logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
13m 38s

C&EN Uncovered: Looking back on 100 year...

Chemical & Engineering News
About this episode

The first issue of C&EN was published in 1923 with the stated purpose of "the promotion of research, the development of the chemical industry, and the welfare of the chemist." 

The world of chemistry has grown a lot since then, and the magazine has been there to report on it all.

To celebrate our 100th anniversary, C&EN reporter and informal historian Alex Tullo has sifted through thousands of issues of the magazine, and in this episode, he guides our host Craig Bettenhausen on a tour through the magazine's history from the industrialization of plastics, to the environmental movement, to the modern era of digital publication. 

When this episode was recorded, Tullo was preparing the From the Archives feature for the 1980s, which is now published.

C&EN Uncovered, a project from C&EN's podcast, Stereo Chemistry, offers a deeper look at subjects from recent stories. Read Alex's entire series about the C&EN archives at cenm.ag/fromthearchives.


A transcript of this episode can be found at http://cenm.ag/100yearspod.



Credits


Executive producer: Gina Vitale


C&EN Uncovered host: Craig Bettenhausen


Reporter: Alex Tullo


Audio editor: Brian Gutierrez


Copyeditor: Bran Vickers


Story editor: Manny I. Fox Morone


Episode artwork: Shutterstock/Kay Youn/Will Ludwig/C&EN


Music: "Hot Chocolate" by Aves



Contact Stereo Chemistry: Contact us on social media @cenmag or email cenfeedback@acs.org.

 

Up next
Nov 7
MOFs: What is this Nobel-prize-winning group of materials?
In this episode, Uncovered hops back to the first episode of C&EN's StereoChemistry, which delved into the materials that won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Reporter Matt Davenport spoke with now-laureate Omar Yaghi and a handful of other researchers in and around this exciti ... Show More
32m 30s
Oct 9
Inside the cavernous crystals that won the Chem Nobel
The 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded on Oct. 8 to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for their work on metal organic frameworks (MOFs). Senior editor Prachi Patel joins a bonus episode of Stereo Chemistry to discuss what MOFs are, why they are so useful, ... Show More
17m 45s
Sep 26
Uncovered: The Strange Copy and Paste Chemistry of Skeletal Editing
Will Skeletal Editing revolutionize the way we see chemical interactions? In this episode of C&EN Uncovered, host Craig Bettenhausen speaks with C&EN associate editor, Brianna Barbu, about her article diving into the new and exciting frontier of Skeletal Editing. Check out Briann ... Show More
16m 50s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2019
Love, Hate, and Sex from the History of Science
<p>This Valentine's Day we could have just brought you some sappy love stories from science's past. But instead we offer you three tales of lust, loneliness, betrayal, pettiness, and not one, but two beheadings.</p> <h2>Credits</h2> <p>Hosts: <a href="file:///profile/alexis-j-ped ... Show More
38m 34s
Jul 2023
Even more forever chemicals
The chemical manufacturer 3M will pay $10 billion to settle claims it contaminated drinking water with “forever chemicals.” Good thing we already spoke with Barbara Moran, WBUR’s climate and environmental correspondent, who explained these non-stick chemicals that stick around fo ... Show More
25m 52s
Aug 2018
Making Natural Products in the Lab
Philip Ball tells the science story of German chemist Friedrich Wöhler’s creation of urea, an organic substance previously thought only to be produced by living creatures. Yet in 1828 Wöhler created urea from decidedly non-living substances. It was exciting because the accidental ... Show More
27 m
Nov 2023
Forever chemicals
PFAS chemicals, also known as forever chemicals, don’t break down in the environment. They can accumulate in the body and are found to have an array of harmful effects on human health. A major mapping project has revealed worryingly high levels of PFAS across thousands of sites i ... Show More
30m 3s
Nov 2021
Cosmic Queries – The Hidden Chemistry of Everything with Kate the Chemist
<p>Is chemistry truly <i>everywhere</i>? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice answer fan questions about chemistry with Kate Biberdorf, aka Kate the Chemist. Discover the chemical reactions that make our world work!</p><p>NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can w ... Show More
50m 40s
Jan 2020
100. Episode Special: Ask Me Almost Anything
<p>In this 100<sup>th</sup> episode of the Science Salon podcast Dr. Shermer gives a brief overview and history of the salon and how it evolved from the Distinguished Science Lecture Series at Caltech, which began in 1992, along with the founding of the Skeptics Society, a 501(c) ... Show More
1h 1m
Dec 2023
Episode 246: The Disappearance of Shere Hite
<p>In the previous episode, we explored the life and times of Shere Hite, who published what is perhaps the bestselling non-fiction book about sex ever to hit the market. Despite selling 50 million copies, it has been largely forgotten in the half-century since its release.  Howe ... Show More
28m 49s