Photo illustration by Jay Muhlin. Additional audio production by Dan Drago. Music Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.  Research Notes Interviews: Elizabeth Popp Berman, Associate Professor of Sociology, SUNY Albany, and author of Creating the Market University: How Academic Science Became an Economic Engine. David Einhorn, House Counsel, Jackson Laboratory. Harold Varmus, Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine. Ken Paigen, Executive Research Fellow and Professor, Jackson Laboratory. Sources:  Adler, Jerry. “The First Patented Animal Is Still Leading the Way on Cancer Research.” Smithsonian Magazine, December 2016.  Chakrabarty, Ananda. Microorganisms having multiple compatible degradative energy-generating plasmids and preparation thereof. U.S. Patent 4259444A, filed June 7, 1981, and issued March 31, 1981.  Diamond v. Chakrabarty, 447 U.S. 303 (1980). “Fortune Names Its ’88 Products of the Year.” Associated Press, November 17, 1988.  Hanahan, Douglas, Erwin Wagner, and Richard Palmiter. “The Origins of Oncomice: A History of the First Transgenic Mice Genetically Engineered to Develop Cancer.” Genes and Development 21 (2007), 2258–2270. Leder, Philip, and Timothy Stewart. Transgenic non-human mammals. U.S. Patent 4736866A, filed June 22, 1984, and issued April 12, 1988.  Leonelli, Sabina, and Rachel Ankeny. “Re-Thinking Organisms: The Impact of Databases on Model Organism Biology.” Working paper, University of Exeter, April 5, 2011. Published in Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C 43:1 (2012), 29–36. Morse, Herbert C. III, ed. Origins of Inbred Mice. New York: Academic Press, 1978. Google Books. Murray, Fiona. “The Oncomouse That Roared: Resistance and Accommodation to Patenting in Academic Science.” Working paper, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006. Published in American Journal of Sociology 116:2 (2010), 341–388. National Association for Biomedical Research. “Mice and Rats.” Mice and Rats. Washington, DC, 2018. nabr.org. National Museum of American History. “OncoMouse.” Washington, DC, 2018. americanhistory.si.edu. Palmer, Brian. “Jonas Salk: Good at Virology, Bad at Economics.” Slate, April 13, 2014. Rader, Karen. “The Mouse People: Murine Genetics Work at the Bussey Institution, 1909–1936.” Journal of the History of Biology 31:3 (Autumn 1998), 327–354.  Russell, Elizabeth. “Origins and History of Mouse Inbred Strains: Contributions of Clarence Cook Little.” Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine. informatics.jax.org. Schneider, Keith. “New Animal Forms Will Be Patented.” New York Times, April 17, 1987. Specter, Michael. “Can We Patent Life?” New Yorker, April 1, 2013.  Archival Sources: Achbar, Mark, and Jennifer Abbott, dir. The Corporation. Canada: Big Picture Media Corporation, 2003.  Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation. “Lasker Archives: Passion and Optimism in Scientific Research.” April 9, 2017, laskerfoundation.org. On the 1987 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award. Murrow, Edward. See It Now (Jonas Salk). CBS, April 12, 1955. paleycenter.org Potter, Deborah, and Dan Rather. “Animal Patents.” CBS Evening News, April 12, 1988. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. “Candidacy for Presidency: Ronald Reagan’s Announcement for President of U.S.” November 13, 1979. youtube.com.

Tune in to the next episode of Distillations on November 20th!

“We should never, ever forget that addiction treatment is a search for meaning in a place other than using drugs.” —Nancy Campbell, historian of drug addiction (This is the third and final chapter of a three-part series. See Part 1 and Part 2.) In the final chapter of this series we travel to the heart of our modern opioid crisis. In what is now a notorious Philadelphia neighborhood called Kensington, we meet two victims of the epidemic and follow them on two distinct paths toward recovery. Our current devastating opioid crisis is unprecedented in its reach and deadliness, but it’s not the first such epidemic the United States has experienced or tried to treat. In fact, it’s the third.  Treating America’s Opioid Addiction is a three-part series that investigates how we’ve understood and treated opioid addiction over more than a century. Through the years we’ve categorized opioid addiction as some combination of a moral failure, a mental illness, a biological disease, or a crime. And though we’ve desperately wanted the problem to be something science alone can solve, the more we look, the more complicated we learn it is.  Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Reporters: Mariel Carr and Rigoberto Hernandez, with additional reporting by Meir Rinde Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison  Photo illustration by Jay Muhlin Additional audio production by Dan Drago Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.  Research Notes Interviews: Claire Clark, author of The Recovery Revolution: The Battle over Addiction Treatment in the United States.  Nancy Campbell, historian and director of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Chris Marshall, former member and director of the Last Stop. Miranda Thomas, Kensington resident. Joseph Garbely, vice president of medical services and medical director of the Caron Treatment Centers. Lara Weinstein, primary care physician, Project HOME and Pathways to Housing PA  Special thanks to Jennifer Reardon of Temple Health Communications and to Joseph D’Orazio and David O’Gurek.  Sources:  American Addiction Centers. “Can Suboxone Get You High?” Brentwood, TN: American Addiction Centers, 2018. American Addiction Centers. “Pros and Cons of Methadone.” Brentwood, TN: American Addiction Centers, 2018. Campbell, Nancy, and Anne Lovell. “The History of the Development of Buprenorphine as an Addiction Therapeutic.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1248 (Feb. 2012): 124–39. Clark, Claire. The Recovery Revolution: The Battle over Addiction Treatment in the United States. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017. Giordano, Rita. “Opioid Addiction Treatment with Medicine Works Best. Why Don’t More Young People Get It?” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 10, 2018.  Oransky, Ivan. “Vincent Dole” [obituary]. Lancet 368 (Sept. 16, 2006): 984. Rockefeller University. “The First Pharmacological Treatment for Narcotic Addiction: Methadone Maintenance.” Rockefeller University Hospital: 100 Years of Bridging Science and Medicine website. New York, 2010. Shuster, Alvin M. “G.I. Heroin Addiction Epidemic in Vietnam.” New York Times, May 16, 1971. Thompson-Gargano, Kathleen. “What Is Buprenorphine Treatment Like?” Farmington, CT: National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment. Villa, Lauren. “Methadone and Suboxone: What’s the Difference Anyway?” Drugabuse.com. Waldorf, Dan, et al. Morphine Maintenance: The Shreveport Clinic 1919–1923—Special Studies No. 1. Washington, DC: Drug Abuse Council, April 1974. Whelan, Aubrey. “She Was Just out of Rehab. She Was Excited about the Future. Three Hours Later, She Was Dead.” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 26, 2018.   Winberg, Michaela. “Kensington’s Famous Last Stop Addiction Recovery Center Prepares to Move.” Billypenn.com, March 26, 2018. Archival Sources:  Efootage.com. Richard Nixon “Law & Order” Speech—1968. Video. John Chancellor. “Washington, DC Heroin Addiction.” NBC Evening News. February 4, 1971. Columbia Center for Oral History. Marie Nyswander, oral history. New York: Columbia University Libraries, Oral History Archives, 1981.

Our current devastating opioid crisis is unprecedented in its reach and deadliness, but it’s not the first such epidemic the United States has experienced or tried to treat. In fact, it’s the third.  Treating America’s Opioid Addiction is a three-part series that investigates how we’ve understood and treated opioid addiction over more than a century. Through the years we’ve categorized opioid addiction as some combination of a moral failure, a mental illness, a biological disease, or a crime. And though we’ve desperately wanted the problem to be something science alone can solve, the more we look, the more complicated we learn it is.  Part 2 focuses on a controversial rehabilitation program called Synanon, which became the first significant therapeutic community for opioid addiction. From the time it opened its doors in 1958, it seemed to do what no other hospital, prison, or sanitarium had done before: cure the supposedly incurable heroin addict. But over the years its changing methods became increasingly questionable, and the controversy would ultimately lead to its demise. Despite its faults Synanon had a profound influence on subsequent generations of drug treatment programs—many of which still exist today. CORRECTIONS: In the original episode we said that by the time John Stallone joined Synanon in 1965, stages two and three had been eliminated—meaning that there was no timeline for him to ever leave. In fact, the phasing out of those stages took longer to implement, and they were still in place when he arrived. This statement has been edited out of the updated audio version. In the original episode David Deitch says that he found his dog hanging by a noose outside his house, and he believed that a member of Synanon was responsible. However, this story did not happen to David Deitch but to another former Synanon member named Jack Hurst. This story has been edited out of the updated audio version. All other statements made by David Deitch have been corroborated by other sources.  The original episode suggested that John Stallone left Synanon after the group's leaders started endorsing violence against children, but he left before years before the violence started. The original script read, "John left in 1972 because Dederich was asking parents to live separately from their children, to essentially turn them over to Synanon, and John and his wife didn’t want to do that to their son. And they made the right decision."  John Stallone: They started physically abusing the kids. They started using corporal punishment with the kids. They started hitting them and whatnot. It didn't turn out good at all." The audio version has been edited to replace "And they made the right decision" with "And years later something happened that made it clear they had made the right decision." Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Reporter: Mariel Carr with additional reporting by Meir Rinde Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison  Photo illustration by Jay Muhlin Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.  Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.  Research Notes Interviews: Claire Clark, author of The Recovery Revolution: The Battle over Addiction Treatment in the United States.  Nancy Campbell, historian and director of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. John Stallone, former Synanon member. David Deitch, former Synanon member, clinical and social psychologist, and emeritus professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. Sources:  Claire Clark. The Recovery Revolution: The Battle over Addiction Treatment in the United States. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017. Synanon Foundation records, Online Archive of California, oac.cdlib.org/. Synanon Foundation Oral Histories, UCLA Library, Center for Oral History Research, Los Angeles. David Deitch. “Conversation with David Deitch.” Addiction X (May 3, 2002), 791-800.  Hillel Aron. “The Story of This Drug-Rehab-Turned-Violent Cult Is Wild, Wild, Country-Caliber Bizarre.” Los Angeles Magazine, April 23, 2018. Matt Novak. “Synanon’s Sober Utopia: How a Drug Rehab Program Became a Violent Cult.” Gizmodo, Paleofuture, April 15, 2014. Film excerpts from:  The Distant Drummer: Flower of Darkness. Washington, DC: Airlie Foundation and George Washington University Department of Medical and Public Affairs, 1972. David, 1961, Drew Associates. Instant Guide to Synanon: A Compilation of the Most Frequently Asked Questions about Our Foundation. Synanon, 1973. The House on the Beach. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1965. YouTube, posted on February 29, 2008. Synanon. Richard Quine, director. Columbia Pictures, 1965.

In our next episode we’re continuing our three-part series on the history of opioid addiction treatment in the United States. And we’re going back to the early 1960s, when the foundations for our modern opioid addiction treatment system were being built--starting with a controversial drug rehabilitation program called Synanon. Tune in to our next episode, Synanon and the Tunnel Back to the Human Race, on September 18. 

Our current devastating opioid crisis is unprecedented in its reach and deadliness, but it’s not the first such epidemic the United States has experienced or tried to treat. In fact, it’s the third.  Treating America’s Opioid Addiction is a three-part series that investigates how we’ve understood and treated opioid addiction over more than a century. Through the years we’ve categorized opioid addiction as some combination of a moral failure, a mental illness, a biological disease, or a crime. And though we’ve desperately wanted the problem to be something science alone can solve, the more we look, the more complicated we learn it is.  Part 1 focuses on a government-run prison-hospital, the Narcotic Farm, just for people addicted to opioids. When it opened in 1935, it promised to find a cure for drug addiction.  Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Reporter: Mariel Carr with additional reporting by Meir Rinde Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison  Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.  Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.  Research Notes Interviews: Claire Clark, author of The Recovery Revolution: The Battle Over Addiction Treatment in the United States.  Nancy Campbell, historian and the head of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. John Stallone, former Narcotic Farm patient. Sources:  Claire Clark, The Recovery Revolution: The Battle Over Addiction Treatment in the United States.  The Habit, Opioid Addiction in America, Backstory.   Inside the Story of America’s 19th-Century Opiate Addiction, Smithsonian Magazine.  Films:  The Distant Drummer: Flower of Darkness  The Distant Drummer: Bridge From No Place The Narcotic Farm

We're hard at work on our next season. Listen to the first episode on August 21st!

If you live in Los Angeles, or even if you’ve just visited, you know about smog. But what might surprise you is that a half-century ago the city’s air quality was more unbearable, even though the city had far fewer cars. In the final installment of our three-part series on environmental success stories, we tell you about Los Angeles’s caveat-filled triumph over smog. The battle started in the 1940s and continues today, but along the way crucial pieces of technology and legislation helped clear the air—and forced the whole country to follow.   Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison    Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.  Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.  Research Notes To research this episode we read Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles and interviewed its author, Chip Jacobs. We also interviewed Roger Turner, research fellow for the Beckman Legacy Project at the Science History Institute.

Tune in to the next episode of Distillations on June 26!

Remember acid rain? If you were a kid in the 1980s like our hosts were, the threat of poison falling from the sky probably made some kind of impression on your consciousness. But thanks to the work of scientists, government, the media, and the pope—that’s right, the pope—the problem was fixed! Well, mostly fixed is probably more accurate. This complicated story spans 27 years, six U.S. presidents, and ecologist Gene Likens's entire career. Discover the insidious details in the second chapter of our three-part series on environmental success stories.  Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: James Morrison  Additional audio was recorded by David G. Rainey. Image of Gene Likens by Phil Bradshaw of FreshFly. We interviewed Rachel Rothschild, a former Science History Institute research fellow and Rumford Scholar, about her book, “Poisonous Skies: Acid Rain and the Globalization of Pollution.” To research this episode we read her 2015 dissertation, A Poisonous Sky: Scientific Research and International Diplomacy on Acid Rain. We also read Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway (Bloomsbury, 2010). We interviewed Gene Likens at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire in 2015 with Glenn Holsten and FreshFly. We interviewed him again in May 2018.   The following are the archival news clips we used as they appear in the episode: Bettina Gregory, Tom Jarriel, and Bill Zimmerman. ABC Evening News, December 14, 1978.  Walter Cronkite and Jim Kilpatrick. “Environment: The Earth Revisited/Acid Rain.” CBS Evening News, September 11, 1979. Robert Bazell and John Chancellor. “Special Segment: Acid Rain.” NBC Evening News, May 9, 1980. “The MacNeil/Lehrer Report: Acid Rain,” NewsHour Productions, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (Boston: WGBH; Washington, DC: Library of Congress), aired May 26, 1980, on PBS, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_507-pk06w9754b. “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour,” NewsHour Productions, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (Boston: WGBH; Washington, DC: Library of Congress), aired on June 30, 1988, on PBS, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_507-b56d21s53c. Tom Brokaw and Robert Hager. “Air Pollution: George Bush.” NBC Evening News, November 15, 1990. Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.  Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network. 

Tune in to the next episode of Distillations on May 22!

If you were around in the 1980s, you probably remember the lurking fear of an ominous hole in the sky. In the middle of the decade scientists discovered that a giant piece of the ozone layer was disappearing over Antarctica, and the situation threatened us all. The news media jumped on the story. The ozone layer is like the earth’s sunscreen: without it ultraviolet rays from the sun would cause alarming rates of skin cancer and could even damage marine food chains. And it turns out we were causing the problem. Today, more than three decades after the initial discovery, the ozone hole in Antarctica is finally on the road to recovery. How did we do it? This environmental success story gives us a glimpse into what happens when scientists, industry, the public, and the government all work together to manage a problem that threatens all of us. Happy Earth Day! Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez To research this episode we read Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway. We read, listened to, and used excerpts from an oral history with chemist Mario Molina that was conducted by the Science History Institute’s Center for Oral History. We also interviewed atmospheric chemist Susan Solomon at MIT in 2016. These are the archival news clips we used as they appear in the episode: Dow, David; Quinn, Jane Bryant; Rather, Dan. “Ozone Layer,” CBS Evening News. Aug 15, 1986. Hager, Robert; Seigenthaler, John. “Ozone Layer,” NBC Evening News. Dec 3, 2000. Gibson, Charles; Blakemore, Bill. “Environment/Ozone Layer,” ABC Evening News. Aug 22, 2006. Reasoner, Harry; Stout, Bill. “Supersonic Transport Vs. Concorde,” CBS Evening News. Jan 1, 1969. Quinn, Jane Bryant; Rather, Dan. “Ozone Layer Depletion,” CBS Evening News. Oct 20, 1986 Chancellor, John; Neal, Roy. “Special Report (Ozone),” NBC Evening News. Sep 24, 1975. Benton, Nelson; Cronkite, Walter. “Ozone/Fluorocarbons/ National Academy of Sciences Study,” CBS Evening News. Sept 14, 1976. Brokaw, Tom; Hager, Robert. “Assignment Earth (Ozone Layer),” NBC Evening News. Feb 3, 1992. Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.  Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network. 

