This is part two of Distillations three-part series A Day in the Life, which examines the chemistry of morning, noon, and night. In this episode, biochemist Joe Rucker explains some of the chemicals commonly found in our food (xanthum gum?). Then reporter Gretchen Cuda Kroen reveals why fructose and other sweeteners (even the supposedly healthy ones)…

This is first installment of Distillations‘ new three-part series A Day in the Life: Morning, Noon, and Night. At the top of each show, biochemist Joe Rucker breaks down the chemistry of some of the products we use every day. In the Morning show, Joe explains sodium lauryl sulfate – a chemical that shows up in…

For this episode of Distillations we dive into CHF’s vast oral history archive. Producer Amy Kraft digs through hours of interviews with Dupont’s Roy Plunkett and Malcolm Renfrew to bring us the history of  Teflon, the now ubiquitous super material. Then, an interview with the always charming Bob Kenworthy, who met Plunkett, and later worked as a…

  At Distillations, we love science writer Sam Kean. He was on our show in 2010 to talk about his book The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements. And we invited him back to talk about his new book: The Violinist’s Thumb: And Other Lost Tales…

In this episode of Distillations, a conversation with two experts on alchemy: CHF’s rare book curator James Voelkel, who created CHF’s new exhibit The Alchemical Quest, and his colleague and old friend Lawrence Principe, author of The Secrets of Alchemy. Principe recreates alchemical experiments to see what the alchemists saw – so cool! [soundcloud id=’99445372′] Image: In Hieronymus Brunschwig’s Liber de arte Distillandi .…

In this episode of Distillations we look at the history of smog. Today, of course, we recognize smog as the thick, toxic air pollution that often chokes the skies in places like Los Angeles and Beijing. So it’s hard to believe that smog was once looked at as a sign of progress—visual proof that the…

My four-year-old son’s favorite new phrase – don’t yuck my yum – is a perfect description of this episode of Distillations, though there are few who would find body cheese truly tasteful. Reporter Lindsay Patterson visits South by South Swab – a SXSW event in which a biologist and smell researcher create personalized cheeses from strains of human bacteria.…

In this episode of Distillations, we dive into the murky depths to explore the chemistry of shipwrecks. First, a feature about an Australian marine chemist produced by the amazingly talented scientist turned sound recordist Diane Hope. Then, an historical overview of how many-thousand-year-old wrecks can provide a glimpse into ancient civilizations. Lots of fun music in…

I have fallen in love with the subject of our first piece in this show – John Mainstone, the guardian of the pitch drop experiment – the longest running science demonstration in the world. Michael Rhee has that story from Australia. And if you’ve got a lot of time on your hands, you can watch the pitch drop…

And here’s part 2 of our ‘best of” show – season 5. (Wow – I can’t believe we’ve been doing this for 5 years!) First, producer Andrew Stelzer uncovers how researchers are attempting to contact extraterrestrial beings from the show Is Anybody Out There? Then, Distillations’ assistant producer Anne Fredrickson pulls out her cello for an investigation of Stradivari’s instruments. Is…