On this episode of Distillations, it’s a symphony of science. First, our assistant producer Anne Fredrickson reveals one of the secrets of Stradivari violins’ phenomenal sound. Then, a profile of sound artist Susan Alexjander, who uses vibrational frequencies from the natural world – from DNA to planetary spins – to create her music. I produced that one, my first non-narrated piece in awhile.

Image courtesy of the Roy G. Neville Historical Chemical Library, Othmer Library of Chemical History, Chemical Heritage Foundation.