They’re at the grocery checkout. They kill cancer cells. They’re in pointers that drive cats crazy and in the fiber networks that connect us to the internet. Lasers are so ubiquitous it’s hard to imagine a world without them. So you’d think we would know who the inventor was, right? Turns out it’s not so easy. There’s the guy who wrote down the initial idea, two other guys who got a patent for it, and then another guy who actually built the first laser. We spoke to Nick Taylor, author of Laser: The Inventor, the Noble Laureate, and the Thirty-Year Patent War about this story and what it tells us about how inventions happen. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elizabeth Berry Drago Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer and Reporter: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Catherine Girardeau Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.  Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network. 

Yoga pants are having a moment. And while they’re not new, they’ve moved beyond the gym and yoga studio into nearly every corner of our lives. This so-called athleisure wear trend has made a lot of people happy. “Once I wore [yoga pants], I never wore jeans again if I could help it,” says Sage Roundtree, a yoga instructor from North Carolina. But as comfy as the trend is, it has made a lot of people very unhappy—including the entire cotton industry. That’s because performance athletic wear isn’t made out of cotton. It’s made of synthetic fibers such as Lycra, polyester, and spandex. As demand for athleisure wear grows, demand for cotton shrinks. Luckily, cotton has a few tricks up its sleeve to keep consumers interested—because this is only the latest episode in a decades-long rivalry between cotton and synthetic fibers. Credits Hosts: Alexis Pedrick and Elizabeth Berry Drago Reporter and producer: > Facebook | Blog"> James Morrison Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.  Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network. 

Every aspiring chemist has heard of Boyle’s law—the equation that relates the pressure of a gas to its volume. But even if you know about Robert Boyle himself, it’s not likely you’ve heard of his sister, even though she probably talked him through many of his ideas. Katherine Jones, Lady Ranelagh (1615–1691), had a lifelong influence on her famous younger brother, natural philosopher Robert Boyle. In her lifetime she was recognized by many for her scientific knowledge, but her story was almost lost to time. This episode is a collaboration with Poncie Rutsch, the creator and host of Babes of Science. Poncie interviewed CHF’s own Michelle DiMeo, a historian who’s writing a book about Lady Ranelagh. Babes of Science is a podcast that tries to answer two questions: Who are the women who changed the trajectory of science? And why has it taken us so long to recognize their work? Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob KenworthyReporter and producer: Poncie Rutsch Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.  Additional music courtesy of the Free Music Archive:  Day Into Night by Rho Daydream Shelshock by Wolf Asylum Am I The Devil by YEYEY History Explains Itself by The Losers Like Swimming by Broke For Free Insatiable Toad by Blue Dot Sessions One And by Broke For Free Modulation of the Spirit by Little Glass Men Melt by Broke For Free Eleanor by The Losers I Am A Man Who Will Fight For Your Honor by Chris Zabriskie Tidal Wave by YEYEY

As you ponder which shiny new gadgets to put in your children’s stockings this holiday season, beware of the story of the Abbott family, whose lives were forever changed after a little too much screen time. Distillations brings you a live performance of Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Veldt.” Originally titled “The World the Children Made,” it’s a science-fiction tale about the dangers of our growing overdependence on technology. “People ask me to predict the future when all I want to do is prevent it,” Bradbury said. “We have too many cellphones. We’ve got too many internets. We have got to get rid of those machines.” Special thanks to Mechanical Theater and the Hear Again Radio Project for the live performance. Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Senior Producer: Mariel Carr Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.  Dream (instrumental) by Chan Wai Fat, courtesy of the Free Music Archive.

It’s one of the most bizarre episodes in American food history: when butter and margarine were at war. What you choose to spread on your toast might seem like a boring subject, but it turns out to be fascinating and sometimes hilarious. Margarine’s history began with French emperor Napoleon III, a French chemist, and some sheep’s stomachs, and went on to include heated courtroom debates, our first federal laws regulating food, and outlaws smuggling faux butter across state lines. The spreads have competed for more than a hundred years, and public preferences shift each time our understanding of health science changes. In this episode of Distillations we learn about the history of butter and margarine and explore the distinctly American debates they inspired involving food, health, science, and regulation. Credits Hosts: Elisabeth Berry Drago and Alexis Pedrick Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Catherine Girardeau Reading for this episode: The Dairy Crisis: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40716626 Letters From Our Readers, The Wisconsin Magazine of History: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4636978 The “Oleo Wars”: Wisconsin’s Fight Over the Demon Spread, The Wisconsin Magazine of History: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4636942 Bogus Butter: An Analysis of the 1886 Congressional Debates on Oleomargarine Legislation: http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/36/ “If It’s Yellow, It Must be Butter”: Margarine Regulation in North America Since 1886, The Journal of Economic History: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2566555 What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam? The National Archives Foundation: https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/whats-cooking/ Special thanks to our voiceover artists, Hillary Mohaupt, Roger Eardley-Pryor, and Sarah Reisert Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.  

Baby horses and giraffes walk soon after they’re born, and they can feed and take care of themselves pretty quickly, too. A one-year-old person, on the other hand, is basically helpless. But humans go on to live much longer than most other mammals, and scientists have long been trying to piece together why this is the case. One theory, called the grandmother hypothesis, claims that grandmas are the key to why humans live so long. Unlike most other species, human females live long past their childbearing years and so can help raise their grandchildren, allowing their daughters (or daughters-in-law) to have another baby before the first one can take care of itself. As warm and fuzzy as this idea sounds, it turns out to be pretty controversial. In this episode of Distillations we explore the grandmother hypothesis and find out what the debate is all about. Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez  Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.

Though they lived decades apart, Adolphe Dessauer and Abdelwahhab Azzawi share similar stories. They were both esteemed physicians who faced violence and persecution in their home countries. They both sought refuge abroad and found safety, only to find themselves facing a new struggle—getting permission to practice medicine in their new homes. Dessauer, a Jewish doctor, fled Germany for the United States in 1938. Azzawi, a 36-year-old ophthalmologist from Syria, found asylum in Germany in 2015. Both men’s lives were spared through the generosity of their new countries, but they had to struggle to give back in the most meaningful way they could—by sharing their medical expertise. In 2016 every American Nobel laureate in science was an immigrant. And it wasn’t just that year; U.S. winners often are born abroad. Yet as global an enterprise as science has become, navigating bureaucracy and straddling boundaries seems to be as difficult in the 21st century as during World War II. Show Clock  00:13 Intro 01:35 The German doctor  14:28 The Syrian doctor  Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez  Reporter: Catherine Girardeau  Audio Engineer: Catherine Girardeau Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young. Additional music is courtesy of the Audio Network.

There are no parents in the world who want to see their child sick. Often the illness is no big deal—you follow doctor’s orders and your kid gets better soon. But what do you do when your child is really sick, and it’s because of decisions the founders of your religion made more than 300 years ago? And what do you do when the medical solutions seem to run counter to that very same religion? This is the dilemma faced by many Amish and Mennonite parents in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, whose children suffer from genetic diseases at rates exponentially higher than the rest of the population. These Plain People, as they call themselves, typically eschew technology. But 30 years ago they chose to step out of character and embrace the latest advances in genomic medicine to help save their children. Reporter Kyrie Greenberg spent almost a year getting to know some of these families, and she produced this podcast with us.   Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez  Reporter: Kyrie Greenberg Music Original music composed by Zach Young. Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.

On April 22, 2017, more than one million people in 600 cities around the world took to the streets in the name of science. Many were scientists themselves, and quite a few donned lab coats. Some were protesting for the first time. It was an unusual sight perhaps, but science has never been immune to politics. “If we could imagine angels doing science maybe it wouldn’t be political,” says Liz Lopatto, science editor of the technology site the Verge, “But since it’s humans, it’s inescapable.” Throughout the past century quite a few scientists have taken up political causes, but the tide of politics and science ebbs and flows, from the labs to the streets and back again. Now, after a period of relative quiet it seems to be flowing again. But this time it’s different. Sociologist Kelly Moore says, “I don’t know of any period in American history when scientists have felt the need to collectively defend science as a public good.” Show Clock 00:32 March for science 02:14 Science as a noun, science as a verb  04:55 Science and politics throughout history  Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Additional Reporting and Production: Kyrie Greenberg  Audio Engineer: Dan Powell Music  Original music composed by Zach Young. Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.

There was a time when tattoos were taboo, and you thought long and hard before getting one. Today 20 percent of American adults are inked. Tattoos just don’t carry the stigma they once did—unless it’s a particular kind of tattoo, in a particular place on the body. Fortunately, as our penchant for getting tattoos has grown, so has our ability to get rid of them. In the 1960s researchers started experimenting with lasers to remove tattoos, and since then the technology has dramatically improved. Now we can erase our past, whether it’s a sailor’s bad decision from overseas or a gang identifier that prevents its owner from getting a job—and could even get him killed. Sociologist and CHF research fellow Joseph Klett traces the modern history of tattoo removal through the stories of his father—a retired sailor—and ex-gang members in California.   Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Reporter: Joseph Klett Producer:  Mariel Carr Associate producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Additional production by Kyrie Greenberg  Audio engineer: Dan PowellVoiceover artist: David Dault  Music  Original music composed by Dan Powell. 

Most of us are content to use our existing five senses to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch our way through the world. But an increasing number of people called biohackers are not satisfied with watching the everyday brilliance of a sunset or petting a silky kitten. They want infrared vision and electromagnetic fingertips. “Why wouldn't I want to add one more sense to the ones I already have and enjoy so much? The ability to feel just a little bit more?” Nic Fox asked reporter Catherine Girardeau. Fox has a device embedded in his chest that vibrates when he faces magnetic north. To understand more about these would-be cyborgs we turned to Kara Platoni, author of We Have the Technology: How Biohackers, Foodies, Physicians and Scientists Are Transforming Human Perception, One Sense at a Time. Platoni is a science reporter and a lecturer at University of California, Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. She describes how many biohackers feel the future hasn’t gotten here fast enough. They’re ready to be cyborgs now. Show Clock 00:03 Intro 03:10 The North Sense 13:12 Interview with author Kara Platoni Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Kara Platoni Reporter: Catherine Girardeau Producer:  Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

For as long as humans have been around they’ve worried about their smell. “That’s why we’ve had perfumes for as long as we’ve had people,” says Cari Casteel, a CHF research fellow studying the history of deodorant. But, Casteel says, "it wasn't until the late 19th, early 20th century that the technology and the chemistry catches up to what people want." Today most Americans don’t give a second thought to using deodorant. In fact, some 90% of the population slathers the stuff on. But in the late 19th and early 20th centuries deodorants and antiperspirants were new, and their makers had to convince potential customers (all women) that perfumes alone weren’t cutting it and that their body odor and perspiration were unacceptable. They did so by preying on women’s insecurities, an approach later used successfully on men. In this episode we explore some of the funny, disturbing, sexist, and quirky advertisements from deodorant’s history and discover that today’s commercials are strangely similar to those of the past. Show Clock 00:01 Intro 01:20 Odorono ad  03:57 The history and science of deodorant   09:55 Old ads vs. new ads   Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest:  Cari Casteel Producer:  Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Additional Production by Kyrie Greenberg  Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

We all know hydration is important to health, but many people find water boring to drink. Juice and Coke aren’t boring, but they aren’t very healthy either. One way to transform water into a more exciting drink is to add bubbles. For centuries carbonated water from natural springs was used as a medicine. Now lifestyle and health concerns have combined to drive fizzy water’s renewed popularity. Join us as we unpack the long history of carbonated water, from natural mineral springs, to the invention of artificial carbonation by a radical 18th-century chemist, to the fading tradition of seltzer deliverymen in New York City. Show Clock 00:01 Intro 00:24 The rise of fizzy water  04:30 Seltzer Boys 06:40 What's the difference between seltzer, mineral water, and club soda?  08:22 The history of carbonated water   11:55 Seltzer and health Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer:  Mariel CarrAssociate Producer: Rigoberto HernandezReporter: Rigoberto HernandezAdditional production by Kyrie Greenberg  Special thanks to Alex Gomberg and Brooklyn Seltzer Boys Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

The sports bra is omnipresent in today’s sports landscape. But the current iteration of this nifty item is less than 40 years old, and it arrived with a serendipitous origin story. For this episode of Distillations we talked to Lisa Lindahl, an entrepreneur from Vermont, who in 1979 patented what was to become the modern-day sports bra. It’s a story about a runner who wanted running to be more comfortable. “It was the right product at the right time. It really struck a chord for so many women,” says Lindahl. “This product came into being because it was something I wanted.” We also talked to our museum team about their new exhibition, Second Skin: The Science of Stretch, and the roles stretch fabrics play in health and sports. Christy Schneider, exhibits project manager at the Museum at CHF, says it’s all about getting the body you want, whether you want to dance all night or run a marathon. “How do you that?” asks Schneider. “You clothe it in a second skin.” Show Clock 00:05 Intro00:32 ‘The Sports Bra Seen Round the World’ 05:40 A brief history of the sports bra10:53 The technology and science behind the sports bra11:50 Why stretch fabric matters 15:20 Conclusion Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Brandi Chastain, Lisa Lindahl, Gillian Maguire, and Christy Schneider Reporter: Rigoberto Hernandez Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Seth G. Samuel Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

Our producer is pregnant. For the past nine months people have asked what her birth plan is, which to her seems like asking what kind of weather she had planned for her wedding day. “All of a sudden my life was full of these terms: natural, medicated, doula, epidural, and it quickly became clear that there was a great debate—and I was supposed to choose a side.”  We wanted to know when this controversy started, and why comedian Amy Schumer is joking about sea-turtle births. So we talked to Lara Freidenfelds, a historian of sexuality, reproduction, and women’s health in America, and learned some surprising things about our nation’s early childbirth practices. Freidenfelds also shared her views about why a growing number of women are opting for unmedicated births, while Amy Tuteur, a retired obstetrician and the author of Push Back: Guilt in the Age of Natural Parenting, tells us that once upon a time all births were natural—and a lot of mothers and babies died. Show Clock 00:01 Inside Amy Schumer: "It's Better for the Baby" 01:00 Intro 02:32 Feature story: "I Can't Get To You" 11:25 Amy Tuteur and Lara Freidenfelds discuss the history and controversy behind natural childbirth Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Amy Tuteur and Lara Freidenfelds Reporter: Kristin Gourlay Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Seth G. Samuel Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

Over the past year we’ve brought you stories about tacos, taxidermy, and DDT. But at the same time we’ve been thinking about and researching medicine—specifically, how outsiders to the field have helped change the ways doctors practice. Join us to find out how philosophers, transgender patients, and Jehovah’s Witnesses have influenced health care in the United States over the past few decades.  Show Clock 00:04 Intro 01:41 Transgender and intersex patients 06:51 Bioethicists 09:55 Jehovah's Witnesses Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Mariel Carr Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music "Nature Kid" by Podington Bear, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.

