This is the first of a new four-part series called Our Chemical Landscape, in honor of the International Year of Chemistry. Each episode will look at how science has shaped one of these four areas: the city, the suburb, the farm, and the wild.

We begin with the city, looking specifically at how energy impacts the city’s past, present, and future. First, an historical essay on the transition from gas lighting to modern electricity. Plus a feature story from Kimberley Haas about Philadelphia’s plan to become the greenest city in the country.

Special thanks to Catherine Girardeau who finished production on this one.

Philadelphia skyline image courtesy of Flickr user Kevin Burkett.

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The Distillations crew is a decidedly geeky bunch. We revel in it, and with this episode, we hope you will too.

From the Distillations website:

Next time you’re channel surfing, take a look at the scientists depicted on screen. Far from the bumbling poindexters of yore, many of these characters are more like rock stars—solving crimes, saving the world. It makes you wonder: is it becoming chic to be a geek? In today’s episode we seek an answer to this question. First, producer Esther D’Amico investigates how shows like The Big Bang Bang Theory might influence a new generation of scientists. Next, CHF president Tom Tritton looks at some troubling statistics about the state of science education in the U.S. and shares the ways we might improve our standing.

PS: I love my Distillations co-workers for writing “bumbling poindexters of yore”. That is some genius phrasing.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Bylzz.

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In this episode of Distillations, we look at the use of radioactive isotopes in medicine. First, a segment on using radioactive iodine to cure thyroid cancer. And an interview with two scientists who use PET scans to study the effects of alternative treatments like acupuncture and meditation.

Image of PET scan from a former opioid addict under the influence of morphine, circa 1980.

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Distillations celebrates Earth Day with a show on climate change. First, we profile Chad and Bangladesh – two countries facing opposite but equally devastating effects of climate change – extreme drought and extreme flooding. Then, an interview with atmospheric chemist Susan Solomon, a key member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, about what the world’s population might face in the future.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Flying Singer.

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Distillations April Fools’-themed show looks at medical trickery through the ages. First, a segment on 18th-century doctor Franz Mesmer and the earliest documented evidence of the placebo effect in action. (Origin of the term “to mesmerize!”) Then, a feature from super creative audio/video producer Josh Kurz on the modern placebo, and how the pesky human brain both helps and hinders modern medical trials.

Image of Franz Anton Mesmer, 1815.

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Marie Curie was amazing and all, but she’s not the only notable woman of science. Distillations honors women’s history month by profiling a number of lesser-known female chemists. First, a segment on British Nobel Prize Winner Dorothy Hodgkin. Then, we walk you through the “Ladies in the Lab” tour at CHF’s museum.

Image by Gregory Tobias courtesy of CHF Collections.

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This show highlights two centuries of forensic science. First, a segment on a 19th century serial killer brought to justice by the father of British forensic medicine. Then an interview with modern-day forensic specialist Michael Eyring, who helped solve one of the biggest crimes of the 20th century by tracing microscopic paint spatter. It’s real life CSI!

Image courtesy of Flickr user Carlos A. Martinez.

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In honor of Black History Month, this show celebrates the contributions of African-American chemists. Segments on George Washington Carver (not JUST the guy who invented peanut butter) and a glimpse into CHF’s oral history program. You’ll hear interview excerpts from Reatha Clark King and Linda Meade-Tollin, two women who overcame both race and gender stereotypes to achieve great success in their field.

George Washington Carver image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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This show explores the intersection of art and science, with highlights from CHF’s new gallery exhibit, Elemental Matters: Artists Imagine Chemistry. The first segment explains how the development of oil paints in tubes helped launch the impressionist movement. Then reporter Ashley Milne-Tyte interviews artist Dove Bradshaw about creating art from the elements.

The CHF exhibit also highlights this beautiful representation of the periodic table: The Periodic Table Printmaking Project.

Image: Segment of Dove Bradshaw’s Song of Which (Evelina kneeling, looking left), 2004.

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This show highlights one of the lesser know scientific ventures of World War II – the US Synthetic Rubber Program. This was an unprecedented collaboration of the top scientific and business minds of the day to develop an alternative to the natural rubber supplies that had been cut off at the start of the war. First, a segment on the scientific history of natural vs. synthetic rubber. Then an interview with historian Mark Finlay, author of Growing American Rubber: Strategic Plants and the Politics of National Security.

This show was a companion to CHF’s new online exhibit Rubber Matters.

Image courtesy of the Delaware Public Archives. Billy Evans turns in some old rubber to the Atlantic filling station of L. E. Wadman, 1603 Pennsylvania Ave., Wilmington, DE.  June 15, 1942.

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In this episode we explore both the risks and benefits of nuclear power. A segment on the rocky history of the nuclear power industry including the disasters of Chernobyl and Three-Mile-Island. Plus an interview with Keith Moser, director of innovation for Exelon Nuclear, about the potential benefits of the U.S. embracing a nuclear future.

Nuclear power plant image courtesy of Flickr user redjar.

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Celebrate the holidays Distillations style with our version of Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. It’s a bleak (yet entertaining) end-of-the-year/world show with visits from the ghosts of chemistry past, present, and future. Segments on Greek Fire, the devilish 8th-century weapon used by Byzantine naval forces. A feature from reporter Stefan Bos on the red sludge toxic spill that devastated a small town in Western Hungary this fall. Plus the future death of a very important star – our sun.

