Distillations: Science + Culture + History

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.