Now that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes post-traumatic stress disorder as a significant issue among veterans, they’ve uncovered another problem—there aren’t enough therapists to go around. Virtual reality experts at the University of Southern California have a solution: robots. Reporter Anna Stitt explains how advocates see these “therapy bots” as enhancing the field of therapy; they don’t tire out, they don’t need a salary, and patients are often more honest with them than human therapists. The only problem? Some people are worried that these therapy bots will one day replace humans. Fears of artificial intelligence aren’t new, but they do seem increasingly common. Elon Musk declared that creating artificial intelligence is akin to "summoning the demon.” And Hollywood has done a solid job of convincing us that we’re approaching an age of artificial superintelligence—when machines’ capabilities will greatly exceed those of humans. We turned to philosopher and University of California, Berkeley professor John Searle to get his take on how realistic these concerns are. He says he takes the threat just as seriously as if someone said “shoes have been walked on for centuries. Any day now, they might come out of the closet and walk all over us." Show Clock 00:04 Intro 02:06 Human-Centered Therapy....with Robots 19:56 John Searle interview Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: John Searle Reporter: Anna Stitt Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

Have you noticed any antlered rabbits mounted on the wall of your local coffee shop? Or maybe some geese with butterfly wings? That’s because taxidermy has made a comeback. Our producer, Mariel Carr, wanted to know why, so she spent a few months exploring the alternative—or rogue—taxidermy scene in Philadelphia. Rogue taxidermy takes an artistic approach to the traditional craft. It combines materials, and even animals, in unconventional ways. And it seems to involve a fair amount of glitter. Meet Beth Beverly, a young taxidermist; John Whitenight, an eccentric collector of Victorian taxidermy; and the polar bears and gorillas at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Together they explain taxidermy’s long history of combining art and science, and describe the role arsenic played in taxidermy’s rise to prominence in the 19th century. Show Clock: 00:04 Intro 01:13 This Is Not Your Great-Grandfather's Taxidermy Credits: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Reporter: Mariel CarrProducer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez "Boop" and "Climbing the Mountain" courtesy of Podington Bear and the Free Music Archive. Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.

We’re guessing you know who Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton are, and maybe you’re even familiar with Linus Pauling or Roald Hoffmann. But it turns out that a lot of people can’t name a single female scientist besides Marie Curie. Exasperated by this fact, radio producer Poncie Rutsch made a podcast she titled Babes of Science. The show profiles accomplished scientists from history who also happened to be women. We became such fans of the show that we decided to create a special Babes of Science and Distillations collaborative episode. In it Rutsch profiles Barbara McClintock, a cytogeneticist who discovered transposons, or “jumping genes,” and whose radical ideas made it hard for her to gain acceptance in the field. Show Clock: 00:04 Intro 01:46 Babes of Science: Barbara McClintock 14:37 Interview with Poncie Rutsch Credits: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Poncie Rutsch  Reporter: Poncie RutschProducer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez These songs courtesy of Free Music Archive: A Way to Get By, Scott Grattonpiano lesson, The RebelGolden, Little Glass MenLittle Strings, The LosersDivider, Chris ZabriskieModulation of the Spirit, Little Glass MenSpontaneous Existence, Little Glass MenPieces of the Present, Scott Gratton Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.

When you bite into a taco, quesadilla, or anything else involving a traditionally made corn tortilla, your taste buds get to experience the results of an ancient chemical process called nixtamalization. The technique dates to around 1500 BCE and involves cooking corn kernels with an alkaline substance, like lime or wood ash, which makes the dough softer, tastier, and much more nutritious. Only in the 20th century did scientists figure out the secret of nixtamalization—the process releases niacin, one of the essential B vitamins. Our guest, archaeologist and nixtamalization expert Rachel Briggs, says that the historical chemical process transformed corn from a regular food into a viable dietary staple, one that cultures around the world continue to rely on for many of their calories. Without nixtamalization Mesoamerican civilizations like the Maya and the Aztec would not have survived, let alone flourished. Benjamin Miller and Christina Martinez are the only chefs in Philadelphia making their tortillas from scratch. Our associate producer, Rigoberto Hernandez, visited the couple at their traditional Mexican restaurant in South Philadelphia to find out why they’re so dedicated to handmade tortillas—and to see the nixtamalization process in action.   Credits: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Rachel Briggs Reporter: Rigoberto HernandezProducer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music courtesy of the Audio Network

Everyone knows blood is powerful. The ancient Greeks realized it, Jesus understood it, Dracula certainly recognized it, and your doctor still knows it today. And everybody knows, says hematologist and historian of medicine Jacalyn Duffin, that if we lose a lot of blood, we’re going to die. Jehovah’s Witnesses’ beliefs have led them to refuse blood transfusions—to the consternation of many inside the medical profession. But the religious group still wants medical care, says reporter Alex Ashley, and their advocacy has helped propel a new movement in medicine in which doctors perform surgeries without transfusing blood. Remarkably, it has turned out better for everyone, suggesting that religion and medicine might be less at odds than they sometimes seem. Show Clock: 00:04 Intro01:35 Feature: When a Pint of Sweat Saves a Gallon of Blood14:04 Blood is powerful17:25 Blood is religious18:40 Blood is a miracle21:45 Blood is dangerous24:35 Conclusion Credits: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob KenworthyGuest: Jacalyn DuffinReporter: Alex AshleyProducer: Mariel CarrAssociate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music: Music courtesy of the Audio Network. "Power in the Blood" courtesy of Shiloh Worship Music.  

Scientists experimented with skin and organ transplants for a long time before they finally met with success in the mid-20th century. Now surgeons are expert at performing transplants. The only problem? There aren’t enough organs to go around, which creates some serious ethical dilemmas. First, reporter Dalia Mortada takes us to Tel Aviv, Israel, where a dialysis patient waiting for a new kidney is running out of patience. Conflicting religious interpretations have prevented many Israelis from signing up to become organ donors. This has created a serious supply-and-demand problem, leading many desperate patients to the black market. Mortada tells us how this trend is slowly changing and talks to the doctors, rabbis, and bioethicists behind the shift. Then we talk to American bioethicists Art Caplan and Robert Baker about the pitfalls of the U.S. donation system. “You sign up when you go to Motor Vehicles,” Caplan says, “which may not be the ultimately wonderful place to make [these] decisions, other than the fact that you may wait there long enough to die there, in which case they can probably get your organs.” Show Clock: 00:04 Introduction01:13 Waiting for a kidney in Tel Aviv10:25 Why do we need Bioethics? Credits: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob KenworthyGuests: Art Caplan and Robert BakerReporter: Dalia MortadaProducer: Mariel CarrAssociate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music: Music courtesy of the Audio Network. 

Americans have had a long, complicated relationship with the pesticide DDT, or dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, if you want to get fancy. First we loved it, then we hated it, then we realized it might not be as bad as we thought. But we’ll never restore it to its former glory. And couldn’t you say the same about America’s once-favorite pop star? We had a hunch that the usual narrative about DDT’s rise and fall left a few things out, so we talked to historian and CHF fellow Elena Conis. She has been discovering little-known pieces of this story one dusty letter at a time. But first our associate producer Rigoberto Hernandez checks out some of CHF’s own DDT cans—that’s right, we have a DDT collection—and talks to the retired exterminator who donated them.  Show Clock: 00:03 Introduction01:26 DDT's Rise06:56 DDT's Fall13:24 DDT's Complicated Legacy  Credits: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob KenworthyGuest: Elena ConisProducer: Mariel CarrAssociate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music: Music courtesy of the Audio Network. 

2015 was a good year for outer space. Star Wars: Episode VII came out, NASA started hiring astronauts again, SpaceX successfully launched and returned a rocket, and the U.S. Congress passed the SPACE Act of 2015—a bill that gives any American who extracts resources from an asteroid legal rights to the bounty they reap. Since no one has yet mined an asteroid this legislation might seem premature, but it’s essential to the future of two Silicon Valley asteroid mining companies. That’s right, they already exist. They’re just waiting for humans to start colonizing space. Reporters Katie Gilbert and Annie Costakis talk to Daniel Faber, the founder of Deep Space Industries, about his dream: to build the space equivalent of Home Depot, as well as fueling stations and manufacturing plants. They also explain a few of the untested theories behind asteroid mining. We wanted to know more about the history of space dreaming and space colonies, so we talked to Patrick McCray, a historian of science and technology and the author of The Visioneers: How a Group of Elite Scientists Pursued Space Colonies, Nanotechnologies, and a Limitless Future. He says utopian space visions have long filled the heads of scientifically minded dreamers, especially when life on Earth isn’t going so well.   Show Clock: 00:03 Introduction01:26 Will asteroid mining save us?12:40 Who were the visioneers? Credits: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob KenworthyGuest: Patrick McCrayReporters: Katie Gilbert and Annie CostakisProducer: Mariel CarrAssociate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music: "Boop" By Podington Bear, courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.   

Several years ago historian of medicine Alice Dreger found herself in a room full of intersexed people, individuals with reproductive or sexual anatomy that is neither typically female nor male. Dreger noticed something strange: many of them had teeth that were in bad shape. She soon learned that many of them had endured such traumatic experiences with doctors that they wouldn’t go near anyone in a white coat, including dentists. We were astonished by this story, so we asked Dreger to tell us more. She joined us for our December podcast alongside Eric Vilain, a medical geneticist and director of the Center for Gender-based Biology at UCLA. While intersex, transgender, and transsexual issues have recently entered the mainstream, our guests explain that there have always been those whose anatomy or identity prevents them from fitting neatly into the categories of male or female. And even with this newfound exposure, tensions continue to exist for them all. But first we’ll hear about the experiences of a transgender couple desperate to conceive a child, but who struggled to find a willing doctor. Mariel Carr visits them at home in Philadelphia, where they’re adapting to life with an infant. Show Clock: 00:03 Introduction 01:26 Feature story: "The Pregnant Man"  14:48 Interview with Alice Dreger and Eric Vilain Credits: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Alice Dreger and Eric Vilain Reporter: Mariel Carr Producer: Mariel CarrAssociate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music: Music courtesy of the Audio Network. 

Hackers. Spies. Secrets. This is the menacing language of industrial espionage. But how easy is it to plunder a company for its ideas? Not very, says our guest, Douglas O’Reagan, a historian of science and technology. Throughout history, O’Reagan argues, stealing trade secrets has proven more complicated than lifting a blueprint or section of computer code. What makes a company successful is usually much harder to grasp. But first we look at how one company is trying to pass on the skills and secrets responsible for its success. Reporter Susanne Gietl visits the small Bavarian town of Ingolstadt, headquarters of German automaker Audi. There she finds hundreds of Mexican workers learning skills, secrets, and the “German way” to build cars so they can bring that knowledge back to Mexico. Join us for a trip to the murky world of technology transfer. Show Clock: 00:04 Introduction01:40 Feature story: Learning the "German way" 10:20 Interview with Douglas O'Reagan Credits: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob KenworthyGuests: Douglas O'ReaganReporter: Susanne GietlProducer: Mariel CarrAssociate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music: Music courtesy of the Audio Network.  "Odyssey" by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Celebrities, politicians, and scientists have fiercely debated the safety of using genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, in food. It remains to be seen whether GMO labeling becomes mandatory in the United States, but there’s no doubt that the “GMO-free” sticker is garnering the prestige and premium prices already reaped by the labels “organic” and “gluten-free.” But what’s the big fuss? And how did this great GMO debate begin?To find out Distillations goes to the soy and corn fields of Iowa where reporter Amy Mayer hears the perspectives of a few Midwesterners, including two farmers who have found a lucrative niche for the GMO-free crops they’re growing. Then, we’ll talk with plant geneticist Pamela C. Ronald and organic farmer Raoul Adamchak. Together they wrote Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food. And they’re married—to each other.

Ten years ago Hurricanes Katrina and Rita tore into the Gulf Coast and displaced more than one million residents. For many of these people, trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency became their homes. But many of the new occupants soon found it hard to breathe, suffering flulike symptoms, stinging eyes, and nosebleeds. The culprit was formaldehyde, which emanated from the hastily assembled, substandard materials used to make the trailers. A decade after the storms Distillations follows CHF researcher and medical anthropologist Nick Shapiro as he searches for the remaining FEMA trailers. His search takes him to the oil fields of North Dakota, where a different kind of housing crisis is taking place.    

Most of us are familiar with the achievements of Galileo and Newton, but who were their peers? And what was it like to practice science in the 16th and 17th centuries? Come geek out with us as we travel back in time and explore what the world was like when science and the supernatural were not so far apart. We talk to two historians of science, Deborah Harkness and James Voelkel. Harkness is the author of The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution as well asthe All Soul’s Trilogy, a popular fantasy series filled with witches, vampires, demons, scientists, and historians. Voelkel is the curator of rare books at CHF and an expert on Johannes Kepler, a 17th-century astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer.   Though we were unable to time travel for this show (much to our dismay), we did get to visit the Making and Knowing Project’s laboratory at Columbia University, where a group of historians of science are reconstructing a 16th-century workshop and re-creating recipes from an anonymous craftsperson’s manuscript. And we made this video. SHOW CLOCK: 00:05 Introduction 01:10 Interview with Deborah Harkness and James Voelkel CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Deborah Harkness and James Voelkel Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr Music courtesy of the Audio Network.    

This is Distillations’s 200th episode, and we’re celebrating! We pored through hundreds of shows and pieced together some of the funniest, grossest, and most surprising moments in Distillations history. Still chuckling from episode 166, "Alchemy After Dark," where CHF’s rare book curator Jim Voelkel cries from laughter while reading a steamy alchemical passage from yesteryear? Still trying to forget the body-cheese experiment from episode 156, "Hard to Stomach"? Or maybe you’re still perplexed about how a Viagra tablet might wind up in your herbal supplement, as explained in episode 197, "Fads and Faith"? We visit these moments and many more. Thanks for listening, and we hope you’ll join us for the next 200 shows!  CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr   Music courtesy of the Audio Network.   

Mother Nature can do a lot of damage. Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and droughts destroy landscapes and ruin lives. But what happens when humans are the ones creating these disasters? This episode of Distillations explores the many ways humans have provoked nature’s destructive forces purposefully and inadvertently through history. Our journey begins in Oklahoma, a state that now has more earthquakes than California. Reporter Anna Stitt talks to the people affected by these new quakes and finds out how their lives have changed. Then we talk to historian Jacob Darwin Hamblin about his latest book, Arming Mother Nature: The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism. He tells us how Cold War military planners sought to use the environment as a weapon and in the process discovered how vulnerable our planet really is. SHOW CLOCK: 00:03 Introduction 01:20 Oklahoma, the Earthquake State 11:07 Interview with Jacob Darwin Hamblin CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Jacob Darwin Hamblin Reporter: Anna Stitt Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr Music courtesy of the Audio Network.   Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.  

The early days of neuroscience relied on tragedy to strike—a rabies infection, a botched lobotomy—before doctors could peek inside the brains of humans. Today advanced technology, such as the functional MRI, helps scientists study brains (and healthy ones at that) far more easily. The revelations they’re making call into question conventional ideas of maturity and our capacity for free will. The story begins at a unique laboratory at Michigan Technological University, called the Mind Music Machine, where reporter Allison Mills talks to a cognitive scientist who’s trying to develop technology that can interpret our emotions.  Then we talk about the history of neuroscience with Sam Kean, a regular contributor to Distillations magazine and author of the recent book The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons. Frances Jensen, a neuroscientist and author of The Teenage Brain, brings us into the present and explains the science behind why teenagers drive their parents crazy. SHOW CLOCK: 00:03 Introduction 02:01 The Mind Music Machine 12:38 Sam Kean on the history of neuroscience 28:22 Frances Jensen on the teenage brain CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Sam Kean and Frances Jensen Reporter: Allison Mills Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr Music courtesy of the Audio Network.    Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.

In 2014 the United States had 650 reported cases of measles, a disease made preventable by a vaccine introduced 30 years ago. The majority of these measles victims were children whose parents chose not to vaccinate them.  Meanwhile at least 85,000 dietary supplements line the shelves of GNC and other “big box” chains, as well as smaller health food stores. Even though the FDA cannot assure the safety or effectiveness of any of these products before they're sold, they enjoy widespread popularity in the United States. This episode of Distillations explores what connects these two issues. Our journey starts in Shanghai, where reporter Rebecca Kanthor investigates a strange fashion trend among pregnant women—a special apron meant to protect its wearers from the harms of electromagnetic radiation. Then we talk with Paul Offit, an infectious disease pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and author of Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine, and Catherine Price, author of Vitamania: Our Obsessive Quest for Nutritional Perfection,about what drives these fads. Our guests suggest that faith, a desire for easy answers, and a lack of trust in medical science all come into play. SHOW CLOCK: 00:03 Introduction 01:40 Pregnancy Aprons in Shanghai 11:33 Interview with Catherine Price and Paul Offit CREDITS:  Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Catherine Price and Paul Offit Reporter: Rebecca Kanthor Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr Music courtesy of the Audio Network.   Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.