Image from CHF Archives: Scrooge and his third visitor. Illustration by John Leech, 1843.

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The fourth and final installment of our series on the original four Greek elements: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. Segments include a history of the air we breath – how it was formed and how it’s changing over time. Plus a feature from WABE reporter Jim Burress on how volatile organic compounds and tailpipe emissions combine to make a “toxic soup” and how furniture and carpet manufacturers are changing their products to make our air healthier.

New York Skyline image courtesy of Flickr user Sev!.

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This is the partner show to our Herbal Remedies show from a few months back. Segments on the history and legitimacy of acupuncture, and a feature from indie producer Gretchen Cuda on the healing power of yogic breathing.

Sunset Yoga image courtesy of Flickr user Andrew Kalat.

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Part three of our four-part series on the original four Greek elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Segments include a review of the history of flame retardants and the legislation that has guided their use in the United States. Plus a heart-wrenching yet inspiring feature from indie producer Anna Boiko-Weyrauch. In this non-narrated piece, we learn about burn survivor Mike Mcaneny, who was admitted to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center with severe burns over 65% of his body. He was treated with Integra, an artificial skin replacement.

Image of Mike Mcaneny’s hand and arm, healed with artificial skin. Photo by Anna Boiko-Weyrauch.

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We always have a lot of fun with our Distillations Halloween shows and this year was no exception. This time we went for skin-crawling, gag-inducing grossness with segments on how a human body decays, how maggots are used to treat infectious wounds, and an interview with Robert Hicks and his blood-sucking leeches. (Note: Robert lets his leeches feed on HIS ARM.)

Jack-O-Lantern image courtesy of Flickr user Rennett Stowe.

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The second of our four-part series on the original four Greek elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. In this show we review three different methods for filtering and purifying water, and indie producer Nina Perry reports a story about a potential water shortage in the UK and the desalination plant Thames Water is building to help mitigate the problem.

Image: Glass of Water, from Flickr user gfrphoto.

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For this show we took a literary approach to this most scientific of topics. Segments include an interview with Sam Kean, author of The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, (a great read), an excerpt from Primo Levi’s The Periodic Table, (another great read!), and a Distillations writing contest challenging listeners to write their own Elemental Memoir.

Image: Periodic Table of Cupcakes at CHF’s museum’s first anniversary. Photo by Rosanne Cook.

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This is the first of a four-part series on the original four Greek elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. For EARTH, we focused on the Marcellus Shale, the natural gas-rich geologic formation stretching through parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. It’s a highly controversial topic getting a lot of press these days and I hope we did it justice.

I narrated the show’s first segment on the geologic history of the Marcellus shale, and WHYY reporter Susan Phillips reported a feature for us on how the development of the Marcellus Shale is affecting families in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. She also co-produced a long series on the subject for WHYY, with my fellow Science Literacy Project colleague Kerry Grens.

Image of Marcellus Black Shale exposure on Interstate 80 courtesy of Wikimedia user Dahluza.

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Another reason I love Distillations – a whole show on medicine you can GROW. A segment on digitalis – the heart medication in the form of the lovely foxglove. And producer Joel Rose takes us on a walking tour of Lancaster Farmacy – just like a CSA, but focused on medicine instead of traditional food crops. So cool!

Foxglove photographed in Bestwood Country Park, Nottinghamshire, from Flickr user DaveKav.

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One more “best of” show while the Distillations team recoups. Segments on senescence from our October 2009 Autumn show, an interview with award-winning author Richard Holmes from our April 2009 show on Scientific Collaborations, and a personal essay about growing up as a rocketeer from our April 2009 show on Kid Science.

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Every summer the Distillations crew takes a few weeks off to rest and replay some favorite segments from the past year. This “best of” episode includes an audio-rich profile of Glenn Seaborg from our Sept 2009 show on Public Science, a commentary on the Three Sisters – beans, corn, and squash from our October 2009 Autumn show, and Julie Caine’s emotion feature on Prednisone from our January 2010 show on Living with Illness.

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Wow! 100 episodes! We mark this milestone by revisiting some of the stories we’ve covered over the past 3+ years. Devin Browne gives us an update on the electric and battery-powered cars she reported on from GM’s Battery Lab back in October 2008. Catherine Girardeau talks about the hair mats that were used to help clean up the oil spill in the San Francisco bay back in December 2007, and what kind of technology is being used to clean up the Gulf Coast And Jody Roberts updates his 2009 environmental wish list with a new list for 2010.

Birthday Cake – Candles, from Flickr user jessica.diamond.

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Another Distillations celebration of food and drink: papaya as a natural meat tenderizer, an interview with food historian Roger Horowitz about how steak became the quintessential American meal, and a segment on the carcinogenic properties of grilled meats.

BBQ Inferno, from Flickr user Frederic Poirot.

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A show on attempting to control the climate with science. Segments on modern-day rainmaking, the history of trying to “fix” climate problems, and fertilizing the oceans with iron.

Image courtesy of the State Library of New South Wales Collection.

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