Why do leaves change color in the Fall?
It's Fall! You know why they call Fall Fall? Well because the leaves fall. But before that, the leaves change color. Why do they do that? Ho...
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Chemistry For Your Life
A podcast helping you understand the chemistry of your everyday life.
Episodes
20 of 427 episodesWhy do skunks smell so bad? (and is there anything we can do about it?)
What makes skunk spray smell so astonishingly bad, and why can the odor come roaring back whenever a sprayed dog gets wet? Are humans unusua...
Ask a Chemist: How long do you microwave ice cream? (and other questions)
Why does microwaving ice cream for two five-second bursts feel different from microwaving it once for ten seconds? Can a science podcast mak...
Is personification helpful or harmful in science?
Do atoms “want” full electron shells, do molecules “prefer” stability, and are electrons really “attacking” each other? Or could it be that...
Is science always right?
This week we issue a correction, joining other science publications issuing the same correction. That's kind of an obvious answer to the que...
Can leftovers be healthier than freshly cooked food?
Can cooking pasta, rice, or bread, and then cooling it down, actually make it healthier? Could yesterday’s leftovers affect your blood sugar...
Ask a Chemist: What is "natural gas?" (and other questions)
What’s actually flowing through the “natural gas” pipes connected to your home—and did we get something wrong in our air-conditioning series...
Is red light therapy real or a scam?
Can shining a red light on your face really improve acne, wrinkles, inflammation, or wound healing, or is red light therapy just an expensiv...
What the heck is going on inside microwaves?
Melissa finally explains to Jam how microwaves work after making him wait for an entire week. What the heck is going on inside microwaves? H...
Which chemistry lessons have stuck with us? (Happy Chemiversary!)
What happens when a chemist and a non-chemist make a podcast together for seven years? Which chemistry lessons stuck, which episode ideas sp...
Can water air-condition your house?
What exactly is a swamp cooler, and why can it beat the heat in Arizona but leave you sweaty and betrayed in Houston? How can an air conditi...
What’s the dark side of air conditioning?
Could a cheaper, more environmentally friendly refrigerant already exist, and could corporate lobbying be helping keep it out of American ai...
Reddit Chemistry: Why do metals make different-colored flames? (and other questions)
What happens when a chemist ventures onto Reddit to answer the internet’s most pressing science questions? Why does carbon get its own entir...
How does your AC actually make cold air?
Is your air conditioner secretly doing chemistry while you’re inside pretending summer doesn’t exist? How does it turn hot air into cool air...
Why do diet coke and mentos do that thing?
You know what we're talking about. That spectacular fizzy geyser. This week, Melissa and Jam explore what makes diet coke and mentos go craz...
Why do people hate organic chemistry?
Well guess what, Melissa is a PhD Doctor now! And you know what that means? She gets to tell us more details about the research she did to g...
What if the system needs fixing instead of the students? (BCCE 2026)
What if the biggest challenge in chemistry education isn’t helping students survive—but helping them thrive? In this final bonus episode of...
What’s really happening when our hair gets damaged?
This week, Melissa and Jam travel even further down the rabbit hole of hair chemistry. How does our hair get damaged? How do we curl, straig...
What does neurodiversity mean for chemistry education?
How do we build chemistry classrooms where more students can thrive? In this bonus BCCE Community Conversation preview, Melissa talks with M...
What’s the chemistry behind hairspray?
Hairspray seems simple… until you actually stop and think about it. How does it come out as a fine mist? Why doesn’t it dry up inside the ca...