Some technologies flash in the pan so quickly they hardly leave a trace (Google Glass anyone?); while others seem to stick around long past their use by date. And still other creations appear to be gone for good, only to make a comeback within a niche—and likely nostalgic—community. We set out to explore the rhymes and reasons behind these ebbs and flows of technological innovation and obsolescence. First we go to a place where digital nostalgia is alive and well: a vintage video arcade outside of Chicago. Reporter Colleen Pellissier tells the story of one man who dedicates his life to keeping these old and cranky machines running. Then we talk to Ben Gross, a historian of technology and a fellow at CHF. He shares his love of the long-forgotten video disc and explains why nothing is obvious when it comes to the successes and failures of technologies. SHOW CLOCK: 00:03 Introduction01:28 The Galloping Ghost Arcade08:50 Interview with Ben Gross CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob KenworthyGuest: Ben GrossReporter: Colleen PellissierProducer and Editor: Mariel CarrMusic courtesy of the Audio Network and the Free Music Archive. Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.

In case you hadn’t noticed, during our short time on Earth we humans have created a lot of stuff. Some of it is life-altering, like the device you’re looking at right now, and some of it is pretty silly, like those plastic, banana-shaped containers made for holding bananas. Regardless of their value, these objects all have one thing in common: one day they will become trash. For all the time we spend creating these wonders, we don’t devote much energy to thinking about what happens when their intended life-cycles run out. This episode of Distillations traces the history of trash, consumerism, and municipal garbage collection in the United States, and explores what the future holds. First, reporter Daniel Gross tells us the origin story of kitty litter, an ingenious consumer product that transformed a natural resource straight into trash. Then we talk with Carl Zimring, an American environmental historian and Associate Professor of Sustainability Studies at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. He describes the early days of garbage collection and tells us why we need to start designing for sustainability. SHOW CLOCK: 00:03 Introduction 01:30 Kitty Littering: Carbon Paw Prints 10:57 Interview with Carl Zimring CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Carl Zimring Reporter: Daniel Gross Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr MUSIC: Cantina Rag, Jackson F. Smith - Free Music Archive Moondots and Polka Beams, Podington Bear - Free Music Archive La Giraffa di Yael, A Smile for Timbuctu - Free Music Archive Additional songs courtesy of the Audio Network.    Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.  

Thirty years ago an HIV diagnosis was a death sentence. Today, sophisticated drug cocktails known as highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, have dramatically changed the fates of people with the disease. They can now live with a chronic manageable disease instead of dying from a fatal one. Yet in many ways we’re treading water: each year the U.S. sees around 50,000 new HIV cases, and estimates show that 20-25% of these people don’t know they’re infected. And, while the drugs are effective, many people throughout the world can’t afford them. So should we consider our response to HIV a complete success story? This episode of Distillations tries to find the answer. Our journey begins in San Francisco’s Castro District, the epicenter of the city’s HIV epidemic in the 1980s. Reporter Andrew Bowen talks to AIDS activist Tez Anderson, who started an organization to combat AIDS Survivor Syndrome. Then we talk to Dr. Mark W. Kline and Andrew P. Rice, a physician and a virologist who have been working on HIV since the 1980s, and ask them if we can claim victory. SHOW CLOCK:  00:03 Introduction 01:49 Surviving Survival: Tez Anderson's Story 12:06 Interview with Mark W. Kline and Andrew P. Rice CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Dr. Mark W. Kline and Andrew P. Rice Reporter: Andrew Bowen Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr  We recorded our conversation with Mark W. Kline and Andrew P. Rice during CHF’s 2014 Chao Symposium, “Can We Meet the Challenge of HIV/AIDS?” Special thanks to Houston Public Media for hosting us in their studio.  Music courtesy of Audio Network.   Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.

At the beginning of the 19th century women in the United States had an average of seven or eight children. By 1900 they had only three or four, and today 35% of Americans have exactly two children. How did this happen? This episode of Distillations explores the role technology has played in reproduction, and how it has affected the ethical and moral landscape that surrounds it. First, reporter Allison Quantz talks to her sister to find out what she plans to do with her extra frozen embryos. Along the way Quantz learns that there are more than one million frozen embryos in the United States with similar uncertain futures. Then we talk with Deanna Day, a historian of medicine and technology and a post-doctoral fellow at CHF, and Lara Freidenfelds, a historian who writes about women’s health, sex, and reproduction in America. SHOW CLOCK: 00:03 Introduction 01:46 A tale of unused embryos 11:35 Interview with Deanna Day and Lara Freidenfelds CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Deanna Day and Lara Freidenfelds Reporter: Allison Quantz Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr Music courtesy of Audio Network and the Free Music Archive.   Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.

Chemical weapons have played a chilling role in human history, ever since they were first used in World War I.  As reports of more recent use continue to cycle through the news, we decided to take a deeper look.  We wanted to understand why chemical weapons were created in the first place, the ethical dilemmas inherent in their use, and the complicated process of getting rid of them. The story begins in Belgium, where reporter Helena de Groot visits a farm in Flanders Fields—the frontline during World War I—and discovers that for some people the war isn’t yet over. Then we talk to Jeffrey Johnson, a historian of science and technology at Villanova University with a special interest in the origins of chemical warfare, and Amy E. Smithson, a senior fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, who specializes in modern-day chemical and biological weapons and their proliferation. Our guests discuss the past and present of chemical weapons, and share their thoughts about the future of warfare. SHOW CLOCK: 00:03 Introduction 01:10 Cleaning up Flanders Fields 08:56 Interview with Amy E. Smithson and Jeffrey Johnson CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Amy E. Smithson and Jeffrey Johnson Reporter: Helena de Groot Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr Music courtesy of the Audio Network, the Free Music Archive and Mobygratis.com.   Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.

If you asked people which of their senses they most feared losing, they'd probably say sight or hearing. But what about the ability to smell? This episode of Distillations examines what is perhaps our most underrated sense, and ponders what life would be like without it. We hit the streets of South Philadelphia to understand how a pervasive odor troubled neighborhood residents in the summer of 2014. Then we hear the story of Mario Rivas, a man who has lived his whole life without a sense of smell, and the great lengths he went to gain one. Then, we'll talk to two smell experts, Pamela Dalton, a psychologist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, and David Barnes, a professor of the history of medicine and public health at the University of Pennsylvania. Our guests discuss the connection between smelling, odors, and emotions, as well as the history of odors, germs, and public health crises. SHOW CLOCK: 00:01 Introduction 01:10 South Philadelphia's Great Stink of 2014 05:31 The Man Who Couldn't Smell 15:45 Interview with Pamela Dalton and David Barnes CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Pamela Dalton and David Barnes Reporters: Mariel Carr and Jocelyn Frank  Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr Music courtesy of the Audio Network.   Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.          

Where can you find a teacup, the molar of a goat, and an arrowhead all in one place? At an urban archaeology site, that’s where. This episode of Distillations goes underground, and reveals the fascinating worlds beneath our city shoes. First, we visit an artifact processing lab where volunteers are dusting off thousands of objects from a historic street in Philadelphia. Then we stop in on an excavation site alongside Interstate 95. Then, we'll talk to Doug Mooney, a senior archaeologist at URS corporation and the president of the Philadelphia Archaeological Forum, and Deirdre Kelleher, an archaeologist finishing her doctorate at Temple University. They describe their experiences with public archaeology, debunk a few of the field’s myths (no dinosaurs here, folks) and describe the unique process of digging in cities. SHOW CLOCK: 00:03 Introduction 01:05 After the dig: Artifact processing at Temple University 05:40 During the dig: Uncovering history along I-95 09:41 Interview with Deirdre Kelleher and Doug Mooney CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Deirdre Kelleher and Doug Mooney Reporter, Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr MUSIC:  “Quirky Sleuth” Philip Guyler, Audio Network “Actual Reality” Lucky Dragons   “Nature Kid” Podington Bear  “Hallon” Christian Bjoerklund  “What Is Its Vessel?” Dave Merson Hess  “Fisherman” Dave Merson Hess  “I Like Dogs” Dave Merson Hess  “Dream” (instrumental) Chan Wai Fat  “The Bear’s Just for Show” Krackatoa “Healing Sleep” Infinite Third  “Orange Juice” Podington Bear  “Starling” Podington Bear   All songs courtesy of the Free Music Archive, freemusicarchive.org   Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.      

This show takes on the frothy subject of beer, and explores the science, culture, and history behind the suds. First, Bob and Michal go back to school--beer school--and they learn a few things about what makes beer so tasy.  Then we talk to Patrick E. McGovern, a beer and wine archaeologist, and Roger Barth, a  chemist, professor, and home brewer. They discuss the science behind beer, how modern craft breweries can help us understand ancient beers, and how technology has allowed us to drink like an ancient king. They also discuss the spiritual side of beer and the role beer has played in human evolution. SHOW CLOCK 00:07 Introduction 00:57 Bob and Michal go to beer school 07:12 Interview with Patrick E. McGovern and Roger Barth CREDITS Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Patrick E. McGovern and Roger Barth Reporter, Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr   MUSIC: "Take Me Higher," Jahzzar "Green Lights," Jahzzar "Bill Pickett," Robodub "Portasound Dub" Robodub "Watch the Road Bub," All Urban Outfield "Seconde Introspection," Horten V3 "Devil with the Devil," Underscore Orkestra "Foods that start with Q," All Urban Outfield "The Plaintive Heating Griddle," Ergo Phizmiz "Elephant," Moana "Sunny Day," The Rabbits "Nia," Dubh Thrian "Sonstiges," Podington Bear  All songs courtesy of the Free Music Archive, freemusicarchive.org   Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast. 

This episode explores the colorful (and sometimes risk-filled) history of pigments and painters, and the conservators who save paintings from the ravages of time and accidental chemistry. First we take an art field trip around Philadelphia as art historian and CHF fellow Elisabeth Berry Drago tries to paint like it's 1699. We visit a butcher shop, a tile store, and an art supply store to try to get what we need.  Then we talk to art conservator Mark F. Bockrath and Elisabeth Berry Drago. They tell us about the messy and occasionally dangerous process of making paints from pigments and talk about the transition to using paint from tubes. They also explain the conservation process and tell us why alchemists were so important to painters in early modern times. CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Mark F. Bockrath and Elisabeth Berry Drago Reporter, Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr MUSIC: "Pensacola Twilight," Lee Rosevere - freemusicarchive.org "Do What You Can," Lee Rosevere - freemusicarchive.org "Backtime," Lee Rosevere - freemusicarchive.org "Stardust," Phonotrash - freemusicarchive.org "Sunny Day," The Rabbits - freemusicarchive.org "Wonder Cycle," Chris Zabriskie - freemusicarchive.org "Nia," Dubh Thrian - freemusicarchive.org "Tragic," Semyon - freemusicarchive.org "Converge to Some Centre," We Are All Alone - freemusicarchive.org "First," Overlake - freemusicarchive.org "The Plaintive Heating Griddle," Ergo Phizmiz - freemusicarchive.org "Stabbings," Moby - mobygratis.com   Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.

Joe Palca is one of the best science storytellers out there. In his 20 years as an NPR science correspondent he’s covered all sorts of obscure topics, from soccer-playing robots and oyster glue to turtle paleontology. He finds the humor in the serious and the thoughtful in the funny, usually by focusing on the human elements of stories. “Stories are usually about people, those are the ones we remember. We don’t remember stories about transuranic elements,” Palca says. We took this episode of Distillations on the road and visited Palca at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., where we got a behind-the-scenes tour of his program, Joe’s Big Idea. CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Reporter, Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr MUSIC: “Converge To Some Centre”- We Are All Alone   “Where the Magic Happens”- THERE “Teletransportation” - Coma Stereo “Elsewhere” - Phonotrash “Solutions” - Lee Rosevere “Tragic”- Semyon All songs from the Free Music Archive, freemusicarchive.org    Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.

How do you show what the inside of an atom looks like? Or how a scientist feels in the moment of discovery? We decided to approach the human stories of science in a new way: by visualizing them. First we visit author and illustrator Jonathan Fetter-Vorm in his studio. Then we stop in on a college animation class and hear from students creating cartoons about chemistry and fairies. Then we talk to historian Bert Hansen and author and Jonathan Fetter-Vorm. They tell us how the comics of the 1930s, 40s and 50s relayed stories of “real heroes”—including doctors, chemists and physicists, and how new graphic genres are engaging readers and sparking their interest in history and science. They both suggest that surprise, emotion, and showing the impossible all work to engage readers in ways that written words alone cannot. SHOW CLOCK: 00:04 Introduction 01:15 Studio visit #1: Jonathan Fetter-Vorm in Brooklyn 03:54 Studio visit #2: University of the Arts in Philadelphia 07:00 Interview with Bert Hansen and Jonathan Fetter-Vorm 15:06 Reflections from Bob and Michal  LINKS TO CONTENT: "Heroism in Medical Science" from Dupont's radio drama, Cavalcade of America "Now I am become Death" Robert Oppenheimer speech RELATED VIDEOS: "Drawing Stories of Science with Jonathan Fetter-Vorm"   "How the Public Became Interested in Medical Science" "Science for Artists: University of the Arts Students Reflect on Animating Objects from CHF's Collection"   CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Robert Kenworthy Guests: Jonathan Fetter-Vorm and Bert Hansen Reporter, Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr MUSIC: “Stabbings”- Moby, mobygratis "Isolate"- Moby, mobygratis “The Plaintive Heating Griddle”- Ergo Phizmiz, Free Music Archive “Awake in the Dream”- Infinite Third, Free Music Archive "Sunny Day"- The Rabbits, Free Music Archive "Do What You Can"- Lee Rosevere, Free Music Archive "My Friends"- Quiet Orchestra, Free Music Archive “Tragic”- Semyon, Free Music Archive     Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.  

Have you ever wondered how chicken nuggets are made? Or what propylene glycol monostearate, monocalcium phosphate, or other listed ingredients are doing in your favorite packaged snacks? Distillations hosts Michal Meyer and Robert Kenworthy certainly did, and they went to the corner deli to inspect some processed food themselves. They also spoke with experts Bryant Simon, a historian, and David Schleifer, a sociologist, about how trans fats and chicken nuggets arrived on the food scene as the healthier options, but have since turned into villains. Both Simon and Schleifer suggest that when it comes to deciding what we eat, we might have less choice than we think. Class, geography, and convenience (for both food makers and food eaters) all play a role. SHOW CLOCK: 00:03 Introduction 00:36 Michal Meyer tries her first Tastykake 03:39 Interview with Bryant Simon and David Schleifer LINKS TO CONTENT: "Afternoon Snack" - A video starring Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy.  CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Robert Kenworthy Guests: David Schleifer and Bryant Simon Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr MUSIC: “Run Up”- Moby, mobygratis “Stabbings”- Moby, mobygratis “Christmas All Alone”- Candlegravity, Free Music Archive “Elsewhere”- Phonotrash, Free Music Archive “Tragic”- Semyon, Free Music Archive “Dragon’s Lair”- Thiaz Itch, Free Music Archive “The Spirit”- Waylon Thornton, Free Music Archive “Heroines”- Diablo Swing Orchestra, Free Music Archive   Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.

Thanks to modern technology most crimes these days can be neatly solved in under an hour. At least that's what fictional TV shows like CSI seem to suggest.  We wanted to address the so-called "CSI Effect," caused by the simplification of forensic science in popular culture. CSI and  likeminded TV shows–with their heroic investigators solving crimes in mere minutes–mislead viewers and affect real court cases. The reality of investigation is much slower and more complex, but no less fascinating. Hosts Michal Meyer and Robert Kenworthy speak with experts Anna Dhody, a physical and forensic anthropologist, and Lisa Rosner, a historian. They discuss the early days of solving crime and the on-going chemistry of the human body throughout life and death. SHOW CLOCK: 00:03 Introduction 02:03 Past and present: the "CSI Effect"   05:00 Forensic science: its beginnings 06:40 Burke and Hare: the not-quite body snatchers 09:34 Digging up the bodies: mass murder in Peru 11:11 The chemistry of bodies 12:44 Skulls, phrenology, and race CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Robert Kenworthy Guests: Anna Dhody and Lisa Rosner Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr "Stabbings" by Moby, courtesy of Mobygratis.com   check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.  

