The Episodic Table of Elements
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The Episodic Table of Elements
A podcast about the fascinating true stories behind each element on the periodic table.
Episodi recenti
100 episodi
95. Americium: Mundus Novus
Many episodes have incorporated geology, but this one is more about geography. (And amateur nuclear science.)
93. Neptunium: Great Expectations
To the person who said, "the episodes are never too long," I'm terribly sorry.
The Episodic Table Of Elements Holiday Special
Time for the most traditional holiday celebration: A science lesson.
92. Uranium: Two Untold Tales (Live At Harvard)
America's worst radioactive accident isn't Three Mile Island, and the Nazi nuclear physicist wasn't assassinated by the famous baseball player.
91. Protactinium: Decolonize Science
Sometimes we need a quiet moment in order to step back and look at the bigger picture.
90. Thorium: Bright Lights, Big City
Sure, thorium could provide practically limitless clean energy, but then we couldn't build weapons of mass destruction.
89. Actinium: The Windup… And The Pitchblende
We all know that radioactive rocks glow in the dark, except they actually don't, except for when they actually do.
88. Radium: Several Sordid Affairs
Out of all the characters who encounter radium in this episode, the only one to emerge unscathed is the guy who comes face-to-face with Satan.
87. Francium: Nothing To Do With Cats
You don't have to have a degree to do science, but it helps.
86. Radon: It’s Coming From Inside The House
You know something's amiss when you set off the radiation alarms while walking in to the nuclear power plant.
85. Astatine: Pathological Science
The story of astatine takes us to Alabama, Dacca, Romania, Vienna, and California, but definitely not Switzerland.
84. Polonium: The Distinguished Alumna Of Warsaw’s Flying University
Sadly, it's no longer possible to purchase this lethally radioactive element for fifteen cents and a cereal boxtop.
83. Bismuth: The Friendly Oddball
The periodic table shows the natural patterns and trends among the elements. Bismuth does not abide.
82. Lead: Irrational Self-Interest
We just can't seem to stop chasing the sweet, sweet taste of element 82.
81. Thallium: It Rides A Pale Horse
In which we learn how reading mystery novels might very well save a life.
80. Mercury: Fatally Toxic And Probably In Your Mouth
Even if you hate tuna, have flawless teeth, and only use digital thermometers, humans have historically not been shy about getting a mouthful of mercu...
79. Gold: Lump Sum
All other metals step aside, because today we deal with the king of elements.
78. Platinum: A Tous Les Temps, A Tous Les Peuples
Sometimes, being set in stone isn't permanent enough.
77. Iridium: T. Rex And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Alvarez noticed a great disturbance in the rocks, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
76. Osmium: It Stinks!
This entire episode serves as cautionary advice to anyone seeking to add osmium to their element collection.
75. Rhenium: A Love Of Two Brains
Witness an incredible, unbreakable bond between two who couldn't be more alike. We'll also learn about a married couple.
74. Tungsten: What Is The Atom We Love?
All right, everybody settle down. Welcome to the weekly meeting of the National Association Of W Lovers.
73. Tantalum: Mystery Meat
Once more, the periodic table drags us to hell -- this time by way of ancient Greece.
72. Hafnium: The Isomer Bomb
The science suggests hafnium can't be used to create a gamma ray bomb, but that won't stop the U.S. government from trying.
71. Lutetium: Swampland Centaurs
Let us ensure we remember the lanthanide series before we leave it behind once and for all.
70. Ytterbium: White Gold
When Johann Bottger failed to turn lead into gold, porcelain made a pretty good consolation prize.
69. Thulium: Out Of The Way
We'll go to the land of the ice and snow... and figure out exactly where that is, too.
68. Erbium: Hyperlink
Element 68 plays an important role in stitching together the World Wide Web -- for better or for worse.
Upcoming Schedule, Part II
Hello, Listener. Under better circumstances, you would be learning about erbium right about now. Unfortunately, that episode is not quite ready yet. B...
67. Holmium: This Magnet Moment
Holmium: Equally beloved by theoretical physicists and Jedi Knights.
66. Dysprosium: Hard To Get
You spin me right round, baby, right round, like a windmill, baby, right round round round.
65. Terbium: The Joy of Tedium
For more than one reason, element 65 makes the short list of "most annoying elements."
64. Gadolinium: Three Wise Men
Like Luke Skywalker, today's tale takes a farmboy to greatness.
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63. Europium: The Age Of Enlightenment
As element collectors, may we all one day be as fortunate as Frank Harold Spedding.
62. Samarium: Eponymous Honorarium
We hear all sorts of incredible stories on this podcast, but today we'll meet the most unbelievable character of all time: A friendly bureaucrat.
61. Promethium: What A Friend We Have In Prometheus
We've met mythological light-bearers before, but this one possesses a decidedly nobler spirit.
60. Neodymium: Anarchy And Order
Decades of complex geopolitical chaos ultimately result in one afternoon's rather embarrassing hospital visit.
59. Praseodymium: Grandiloquent Sesquipedalianism
Sometimes, the most interesting aspect of an element has nothing to do with chemistry at all.