What can zombies teach us about our fears of survival? CHF's Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy talk to Deanna Day, a CHF fellow, and Robert Hicks, director of the College of Physicians’ Mütter Museum about what zombies can tell us about apocalyptic diseases and medical cures. With the popularity of post-apocalyptic storytelling at an all-time high, CHF decided to look into the science, history, and sociology behind these fears.  SHOW CLOCK: 00:20 Introduction 01:55 Interview with Deanna Day and Robert Hicks 28:48 Reflections with Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy 34:48 Closing Credits CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Deanna Day and Robert Hicks Editor: Mariel Carr   Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.   

Some say we are on the verge of a bright future in which nuclear power will play a major role in responding to climate change. Others say that we should expect more Fukushimas. Whichever way our nuclear future goes, there will be tradeoffs between energy and the environment.    Hosts Michal Meyer and Robert Kenworthy speak with nuclear historians Alex Wellerstein and Linda Richards. They discuss how our turbulent nuclear past has shaped, for better and for worse, our current attitudes.  

Ancient Greek doctors knew about it, but could do nothing about the scourge we know as cancer. Producer Ed Prosser interviews historian Viviane Quirke about the development of chemotherapy drugs in the 20th century, drugs that for the first time offered hope to cancer patients. Next up producer Christine Laskowski goes on a very personal journey. Last year her father was among the more than 1 million Americans diagnosed with cancer. Along with radiation, his treatment included a drug called cisplatin. Cisplatin has nasty side effects, so why is a drug first used to treat cancer in the 1970s still used for many cancers? Show Clock 00:00 Opening Credits 00:33 Introduction 01:08 Interview: Viviane Quirke 06:58 Chemotherapy: Cisplatin 17:00 Closing Credits Credits Our theme music is composed by Andrew Chalfen. Additional credits may be found at http://chemheritage.org/distillations. 

It’s that time of year again where we dive into our archives and bring back some of our favorite segments from the past year. First, meet Ian MacLeod from our show Shipwrecks, a man who spends much of his time with sunken ships and who knows about the chemistry that eats at them. Next, a 19th-century Philadelphia church designed by Frank Furness is crumbling. Can it be saved? Find out in this feature from our show Neighborhood Preservation. Show Clock 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:01 Shipwrecks: Wrecked! 09:33 Neighborhood Preservation: The 19th Street Baptist Church 17:51 Closing Credits Credits Our feature producer is Diane Hope. www.dianehope.com Western Australia’s Maritime Museum in Fremantle http://museum.wa.gov.au/museums/shipwrecks Pearl Harbor National Park Service http://www.nps.gov/valr/index.htm Our theme music is composed and performed by Andrew Chalfen. Additional music includes “Ray – A Life Underwater,” by junior85; “Ghost Science,” by Teeth Mountain; “The Mollusk,” by Ween.

It’s that time of year again where we dive into our archives and bring back some of our favorite segments from the past year. First we travel to Austin’s South by Southwest Festival from the show Hard to Stomach. Producer Lindsay Patterson takes a sniff at a public science experiment in which participants donated a few things they could do without. Say human cheese! Next, Mary Harris discovers that taste cells don’t just live on tongues. What do these cells get up to in the rest of the human body? Find out in this feature from our show, In Good Taste. Show Clock 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:03 Hard to Stomach: Armpit Cheese 08:45 In Good Taste: Super-Tasters 15:04 Closing Credits Credits Our theme music is composed and performed by Andrew Chalfen. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

It’s hard to make decisions without information, that’s why some researchers in the San Francisco area are collecting carbon dioxide data at the neighborhood level. As producer Andrew Stelzer discovers, the BEACON project does more than gather data; it also brings home the effects of small-scale events, such as rush hour, and allows researchers to track pollution to its source. Then Eileen Fleming discusses DIY monitoring with Shannon Dosemagen from the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science. Show Clock 00:00 Opening Credits 00:44 Introduction 01:44 Air Monitoring 09:02 Interview: Shannon Dosemagen 14:41 Closing Credits Credits Link to BEACON project: http://beacon.berkeley.edu/ Public Lab - http://publiclab.org/  Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Join us for the third installment of The Stages of Life, spotlighting the chemistry found in childhood, adulthood, and old age. We start by looking at what happens to the brain as we move into old age, and then we investigate how some tiny technology can help as hearing fades.

Today’s episode centers on adulthood. First, Pennsylvania State University’s Suzy Scherf tells us what’s going on in the brains of adolescents. Then, Katrina Roi takes a look at a common consumer product, the condom, and those who want to make it better. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:26 Introduction 01:09 Interview: Inside the Brain 05:38 The Chemistry Behind the Condom 14:10 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Tori Indivero for interviewing the scientists in this series. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today we begin a three-part series, The Stages of Life, spotlighting the chemistry found in childhood, adulthood, and old age. First, a look at the brains of children, followed by the colorful world of the crayon. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:27 Introduction 01:13 Interview: Inside the Brain 06:14 Colorful Chemistry, the World of Crayons 16:15 Closing Credits CREDITS The Three Stages of Life is part of CHF’s Thanks to Chemistry project, sponsored by BASF Corporation, The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, DuPont, and ExxonMobil. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show we look at how delicate desert ecosystems are affected by climate change. Then the impact of toxic metals on Rocky Mountain streams. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:33 Introduction 01:10 Feature: Water Webs 09:10 Interview: Johanna Kraus 14:48 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Diane Hope and Jody Roberts for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show we look at the modern power grid, on the brink of a new era. First, why the smart grid matters. Then, the critical mission of Caltech's Solar Army. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:34 Introduction 01:09 A Smarter Grid 10:11 The Solar Army 16:23 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Charlie Mintz and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Video produced by Josh Kurz. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show we look at questionable appearance enhancers. First The Beauty Historian shares some shocking beauty rituals of yore. Then a look at how Brazilian Blowouts are making salon workers sick. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:38 Introduction 01:10 Interview: The Beauty Historian 06:22 Brazilian Blowouts 14:48 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Stephanie Coleman, Audrey Quinn, Mia Lobel, and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show we investigate the science beneath our streets. First how a team of amateur speleologists is keeping Howe Caverns safe for future generations. Then a look at Philadelphia's historic sewer system. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:39 Introduction 01:24 Howe Caverns' Annual Cleanup 09:30 Interview: Adam Levine 16:02 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Amy Kraft,Adam Levine, Mia Lobel, and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show we learn how advances in urban agriculture are providing new access to fresh food. First how hundreds of tons of fishbones are cleaning up Oakland soil. Then tips on how to create your own backyard garden. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:30 Introduction 01:23 Fishbone Remediation 10:24 Interview: Alex Jones and Alice Edgerton 17:48 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Charlie Mintz, Alex Jones, Alice Edgerton, and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show we see old bones made new again. First the ongoing restoration of Philadelphia's 19th Street Baptist Church. Then a discussion about what makes some old buildings greener than new ones. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:28 Introduction 01:20 The 19th Street Baptist Church 09:31 Interview: Heather Blakeslee 16:35 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Alex Lewis, Heather Blakeslee, and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show chemistry takes center stage. First, why science and comedy make gut-busting bedfellows. Then the history of science as popular entertainment. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:36 Introduction 01:20 Science Comedy 08:51 Interview: Rebecca Onion 20:43 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Deanna Day, Rebecca Onion, and Daisy Rosario for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

During decades of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union over the course of the Cold War, both sides wielded science as a weapon. Find out how on today's show. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:31 Interview (Part I): Audra Wolfe 05:41 Oral History: Leslie Vadasz 10:36 Interview (Part II): Audra Wolfe 14:34 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush, Mat Savelli, and Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Just in time for Valentine's Day we explore the sexier side of alchemy. Historian Joel Klein explains how alchemists used passionate prose to disguise the details of their secret experiments. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:44 Introduction 02:07 Interview: Joel Klein 13:28 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Joel Klein for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today your taste buds take center stage. First,how super-tasters' genetic gift might afford them better health. Then the art of imitation flavors. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:41 'A World of Pure Imagination' 01:23 Super-Tasters 08:04 The Art of Imitation Flavors 15:40 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Mary Harris and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show we peel back our skin. First, an innovative technology that could provide early detection of osteoporosis. Then, a look at stone man syndrome–a rare disease that causes the body's connective tissue to turn into bone when damaged. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:27 Introduction 01:09 Written In Your Bones? 09:43 Harry Eastlack 16:00 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Diane Hope and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

We wrap up the three-part series A Day in the Life, spotlighting the common chemistry of morning, noon, and night. Today, how popular insomnia treatments work and the science behind our body's unique sleep cycles. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:35 Fight Club 01:01 Interview: Sleep Aids 05:33 The Midnight Sun 14:31 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Louisa Jonas, Mia Lobel, Jennifer Dionisio, and Joe Rucker for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

We continue the three-part series A Day in the Life, spotlighting the common chemistry of morning, noon, and night. Today, a look at the mysterious ingredients in many kitchen staples and the reason why even so-called healthy sweeteners can be toxic. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:36 The Breakfast Club 01:18 Interview: Kitchen Staples 07:41 The Trouble With Fructose 14:27 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Gretchen Kuda Croen, Mia Lobel, Jennifer Dionisio, and Joe Rucker for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today we begin the three-part series A Day in the Life, spotlighting the common chemistry of morning, noon, and night. First, a look at what's lurking in our bathroom products and what experts say about the controversy over fluoridated water. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:36 Pee-wee's Big Adventure 01:06 Interview: Bathroom Products 04:06 The Fluoridation Debate 13:05 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Mia Lobel, Joe Rucker, and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Treasure or toxin? Today we follow Teflon's rise from happy accident to indispensable tool at work, home, and even war. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:42 Introduction 01:24 The Origins of Teflon 08:46 Interview: Post-War Teflon 14:36 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Bob Kenworthy, Hilary Domush, Sarah Hunter-Lascoskie, and Amy Kraft for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today we welcome back author Sam Kean to discuss the secrets and surprises contained in our DNA. He talks to Distillations’ executive producer Jennifer Dionisio. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:33 Interview: The Violinist’s Thumb 11:44 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show a special conversation between two alchemy experts: James Voelkel, who curated CHF's exhibit The Alchemical Quest, and Lawrence Principe, author of The Secrets of Alchemy. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:36 Introduction 01:40 Interview: The Alchemical Quest 13:20 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to James Voelkel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show we track the evolution of smog from symbol of industrial progress to public health catastrophe. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:39 Introduction 01:23 Interview: A Sign of Progress 05:08 Donora 14:16 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Daniel Tkacik, Ellis Robinson, and Jacqueline Boytim for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show we test your gag reflex. First an exploration of rank, funky cheeses made from your own body's bacteria. Then the history of how distaste evolved into disgust. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:50 Introduction 01:41 South By South Swab 11:40 Distaste and Disgust 14:45 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Lindsay Patterson and Jacqueline Boytim for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Ahoy, mateys. Join us on the ocean floor. On today's show we look at sunken ships: how they are preserved, and what they can tell us about civilizations from the past. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:50 Introduction 01:35 Wrecked! 10:10 Undersea Time Capsules 14:49 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Diane Hope, Michal Meyer, and Anne Fredrickson for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Good science takes time... or not? On today's show we explore the extremes. First the longest-running experiment in the world; then the near-instant chemical reaction that helps airbags protect you in a crash. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:50 Introduction 01:26 The Pitch-Drop Experiment 10:22 Airbags 15:05 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Michael Rhee and Stephanie Coleman for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

We bring you some of our favorite segments from past Distillations episodes this week: attempts to contact aliens in space and the secret behind the sweet sound of Stradivari violins. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:01 The Interstellar Rosetta Stone 08:02 Strad Secrets? 14:58 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Andrew Stelzer and Anne Fredrickson for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

We bring you some of our favorite segments from past Distillations episodes this week: animal communication in the Sonoran Desert and the toll of asbestos waste on a small Pennsylvanian town. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:15 Future of the Wild: Desert Communication 09:28 The Ambler Asbestos Waste Piles 14:21 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Diane Hope and Bob Kenworthy for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today we wrap up the three-part series Blood, Sweat, and Tears. First how it feels to lose your ability to cry; then why onions bring on the waterworks. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:42 Introduction 01:33 Emotional Tears 09:35 Onion Tears 13:24 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Douglas Smith and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. A Distillations Explainer produced by Josh Kurz. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today we continue the three-part series Blood, Sweat, and Tears. First the history of deodorants; then experiments on how perspiration might diagnose diseases like schizophrenia. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:43 Introduction 01:54 Antiperspirants 07:48 Sweat Diagnostics 15:40 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Gretchen Cuda-Kroen and Anne Fredrickson for researching this show. A Distillations Explainer produced by Josh Kurz. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today we begin the three-part series Blood, Sweat, and Tears. First how one man solved the mystery of blood function; then how researchers will bust blood-doping athletes at the Olympic games. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:48 Introduction 02:10 Blood Puzzle 07:34 Blood Doping 19:19 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hannah Hoag and James Voelkel for researching this show. A Distillations Explainer produced by Josh Kurz. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's episode we cross the Atlantic to learn what makes a perfect cuppa. Then we learn about the surprising health benefits of Marmite, a spreadable food item people love to hate. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:20 The Perfect Cuppa 09:40 Marmite 14:46 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Nina Perry and Rachel Dornhelm for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Big eyes, soft skin, squeezable cheeks. No doubt, babies are adorable. But on today's show we take a break from our cooing to examine some more serious aspects of parenthood. First how formula has waxed and waned in popularity. Then how embryos wreak havoc in the womb. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:26 Introduction 02:19 Breast vs. Bottle 05:47 Parasitic Babies 13:12 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Sabiha Kahn and Audrey Quinn for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Sneezing, itchy eyes, runny nose? We all know what that means: allergies. On today's show we look at pet dander, a common cause. Then we talk to a researcher dissecting the makeup of dust. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:26 Introduction 02:19 Allergen-Free Pets 05:47 Parasitic Babies 13:12 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Sarah Hunter-Lacoskie and Gretchen Kuda-Croen for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Asbestos, once a miracle product, is now a plague on the aging infrastructure to which it's bound. Today we explore a Pennsylvania town where a wide swath of asbestos-contaminated land stands capped and unusable. Then we visit a historic high school that is now dormant due to the expense of asbestos remediation. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:53 The Ambler Asbestos Waste Piles 05:33 Schenley High School 13:22 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Bob Kenworthy and Larkin Page-Jacons for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's episode we look at the diverse history of mass spectrometry, starting with a single question: exactly what is it? Then we dip into our oral history collection to show the breadth of mass spec's reach, including the Manhattan Project. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:33 Introduction 01:12 What is Mass Spec? 04:22 Oral History: Alfred Nier 12:18 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Sarah Hunter-Lascoskie and Mia Lobel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's episode we travel back in time to the Victorian era, when innovative teachers used fairies to convey complicated ideas in chemistry. We adapted one of these whimsical lessons into Distillations' first-ever podcast play. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:35 Introduction 01:11Fairies and Victorian Science 03:41 Podcast Play: The Fairyland of Chemistry 09:22 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Megan Slater, Gigi Naglak, and Michal Meyer for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's episode we look at the real and imagined implications of genetic modification in the middle of the 20th century. First, the early promise of plant modification. Then how this science inspired classic sci-fi films. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:42Interview with Helen Curry 09:48 Hollywood and the Atomic Age 13:40 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Andy Mangravite and Michal Meyer for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's episode we look at how environments recover after natural and manmade disasters. First, we hear about how ecosystems repair themselves after hurricanes. Then we see how the Gulf of Mexico is faring after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:18 Ecological Succession 04:13 Interview with Helen White 12:56 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jeff Guin and Bob Kenworthy for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Pucker up! On today's episode we investigate the kiss. First, what's in the saliva we share with each other? Then we interview Sheril Kirshenbaum, author of The Science of Kissing, to find out why our ancestors starting locking lips in the first place. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:29 Saliva 04:33 Interview with Sheril Kirschenbaum 12:03 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's episode of Distillations we're gearing up for this weekend's playoff games with a look at the science of sports. First, we learn how athletes go the distance. Then we look into the brain of a fan. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:30 Introduction 01:00 An Athlete's Chemistry 07:31 The Science of Watching Sports 10:57 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Lindsay Patterson, Mia Lobel, and Ryan Carty for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's episode of Distillations we go straight to the source ... your DNA. First, we learn how technological advances are putting the dream of a $1,000 genome within reach. Then we discuss the implications of having genetic information at our fingertips. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:36 The $1,000 Genome 04:56 Interview with Michael Christman 12:57 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Cheers! On today's episode of Distillations we belly up to the bar to learn about distilled spirits. Then we look ahead to the next morning to determine if our tried-and-true hangover cures have any scientific merit. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:30 Introduction 01:06 Tour of St. George Spirits 09:06 Hangover Science 12:47 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Catherine Girardeau and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's episode of Distillations we investigate if there's science behind the sweet sounds of a Stradivari violin and learn how chemistry influences the work of sound artist Susan Alexjander. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:33 Introduction 01:18 Strad Secrets? 08:13 Interview with Susan Alexjander 16:41 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Anne Fredrickson and Mia Lobel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Step away from the sale rack! On today's episode of Distillations we examine your brain under the influence of shopping, as well as a potential health hazard found in receipts. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:17 Your Brain on Shopping 07:32 BPA in Receipts 11:02 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Sheri Quinn and Lindsay Patterson for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

How did we get here and who else is out there? These questions have nagged at humans for centuries. On today's episode of Distillations we explore early debate over the Big Bang Theory and find out what tools researchers are using to greet aliens. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:33 Introduction 01:19 Debating the Big Bang Theory 03:48 The Interstellar Rosetta Stone 11:35 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Andrew Stelzer and James Voelkel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Trick or treat! On today's episode of Distillations we give you a taste of both. First, try to choke back our explanation of a Dutch candy that features ammonium chloride and carbon black. Then follow producer Mia Lobel on a tour of the Culinary Institute of America's candy kitchen. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:34 Introduction 01:39 Salt Licorice 05:29 Making Candy Corn at the CIA 12:46 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Mia Lobel and Ryan Carty for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today's show explores two very different ways people hope to protect future harvests. First, follow us to the Doomsday Vault, which protects 700,000 seed families. Next, join farmer Miguel Santistevan as he revives his ancestors' agricultural practices. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:18 Doomsday Vault 05:12 Desert Harvest 11:37 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Sabiha Kahn, Bob kenworthy, and Mia Lobel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today's show goes back in time to try to pinpoint what exactly the dinosaurs were like. First, we reveal evidence that the oldest known bird might actually be a dinosaur. Then we follow a researcher attempting to reclassify many familiar dinosaurs. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:33 Introduction 01:36 Dinosaur Feathers 04:26 Dinosaur Sinking 11:04 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Lindsay Patterson, Andy Mangravite, and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today we wrap up the four-part series: Our Chemical Landscape. These shows look at how science has shaped the city, the suburb, the farm, and the wild. This episode is about the wild, and how its species-in-residence use chemistry to communicate.. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:32 History of the Wild: Lightening Bugs 04:26 Future of the Wild: Desert Communication 11:04 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Diane Hope, Hilary Domush, and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today's show explores one of our favorite senses: taste. First, revist the tongue map you may have studied as a kid. Next, learn how a natural sweetener might benefit waistlines—and even the world. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:11 The Tongue Map Myth 05:02 Stevia: Sweeter than Sugar 12:17 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Audrey Quinn and Andrew Stelzer for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today we continue the four-part series: Our Chemical Landscape. These shows look at how science has shaped the city, the suburb, the farm, and the wild. This episode is about the farm, and how crop production has evolved in response to exploding global population growth. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:49 History of the Farm: Guano 06:11 Future of the Farm: Genetically Modified Crops 14:43 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Julia Botero and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

We bring you some of our favorite segments from past Distillations episodes this week: mesmerism, the impacts of climate change, and why its chic to be a geek.. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 00:44 Mesmerism 04:30 Extreme Effects: Chad and Bangladesh 08:42 Upping STEM's Cool Factor 14:21 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Michal Meyer, Jennifer Dionisio, and Esther D'Amico for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

We bring you some of our favorite segments from past Distillations episodes this week: Palmer the Poisoner, medicinal maggots, and the placebo effect. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 00:49 Palmer the Poisoner 04:15 Maggots 07:09 Modern Placebos: A Necessary Hoax? 12:31 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jim Voelkel, Margaret E. Wood, and Josh Kurz for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today the Distillations team delves into the weird and wonderful world of its favorite barnyard animal: the cow. First find out why so few populations are lactose tolerant. Then take a literal peek inside the body of one of these creatures. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:41 Introduction 01:31 Lactose Intolerance 05:40 Porthole Cows 12:50 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Zoe Sullivan and Sarah Hunter for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today we continue the four-part series: Our Chemical Landscape. These shows look at how science has shaped the city, the suburb, the farm, and the wild. This episode is about the suburb, and how its residents' transportation needs have evolved in the past century. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 01:00 Introduction 02:10 History of the Suburb: Electric Cars 05:54 Future of the Suburb: Mass Transit in Austin, TX 13:50 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Lindsay Patterson and Anne Fredrickson for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today Distillations welcomes guest producer Ari Daniel Shapiro, host of the podcast Ocean Gazing, who takes us on a tour of the ocean, revealing how optics can evaluate long-term changes in the oceanic environment and the effects of carbon dioxide on coral reefs. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:40 Introduction 01:22 CO2 vs. Coral Reefs 07:16 Using Optics on Oceans 11:50 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Ari Daniel Shapiro for guest producing this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

In honor of the International Year of Chemistry, today we begin the four-part series Our Chemical Landscape. These shows look at how science has shaped the city, the suburbs, the farm, and the wild. Today's episode is about the city, and the role of energy in shaping its past and future. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:40 History of the City: Gas Lighting 06:04 Future of the City: Energy Efficiency 16:16 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Kimberly Haas and Michal Meyer for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today's show wonders if it's becoming chic to be a geek. First, we see how pop culture portrayals of scientists have boosted their reputations with teenagers. Next, we look at the state of science education in the U.S. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 00:57 Upping STEM's Cool Factor 06:58 Science Education in the U.S. 10:51 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Esther D'Amico and Tom Tritton for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

In the midst of Japan's nuclear crisis, it's easy to forget that radioactive isotopes are often employed to save human lives. This week we look at diagnostic and therapeutic applications of nuclear medicine. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:10 Radioiodine 03:59 Interview with Abass Alavi and Andrew Newberg 10:51 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush, Michal Meyer, and Anne Fredrickson for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

One of this century's great challenges will be mitigating the effects of our steadily warming planet. In today's episode we explore the consequences of our changing climate. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:11 Extreme Effects: Chad and Bangladesh 05:13 Interview with Susan Solomon 12:24 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

This week, we celebrate April Fools' Day with a little medical trickery. First, we learn about Franz Mesmer's questionable 18th-century cures. Next we hear how fooling the brain is sometimes the only way to get accurate scientific results. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:08 Mesmerism 05:06 Modern Placebos: A Necessary Hoax? 10:27 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Michal Meyer and Josh Kurz for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

TIn this episode we learn about lesser-known women in the sciences. We start with Dorothy Hodgkin, the third woman to win a Nobel Prize in chemistry, and end with a tour spotlighting important females whose stories are told in CHF's museum. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:54 Dorothy Hodgkin 03:49 CHF Museum Tour 11:23 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio, Gigi Naglak, and Anne Fredrickson for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

From primetime to print, forensic scientists are usually depicted as courtroom heroes, but their real-life work makes for more than a thrilling story. On today's episode we look at how one such scientist sealed the fate of Palmer the Poisoner in the 19th century. Then we speak with forensic scientist Mike Eyring, whose team helped solve the biggest serial murder case in U.S. history. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:17 Palmer the Poisoner 04:59 Interview with Michael Eyring 13:59 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to James Voelkel, Peter O'Dowd, and Esther D'Amico for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

In honor of Black History Month, we reveal the lesser known accomplishments of George Washington Carver, and also pull from our oral history collection the stories of two African-American women fighting to make their way in the chemistry field. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 00:57 George Washington Carver 04:01 Oral History: Reatha Clark King and Linda Meade-Tollin 13:59 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks toHilary Domush and Sarah Hunter for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

In this episode we learn about how the mass production of oil paints spawned a new artistic movement and get a tour of artist Dove Bradshaw's studio. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:43 The Evolution of Oil Paints 04:21 Interview with Dove Bradshaw 11:27Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio and Ashley Milne-Tyne for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Rubber has played a shockingly dramatic role in our political and military history. In today's episode we revisit the consequences of the natural rubber shortage during WWII, and how a similar shortage might affect us today. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:00 Natural vs. Synthetic Rubber 04:12 Interview with Mark Finlay 12:03 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio, Sarah Hunter, and Hilary Domush for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On this episode we learn about the history and future of nuclear power, in the U.S. and abroad. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:08 History of the Nuclear Power Industry 04:13 Interview with Keith Moser 10:38 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On this episode we are visited by the ghosts of chemistry's past, present, and future, who teach us about Greek fire, red sludge, and the future of the sun. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:30 Introduction 00:44 Greek Fire 03:14 Hungarian Red Sludge 09:46 Death of the Sun 13:13 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Stefan Bos, Michal Meyer, and Dana Ricci for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

This week we continue our four-part series about earth, air, water, and fire. Today’s episode is about air and how the gases in it have been changing ever since Day 1. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:11 A Brief History of Air 05:14 Breathing Toxic Soup 12:45 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Bob Kenworthy and Jim Burress for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On today's show we look at the Western perspective of Eastern medicine. First yogic breathing; then acupuncture. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:27 Introduction 00:59 Acupuncture 03:29 Yogic Breathing 08:25 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Gretchen Cuda and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

This week we continue our four-part series about earth, air, water, and fire. Today’s episode is about fire and how humans have tried to protect themselves from it. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:12 Flame Retardants 03:54 Third Degree Burns 12:36 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Anna Boiko-Weyrauch and Victoria Indivero for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today’s show will have your skin crawling… literally. In honor of Halloween we bring you a show revealing a scarier (and squirmier) side of science. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:27 Introduction 00:54 Forensic Anthropology 04:06 A Conversation with Robert Hicks and His Leeches 11:47 Maggots 14:39 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Margaret E. Wood and Michal Meyer for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

This week we continue our 4-part series about earth, air, water, and fire. Today’s episode is about water and the many ways to ensure it is potable. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:28 Portable Water Purification 05:24 Desalination Plant on the River Thames 14:01 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Nina Perry and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

In this week’s episode we pay tribute to the periodic table. We talk to Sam Kean, author of the best-selling book The Disappearing Spoon and hear an excerpt from Primo Levi’s book The Periodic Table. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:21 Interview with Sam Kean 09:28 "Carbon," from The Periodic Table by Primo Levi 12:57 Competition - Elemental Memoir 13:31 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Michal Meyer and Mia Lobel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

This week we begin our four-part series about earth, air, water, and fire. Today’s episode is about earth and the Marcellus Shale. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:40 The Geologic History of the Marcellus Shale 06:04 The Marcellus Shale Today 13:31 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Michal Meyer and Susan Phillips for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Before pharmaceuticals existed, all medicines had to come from natural sources—like plants. On this week’s show we focus on such remedies. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:24 Digitalis, aka Foxglove 03:45 Visiting Lancaster Farmacy 12:42 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio and Joel Rose for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

We continue to bring you some of our favorite segments from past Distillations episodes this week: Senescence, Richard Holmes, and Boy Rocketeer. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:57 Chemical Agent: Senescence 03:32 A Conversation with Richard Holmes 07:53 Boy Rocketeer 13:34 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush, Michael Meyer, and James Voelkel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

This month Distillations takes a step back to bring you some of our favorite segments from past episodes: Glenn Seaborg, the Three Sisters, and Living with Illness. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:57 Chemical Agent: Glenn Seaborg 03:30 Tools of the Trade: The Three Sisters 06:22 Living with Ilness 11:39 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio, Andy Mangravite, and Erica Stefanovich for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Distillations marks its 100th episode this week! To celebrate, we revisit segments from some of our past shows and bring you new developments on electric car batteries, hair mats cleaning up oil spills, and the Obama administration's environmental policies post-election. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:31 Update: The Electric Car 03:49 Update: Cleaning Up Oil Spills 09:27 Update: A Planet in Peril 13:00 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Devin Browne, Jody Roberts, and Erica Stefanovich for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Halfway through July, we are just about in the middle of summer. So we thought it would be appropriate to talk about meat and barbecuing in this week’s episode of Distillations. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:01 Chemical Agent: Papain 03:51 Conversation with Roger Horowitz 09:17 Carcinogens and Grilled Meat 11:22 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Victoria Indivero, Michal Meyer, and James Voelkel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

As atmospheric carbon dioxide increases, does the world have to get hotter? Controlling the earth’s weather and climate is this week’s topic. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:26 Introduction 01:11 Chemical Agent: Silver Iodide 03:02 Interview: James R. Fleming on Climate Engineering 07:47 Storing Carbon with Phytoplankton 11:19 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Michal Meyer and Hilary Domush for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

If you could live forever, would you? Though most believe this to be a hypothetical question, there are some scientific processes that impart eternal life, or something like that, to actual creatures on earth. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:10 Chemical Agent: Animal Antifreeze 03:25 Feature: Immortal Jellyfish 07:03 Comte de Saint-Germain 10:24 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Aries Keck, James Voelkel and Michal Meyer for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Innovation can be messy work, and sometimes outright disastrous. This week on Distillations we’re looking at some of the 20th century’s most infamous scientific missteps. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:12 Chemical Agent: Thalidomide 03:35 Conversation with Professor Judith Walzer Leavitt 08:18 Cold Fusion 11:10 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio and Michal Meyer for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

This week we’re digging into our archives and looking back at one of our first episodes of Distillations. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:59 Commentary: Trash Island 03:21 Element of the Week: Mercury 05:11 Cleaning Up Oil Spills 09:36 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jody Roberts for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

The future is now. Distillations, therefore, is pausing to compare what people once predicted the modern world would look like to the actual reality on the ground—and in the air. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:16 Chemical Agent: Magic Bullet 03:02 Feature: Fembots 08:37 Space Colonization 11:44 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Aries Keck, Jennifer Dionisio, Hilary Domush, and Mia Lobel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

In honor of National Lab Day in May this episode focuses on the scientist in every kid. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:54 Chemical Agent: Bangsite 02:32 Feature: Kids Doing Science 06:51 Boy Rocketeer 12:15 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Mia Lobel and James Voelkel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

April is National Poetry Month and Distillations is celebrating by looking at the connections between science and literature. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:26 Chemical Agent: Opium 03:41 Conversation with Richard Holmes 08:08 Poetry and Science with Lord Byron 11:09 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio and Michal Meyer for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

In early March 2010 the Chemical Heritage Foundation’s museum opened its newest temporary exhibit, Marvels and Ciphers: A Look Inside the Flask. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:40 Introduction 01:05 Chemical Agent: Viagra 04:30 Secrets of the Alchemical Tree 08:43 19th-Century Political Cartoons 09:47 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and James Voelkel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

What’s better than recycling? Reducing waste! OK, maybe not better, but equally important. In this week’s episode of Distillations we learn about industrial-waste reduction. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:11 Chemical Agent: Carbon Black 03:04 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Vaseline 05:49 Conversation with Roger Horowitz 10:55 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Victoria Indivero, Michal Meyer, and Maggie Wood for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Love it or hate it, plastic is hard to avoid. This week we take a look at plastic made from corn and find out just how biodegradable it really is. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:21 Polylactic Acid 03:32 Plastic Leaching 06:35 Conversation with a Chemist: Keeping Meat Fresh 11:30 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and Michal Meyer for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

On this week’s episode of Distillations we’re talking about what the nose knows. First up we learn about the nose itself—how it works and how losing your sense of smell can affect your day-to-day life. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:08 The Nose 03:19 Scent Identification 05:53 Feature: Perfume Vinyl 11:27 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush, Victoria Indivero, Michal Meyer and Douglas Smith for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Scientific discoveries can be dramatic tales of unexpected adventure. They can also be personal explorations of intuition and faith. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:02 Chemical Agent: The Wolf Trap 03:22 A Conversation with Bill Brock 08:46 Mystery Solved! The Unknown Continent 11:48 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Michal Meyer and Victoria Indivero for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.  

Whether it’s preventing illness by vaccines or avoiding germs, this episode is about getting sick and staying healthy. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:22 Chemical Agent: Meningitis Vaccine 03:27 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Hand Sanitizer 06:04 Feature: Living with Illness 11:36 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Maggie Wood and Erica Stefanovich for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Another year has come and gone, but the impact of scientific discoveries made and concerns raised will be felt in 2010 and beyond. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:20 Asia: Water Management in a Changing Climate 04:02 Europe: Large Hadron Collider 07:15 A Conversation with The Scientist's Alla Katsnelson 11:26 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Michal Meyer and Anke Timmerman for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

There are many different types of crystals we encounter, ranging from tiny to extremely large in size. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:11 Chemical Agent: Sodium Chloride 03:34 Tools of the Trade 06:15 A Conversation with Karen Allen 11:27 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Victoria Indivero, Michal Meyer, Anke Timmermann, and Maggie Wood for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

What do Isaac Newton, yeast, and Harold Urey have in common? They all come under the research microscope of Chemical Heritage Foundation fellows. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:10 Chemical Agent: Yeast 03:28 Tools of the Trade: Backyard Acids from Early Chemistry 07:18 A Conversation with Matthew Shindell on Harold C. Urey 11:51 Closing Credits CREDITS Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

In this episode of Distillations we clarify common misconceptions about food. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:18 Chemical Agent: Sucralose 03:30 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Detox Diets 06:04 A Conversation with David Schleifer on Trans Fats 11:33 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio, Sky Kalfus, and Erica Stefanovich for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Let there be light! Whether it comes from the sky or a bulb, we’d be lost without it. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:01 Chemical Agent: Organic Solar Cells 03:54 Mystery Solved! Seasonal Affective Disorder 06:42 Feature: The History of Lightbulbs 11:21 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jim Burress, Hilary Domush, Michal Meyer, and Erica Stefanovich for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Autumn! Learn about leaf changes, the three sisters, and apple cider. Chemical Agent: Senescence. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:07 Chemical Agent: Senescence 03:43 Tools of the Trade: The Three Sisters 06:27 Feature: Apple Cider 10:52 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and Erica Stefanovich for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Everything falls into one of three phases of matter: solid, liquid, or gas. Or does it? SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:11 Chemical Agent: Dry Ice 03:34 A Conversation with Michal Meyer 08:11 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Glass 11:04 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Science isn’t some exalted ideal confined to labs and classrooms—it’s all around us. In this episode we share different ways that scientists have reached out to educate and enlighten the masses. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:00 Chemical Agent: Glenn Seaborg 03:43 Tools of the Trade: The Air Pump 06:07 Feature: Science in the City 11:08 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Andy Mangravite and Erin McLeary for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Every year the Chemical Heritage Foundation holds Innovation Day—an event for people to get together to discuss and learn about science’s exciting new technologies. In this episode we take a look at innovations—the natural kind and the man-made kind. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:13 Chemical Agent: Thermoregulation 03:34 Tools of the Trade: GoreTex Stents 06:25 A Conversation with Richard Silverman 11:22 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Chi Chan for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

In honor of Labor Day this episode of Distillations looks at how chemistry has affected the work of a variety of professionals—for better or worse. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:59 Chemical Agent: Polybenzimidazole 02:58 History Lesson: Origins of Occupational Health 06:01 Feature: The Chemistry of Welding 10:40 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Mia Lobel, Andy Mangravite and Jody Roberts for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Distillations is sharing more of our favorite episodes this week: free radicals, art forgery, and snoring. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:48 Chemical Agent: Free Radicals 02:42 Feature: Detecting Forgery in Art 07:35 Mystery Solved! Snoring 10:51 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and Anke Timmermann for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

It’s almost the end of the summer; so the Distillations crew is taking a look back at some of our favorite episodes this week: panspermia, umami, and pheromone perfumes. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:40 Introduction 00:59 Chemical Agent: Panspermia 03:04 Mystery Solved! Umami 07:14 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Pheromone Perfumes 09:59 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Aries Keck, Audra Wolfe, and Jen Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Birth, once nature's miracle, is increasingly manipulated by humans and regulated by society. In this week’s episode we look at a range of reproductive technologies and the implications of their use. Chemical Agent: Luteinizing Hormone. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:30 Introduction 01:16 Chemical Agent: Luteinizing Hormone 03:54 Conversation with Joanna Radin 09:01 Review: Reproduction in Dystopian Novels 11:39 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Erica Stefanovich and Hilary Domush for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Location, location, location! In this week’s episode we talk about why and how certain spaces are chosen and used. Chemical Agent: Bromine. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:07 Chemical Agent: Bromine 03:13 Mystery Solved! Brownfields 06:31 Conversation with Jim Hutchison 11:16 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush, Jennifer Dionisio, and Jody Roberts for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Rise and Shine! Today we look at some of the most essential elements of a satisfying breakfast. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:21 Chemical Agent: Pectin 03:34 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Butter vs. Oil 06:37 Feature: Making Sourdough Bread 11:00 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Rebecca Sheir and Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Distillations takes a look at the history and chemistry of dentistry. We find out how baking soda cleans your teeth and lidocaine numbs your gums. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:15 Chemical Agent: Sodium Bicarbonate 03:15 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: DIY Dental Care 06:00 Feature: Lidocaine to Numb the Pain 10:32 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Ari Daniel Shapiro, Anke Timmermann, and Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Laboratory science can be a risky business. While some of these substances’ dangers are easily mitigated by following proper safety procedures, others have risks that increase with extended exposure—a lesson unfortunately learned by many chemists in previous centuries, which we explore on today’s show. Chemical Agent: Lead. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:02 Chemical Agent: Lead 03:31 Tools of the Trade: Safety Goggles 06:23 Feature: High School Chemistry Demonstrations 10:45 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Robin Sussingham, Anke Timmerman , and Hilary Domush for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the integrated circuit! The IC is an important part of many electronic technologies we use today, from your iPod to your GPS. Chemical Agent: Chemically Amplified Photoresists. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:15 Chemical Agent: Chemically Amplified Photoresists 03:43 Mystery Solved! Crystal Puller 06:27 A conversation with Hyungsub Choi 10:46 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Chi Chan, Eleanor Goldberg, and Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

After several long, cold months baseball season has finally begun! From Philadelphia, the home of 2008 World Series Champions, we bring you a show straight from the ballpark. Chemical Agent: Anabolic steroids. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:02 Chemical Agent: Anabolic Steroids 03:24 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Hot Dogs 06:04 Feature: Is That Nanotechnology in Your Bat? 10:40 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Ari Daniel Shapiro and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

It is officially spring — time to open the windows, let the fresh air in, and sweep those winter blues away! Learn about acetic acid and its cleaning power. Then find out how hard water can make cleaning more difficult, and what you can do about it. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 00:59 Chemical Agent: Acetic Acid 03:05 Mystery Solved! Hard Water 06:05 Feature: Green Dry Cleaning 11:12 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Rene Gutel and Eleanor Goldberg for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Nearly 60% of American households have at least one pet, and nearly two-thirds of pet owners had more than one. That’s a lot of dogs, cats, turtles, birds, hamsters and iguanas. On today’s episode we turn our scientific lens to the relationship between humans and their furry friends. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:51 Chemical Agent: Histamines 03:04 Mystery Solved! Cancer-sniffing Dogs 05:45 Feature: Pet-friendly Extermination Methods 10:11 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jori Lewis and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Plants are not the silent, stationary creatures we imagine them to be. They drift, stretch, and dance in search of nutrients, water, and sunlight. Inspired by sLowlife, a dynamic multimedia exhibit now on display in the Clifford C. Hach Gallery at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, today’s show looks at the chemistry behind plant growth and movement. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:00 Chemical Agent: Photosynthesis 03:02 A conversation with Amy Stewart 08:19 Mystery Solved! Tropisms 11:10 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Fossil fuel has gotten us into all sorts of trouble lately. Gas production and consumption has caused international conflict, wrecked havoc on our planet, and lightened our wallets at the gas pump. Why not turn to plants? They get their energy from the sun; and with a little smart science, they can pass on their clean green energy to our cars. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:24 Chemical Agent: Cellulose 04:01 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Biodiesel 06:52 Feature: Algae as Fuel 11:00 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Catherine Girardeau for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

It’s Valentine’s Day this weekend, and love is in the air. Let’s learn how atoms find each other with an examination of chemical bonds. Chemical Agent: Free Radicals. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:05 Chemical Agent: Free Radicals 02:56 A conversation with Alan Rocke 08:19 Mystery Solved: The Ozone Hole 11:19 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and Eleanor Goldberg for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Space, the Final Frontier! Mention the chemistry of space and you’re likely to hear bad jokes about Tang or the behavior of liquids in zero gravity. But it turns out that there’s an entire field—astrochemistry—dedicated to understanding the chemistry of the universe. Chemical Agent: Panspermia. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:56 Chemical Agent: Panspermia 03:11 A conversation with Stefanie Milam 08:11 Tools of the Trade: Radio telescopes 11:15 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Today Distillations is finding out more about professional networks—particularly in the field of chemistry. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:12 Chemical Agent: Sodium Cyanide 03:21 Tools of the Trade: Imaging Software 06:13 A conversation with Michael Gordin 10:58 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio, Hilary Domush, and Eleanor Goldberg for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

We’re hitting the slopes—and tending our wounds—on today’s episode of Distillations. We start off with the science behind sports gels. Next, find out more about the synthetic fabrics. Finally, learn about the latest advances in fake snow. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:58 Chemical Agent: Menthol 03:05 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Synthetic Fibers 06:30 Feature: Snowflex 11:16 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Erin McLeary, Eleanor Goldberg, and Lydia Wilson for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Distillations is taking a look at the presidential side of chemistry. First we learn about stem cells and the controversy surrounding their research. Next we find out why 21-gun salutes are safe and not so smoky in Mystery Solved! SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:01 Chemical Agent: Stem Cells 03:30 Mystery Solved! Smokeless Gunpowder 06:32 Commentary: A Planet in Peril 11:05 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio, Nicole Rietmann, and Jody Roberts for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Let’s go to the library! This week we take a field trip to that venerable institution where great reading abounds and shushing up is de rigueur. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:04 Chemical Agent: Water 03:43 Tools of the Trade: The Chemical Abstract Service 06:44 Feature: Book Printing and Binding 11:18 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Audra J. Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

What do you resolve to do in 2009? Get in shape? Improve your eating habits? Stop smoking? We cover them all on this week’s show.Our Mystery Solved! segment investigates why fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants, like the pomegranates pictured here, are being credited with all sorts of health-saving powers. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:06 Chemical Agent: Nicotine 03:52 Mystery Solved! Antioxidants 07:00 Feature: Aching Muscles 11:22 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio, Eleanor Goldberg, and Lara Ratzlaff for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

We are marking the one year anniversary of Distillations this week! To celebrate we’re looking back at the year 2008 and its noteworthy occasions: first, boron, whose 200th birthday was this year, then, the Nobel Prize. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:07 Element of the Week: Boron 03:20 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 06:49 The Most Significant Chemical Moment of 2008 10:20 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Eleanor Goldberg and Chi Chan for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Thanks to J. J. Thomson‘s plum pudding model of the atom, chemistry will be forever associated with 19th-century British Christmas traditions. His model was soon discarded, but it remains a staple of high school chemistry textbooks. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:10 Element of the Week: Tin 02:47 Tools of the Trade: Plum Pudding 05:41 Feature: Ham 10:47 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush, Anke Timmermann, and Eleanor Goldberg for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

The truth behind the fake—this week Distillations explores the science of forgery. Some forgery is known and expected, such as fake meat products for vegetarians, while other fakes are meant to deceive…think imitated artists. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:31 Update: The Electric Car 03:49 Update: Cleaning Up Oil Spills 09:27 Update: A Planet in Peril 13:00 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Erin McLeary, Audra Wolfe, and Rebecca Sheir for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Americans are still relatively new to consuming wine—but they do so with gusto during the holiday season. On today’s show we take a look at the chemistry of this intoxicating substance: its aroma, its flavor, and its sometimes unwanted side effects. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:52 Element of the Week: Oxygen 02:54 Mystery Solved! Sulfites and Hangovers 05:35 Feature: Organic Wines 10:11 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and Eric Mack for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Monday, December 1, is the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. In honor of this campaign, Distillations is considering global health. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 00:58 Element of the Week: Silver 02:59 A Conversation with Seema Shah 07:54 Mystery Solved! Affordable Vaccines 11:27 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Dominique Tobbell for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Nothing is more important to parents than the health of their children, and advances in chemistry and pharmaceuticals have made it possible for children to receive the best care that science has to offer. However, chemical hazards in everyday life still pose hidden risks to children. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:33 Introduction 00:58 Element of the Week: Lithium 02:49 A Conversation with Sandra Steingraber 08:38 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Bisphenol A 11:18 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jody Roberts and Eleanor Goldberg for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Eating is one of life’s simple pleasures, but the chemical process behind it is actually quite complex. Balancing the right minerals with good taste is no easy matter. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:50 Element of the Week: Magnesium 02:56 Mystery Solved: Umami 07:14 Poetry Reading: “A General Description of the West-Indian Islands.” 11:17 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Alchemy is about a lot more than turning lead into gold or making the philosopher’s stone. Until the 17th century, alchemists worked hard in their laboratories to produce medicines, develop metal- and glass-working techniques, and uncover the quintessential essence of all earthly and celestial matter. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:09 Element of the Week: Quintessence 02:54 Review of Tara Nummedal’s Alchemy and Authority in the Holy Roman Empire 06:34 Alchemy at the Corning Museum of Glass 11:15 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Nina Goodby and Anke Timmermann for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Happy Halloween from Distillations! This week we’re looking at the world of cosmetics, which seems fitting for a day when many people wear makeup who might not normally. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:08 Element of the Week: Lead 03:02 Conversation with Rodger Curren 07:12 Cosmetics Database Report 11:23 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jen Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

The first cars didn’t run on gas—they ran on electricity. Over a century later, the high cost of fuel has finally forced automakers to take the possibility of battery-powered cars seriously. On today’s show we look at three kinds of batteries that have been proposed as transportation solutions. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:13 Element of the Week: Nickel 03:08 Mystery Solved! Hydrogen fuel-cell cars 06:38 GM’s lithium-ion battery lab 11:13 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Devin Browne and Chi Chan for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

This week we celebrate the opening of the Chemical Heritage Foundation’s new museum! SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:04 Element of the Week: The Periodic Table 03:06 Tools of the Trade: Technicon Autoanalyzer 06:13 Tour of new Making Modernity exhibit 11:18 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Erin McLeary for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

There’s nothing quite like a good night’s rest to recharge the body and restore the spirits. Today’s show looks at the science of sleep—and insomnia. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:28 Element of the Week: Helium 03:15 Mystery Solved! Snoring 06:44 Caffeine and Wakefulness 10:38 Quote: C. S. Lewis 11:02 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Catherine Giradeau and Anke Timmermann for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

According to Newton’s third law, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In this week’s episode we explore causes and their effects in several different ways. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:16 Element of the Week: Francium 03:10 Chemistry in your Cupboard: Pheromone Perfumes 06:11 Feature: The Chemistry of Ripe Apples 10:38 Quote: Ralph Waldo Emerson 10:57 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio and Lara Ratzlaff for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Breaking through the glass ceiling can be tough, especially when you are a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field. This week’s episode takes a look at women in chemistry. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:30 Introduction 01:19 Element of the Week: Meitnerium 03:21 A Conversation with Donna Nelson 07:30 Feature: The Career of Helen B. Brown 11:31 Quote: Abigail Adams 11:43 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and Catherine Girardeau for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

This week we delve into the world of experimenting on oneself. Many scientists have both knowingly and unknowingly used themselves as guinea pigs in the lab. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:23 Element of the Week: Radium 03:03 Conversation with Rebecca Herzig 08:04 Chemistry in your Cupboard: Home DNA Test Kits 10:51 Quote: Edwin Emory Slosson 11:14 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Dominique Tobbell for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

All over the Midwest, farmers are cranking up their combines for the corn harvest. Modern agriculture depends on science and technology at every step of the way, from genetically modified crops, to the fertilizer on the fields, to the fuel in the tractor. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:21 Introduction 01:21 Element of the Week: Nitrogen 03:27 Feature: Biodiesel and glycerine 08:06 Mystery Solved! Compost 10:43 Quote: Walt Whitman 11:16 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Amy Coombs and Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

In the eleventh century the first camera obscura was invented, helping artists draw. It would be another eight centuries before people figured out how to capture images directly onto film. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:10 Element of the Week: Selenium 03:13 Commentary: Objectivity vs. Subjectivity 06:04 Science and Photography at SFMOMA 10:50 Quote: Terrence Donovan 11:15 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to David Caruso and Emily Wilson for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

This week we’re looking back at some of our favorite Distillations episodes. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 00:50 Element of the Week: Platinum 03:03 Making Mauvine 08:30 Mystery Solved! Damascus Steel 11:17 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and Chi Chan for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

We continue to look back at some of our favorite episodes this week at Distillations. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:48 Element of the Week: Black Bile 02:12 A Conversation with Jackie Duffin 06:44 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Pop Rocks 08:52 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Erin McLeary, Robert Hicks, and Chi Chan for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Addicted to the Olympics? Take a break from too much video with 12 minutes of audio. On today’s show, we investigate Olympic mysteries, from the flame of the torch to the composition of those so-called gold medals.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:12 Element of the Week: Gold 03:13 Mystery Solved! The Olympic Torch 06:01 Citizen Air Quality Monitoring 10:43 Quote: Albert Camus 11:03 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and Andrew Stelzer for researching this show. Additional credits available at https://sciencehistory.org/stories/distillations-pod/olympics/

This week we discuss the chemistry behind what we wear. Many modern fabrics include synthetic materials, and these synthetics would not be possible without chemistry. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:00 Element of the Week: Aluminum 03:20 Leather Tanning in India 08:18 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Pantyhose 11:02 Robert’s Farewell 11:20 Quote: Mark Twain 11:33 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Erin McLeary, Jean Parker, and Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

We’re rather fond of chemistry here at Distillations, but even we have to admit that not everyone who’s interested in chemistry is inspired purely by a love of science. On today’s show we explore the uses of chemistry on either side of the law. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:08 Element of the Week: Arsenic 03:12 A Conversation with Jay Aronson 07:34 Review: Breaking Bad 10:58 Quote: Emma Goldman 11:09 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jennifer Dionisio for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

The term molecular gastronomy can sound pretentious, but food writer Harold McGee describes it as “the science of deliciousness.” Learn more about the science of food (and deliciousness) in this week’s episode. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:30 Introduction 01:14 Element of the Week: Bismuth 03:39 Mystery Solved! The Perfect Egg 06:28 Chemistry in the Kitchen: Making Mousse Without Dairy 11:04 Quote: Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin 11:19 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Chi Chan for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

There’s an old stereotype that portrays science and religion as inevitably mired in conflict. On today’s show we look past the clichés—evolution and Galileo and all that—for some areas where the two have something constructive to say to each other. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:01 Element of the Week: Pneuma 03:00 A Conversation with Jackie Duffin 07:55 Mystery Solved! Zombies 10:42 Quote: Albert Einstein 11:02 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Robert Hicks for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

What makes motherhood scientific? This week, we try to answer, with a look at motherhood, pregnancy, and science. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:06 Element of the Week: Curium 03:43 A Conversation with Janet Golden 07:55 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Home Pregnancy Tests 11:07 Quote: Katharine Whitehorn 11:29 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Erin McLeary for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Chemistry has been part of the American experience ever since the settlers at Jamestown built a lab for blowing glass and assaying metal (you can learn more on our Jamestown episode). Today we celebrate the 4th of July with a tribute to American scientific and technological achievements—and we’ve thrown in some fireworks, just for fun. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:57 Element of the Week: Americium 03:03 A Conversation with Dale Keairns 07:22 Mystery Solved! Fireworks 09:54 Quote: Vannevar Bush 10:25 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Chi Chan for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Matter can neither be created nor destroyed. So when you take your garbage out to the curb every week, do you ever stop to think about where it’s going? In this week’s episode, Jori Lewis explores how New York City is trying to make it easier for residents to recycle their electronic waste. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:15 Element of the Week: Cadmium 03:25 Conversation with Demir Hamami 07:16 Recycling Electronics 11:23 Quote: Chinese proverb 11:32 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Jody Roberts for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Summer 2008 officially begins today, June 20, at 7:50 EDT (at least in the Northern Hemisphere). Here at Distillations, we’re celebrating with a show dedicated to poolside lounging. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 00:58 Element of the Week: Titanium 02:57 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Chlorination 05:22 Mystery Solved! Why do we float? 07:42 Quote: Henry James 08:00 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to David Caruso for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Illumination has been a quest of humans for centuries now—both in terms of the cerebral and the physical. In today’s episode we focus on the physical type of illumination. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:14 Element of the Week: Sodium 04:09 Chemistry of Bioluminescence 09:10 Mystery Solved: Glowing in the Dark 11:08 Quote: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 11:24 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and Ann Dornfeld for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Baseball, track, swimming, biking—is there any sport that hasn’t suffered a scandal in the past few years? It turns out that the obvious culprits—performance enhancing drugs—are just the tip of the iceberg for how chemistry can alter athletic competition. In today’s show we look at some of the chemistry going on both inside and outside athletes’ bodies. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:10 Element of the Week: Potassium 02:56 A Conversation with John Hoberman 07:28 Chemistry in Your Cupboard 10:48 Quote: Damon Hill 11:00 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Erin McLeary for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

There are four fundamental qualities: time, length, mass, and temperature. All other units can be derived from them, but these four can’t be broken down any further. This week we focus on time—the measurement that orders our lives. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:30 Element of the Week: Ruthenium 03:59 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Pressure Cooker 06:20 The Atomic Clock 10:37 Quote: William Faulkner 10:51 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Eric Mack and Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

What do Isaac Newton, yeast, and Harold Urey have in common? They all come under the research microscope of Chemical Heritage Foundation fellows. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:04 Element of the Week: Calcium 02:57 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Hops 05:44 A Visit to Dogfish Head Brewery 09:57 Quote: Ben Franklin 10:10 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush and Joel Rose for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Entropy is defined as the degree of disorder in a system, and according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics entropy is always increasing. Preservation is a way that humans are trying to beat entropy, and this week we look at why and how we preserve. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:08 Element of the Week: Argon 03:24 Conversation with Ronn Wade 07:29 Frozen Dead Guy Days 11:28 Quote: Neil Rollinson 11:44 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Eric Mack and Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Blogs, YouTube, Facebook, and wikis are just a few of so-called Web 2.0 technologies that are transforming the look and feel of science on the Web. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:04 Conversation with John Horrigan 05:00 Element of the Week 08:01 Science Education in the Era of No Child Left Behind 10:58 Quote: Mary Shelley 11:16 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Sound is often thought to be a science of physics, but on today’s show we consider its chemistry. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:11 Element of the Week: Neodymium 03:03 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Pop Rocks 05:43 Sonic Art: Experimental Musical Instruments 10:43 Quote: Ludiwg van Beethoven 11:08 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to Chi Chan and Catherine Girardeau for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Tuesday, April 22 was Earth Day. Amid all the hubbub about “going green,” it’s a fair question to ask how much power individual consumers have to reduce their environmental impact.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:18 Element of the Week: Fluorine 02:48 REACH: A New Approach to Chemical Regulation 07:44 A Conversation with John Mullins, Sun and Earth 10:38 Quote: Francis Bacon 10:54 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Jori Lewis and Jody Roberts for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

Semiconductors are at the heart of countless electronic devices. Although we often think of Silicon Valley as being built on computer chips, the companies that make the chips often depend upon materials and equipment manufacturers who build the component parts. On today’s show we explore some of the unheralded companies that have made the Digital Revolution possible.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:20 Element of the Week: Silicon 02:46 Conversation with Griff Resor 06:26 Virtual Tour of the Computer History Museum 10:52 Quote: N. Bruce Hannay 11:05 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Hyungsub Choi and Mia Lobel for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

Jamestown celebrated its 400th anniversary last year. Many people may know that it was the first permanent English settlement in North America, but less commonly known is that Jamestown was also the birthplace of the American chemical enterprise.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:16 Mystery Solved 04:00 Element of the Week: Strontium 06:24 Visiting Josh Simpson’s Glassblowing Studio 10:13 Quote: Captain John Smith 10:23 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Robert Hicks and Amy Mayer for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

Science has long been a component of warfare, and in this week’s episode we look at how it has played a part in both destruction and preservation during times of war. SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:19 Conversation with Jeffrey Johnson 07:35 Element of the Week: Chlorine 09:35 Review of This Republic of Suffering 11:46 Quote: William Jennings Bryan 11:56 Closing Credits CREDITS Special thanks to David Caruso for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

In today’s show we take a closer look at vitamins, the tiny substances that are vital to our health.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:39 Mystery Solved: Rickets 04:35 Element of the Week: Iron 06:41 Making Vitaming C 10:18 Quotation: George Bernard Shaw 10:38 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Jocelyn Ford and Anke Timmermann for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

While chemistry often plays a silent role in art, such as synthetic additives in acrylic paints, both artists and scientists have consciously chosen to intersect the two.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:09 Element of the Week: Neon 03:37 Commentary: Self-Grown Pictures 06:54 ChemArtists 10:51 Quote: Bo Malmstrom 11:04 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Erin McLeary and Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

Is science on the silver screen any less real than science in the lab? A crew from CHF attempts to answer this question with a visit to a new Star Wars exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 00:50 Element of the Week: Krypton 02:28 Commentary: Cartoons as Science? 06:15 Exhibit Review: Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination 11:10 Quote: Lex Luthor 11:30 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Jody Roberts, Jennifer Landry, and Tori Indivero for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

You’ve heard the hype—but what’s nanotechnology really all about? Today’s show is an investigation into the current reality and the future potential of nanotechnology.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:32 Element of the Week: Carbon 03:08 Conversation with George Whitesides 07:51 Mystery Solved! Damascus Steel 10:49 Quote: Richard Smalley 11:08 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Chi Chan for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

In today’s world, technology is seemingly ubiquitous. Chemistry plays a role in many technologies and may be obvious in some products, but is quite invisible in others.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:39 Element of the Week: Uranium 04:13 Mystery Solved: Liquid Crystal Displays 06:51 Hydrogenation 10:59 Quote: Karl Compton 11:19 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Victoria Indivero, Jody Roberts, and Catherine Girardeau for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

From antibiotics to chemotherapy, modern pharmaceuticals have transformed the experience of illness in the 20th century. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the founder and chairman of Biocon, Ltd., joins us for a discussion of how the global business of pharmaceuticals is changing the culture of science in India.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:14 Element of the Week: Sulfur 02:44 A Conversation with Kiran Mazumdar Shaw 07:50 The Complicated Legacy of Modern Pharmaceuticals 10:44 Quote: Hans Zinsser 11:00 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to David Caruso for researching this show. Additional credits available at https://sciencehistory.org/stories/distillations-pod/wonder-drugs/.

Color literally fills our world, and it plays a dominant role in how we perceive our surroundings. Scientists have been fascinated with the question of what color is ever since Isaac Newton discovered that white light contains the entire color spectrum.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:09 Element of the Week: Chromium 02:54 Chemistry in Your Cupboard 05:12 Making Mauvine 10:47 Quote: Claude Monet 11:06 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

Please note: In today’s episode we have included more mature content than a typical show. A Valentine for our listeners, this show is dedicated to the chemistry of love. In today’s show, we explain why passion has always been associated with fire and how the stars can influence your love life.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 00:54 Element of the Week: Fire 02:45 Mystery Solved: Aphrodisiacs 05:46 Precise as Pastry 10:03 Quote: Robert Burton 10:31 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Anke Timmermann for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

Today’s show takes a look at how scientists and educators are reinventing American science education. We chat with Tom Tritton, former president of Haverford College and CHF’s new president and CEO, about how to introduce liberal arts students to science—and just as importantly, vice versa.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:23 Interview with Tom Tritton 04:45 Element of the Week: Hydrogen 07:22 Chemistry in Second Life 11:02 Quote: John Mason Brown 11:15 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Audra Wolfe for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

We don’t normally think of computers, radios, and cell phones as products of chemistry, but none of these devices would be possible without specialized chemical manufacturing components and techniques. The integrated circuits at the heart of these tools depend on the unique electrical properties of certain inorganic elements such as silicon, germanium, and gallium.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:30 Element of the Week: Germanium 03:25 Conversation with Henry Kressel 07:35 Listener feedback 09:55 Quote: William Shockley 10:15 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Anke Timmermann for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

Creating ink for both the printed and handwritten page, as well as preserving it, has a long history in which chemistry plays an integral part. Some historic inks have started to destroy the pages they’re printed on. Other books and manuscripts have been damaged as a result of older conservation practices that place more emphasis on looks than historic accuracy.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:31 Introduction 01:22 Element of the Week: Copper 03:09 Rare book tour with Ronald Brashear and Glen Ruzicka 08:43 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Secret Inks 10:46 Quote: Vladimir Nabokov   CREDITS Special thanks to Anke Timmermann for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

Western medicine has always looked at the body as a system in balance. Today’s show looks at how ideas about the body’s equilibrium have changed over the past few centuries, from humoral theory to the discovery of vitamins and the role of trace elements in human health.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:12 The Element of the Week: Black bile 02:52 Mystery Solved: Pellagra 05:39 Trace elements, or why do we need selenium and nickel, anyway? 08:55 Quote of the Week: Albert Szent-Gyorgyi 09:15 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Erin McLeary for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

Chemistry has always been a science of measurement. In this episode, we look at several cases of how measurements affect scientific research and practice as well as daily life.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:09 The Element of the Week: Platinum 03:34 Interview with Norm Holden, Brookhaven National Laboratories, on changing atomic weights 07:21 Stoichiometry: Featuring Robert Wolke, author of What Einstein Told His Cook 11:28 Quote of the Week: Robert Weber 11:46 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Hilary Domush for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

This week, in honor of the holiday season, we’re offering a toast to chemistry. We’ll explain what makes champagne bubble, and why size matters when you’re talking about carbonation.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 01:03 Element of the Week: Phosphorus 02:48 The Science behind Champagne Bubbles 05:57 Quote of the Week: Graham Greene 06:16 Closing Credits   CREDITS Additional credits available at distillations.org

After the recent oil spills in the San Francisco Bay and the Kerch Strait, Distillations delves into the reality of cleaning up human-made messes.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:32 Introduction 00:55 Commentary by Jody Roberts 02:55 Element of the Week: Mercury 04:44 Cleaning up the San Francisco oil spill 09:12 Quote of the Week: Barry Commoner 09:44 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Jody Roberts for researching this show. Additional credits available at distillations.org.

How do scientists explain what they do to the larger public, and how can historians help? In this first episode of Distillations, we explore this question by looking at phlogiston, an obsolete element once thought to explain combustion.   SHOW CLOCK 00:00 Opening Credits 00:42 The periodic table 01:52 Element of the Week: Phlogiston 04:02 Interview with Paul Smith, director of lecture demonstrations in the department of chemistry, Purdue University 09:16 Quote of the week: Primo Levi 09:43 Closing Credits   CREDITS Special thanks to Anke Timmermann for researching this show. Additional credits available at sciencehistory.org.