logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2010
14m 4s

Episode 105: Periodic Table Contents

Science History Institute
About this episode

In this week’s episode we pay tribute to the periodic table. We talk to Sam Kean, author of the best-selling book The Disappearing Spoon and hear an excerpt from Primo Levi’s book The Periodic Table.

SHOW CLOCK

00:00 Opening Credits

00:31 Introduction

01:21 Interview with Sam Kean

09:28 "Carbon," from The Periodic Table by Primo Levi

12:57 Competition - Elemental Memoir

13:31 Closing Credits

CREDITS

Special thanks to Michal Meyer and Mia Lobel for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.

Up next
Mar 19
Agnes Pockels and the Kitchen Sink Myth
This episode is a co-production with Lost Women of Science. Agnes Pockels did pioneering work in surface science. Her invention, the Pockels Trough, became the basis for an instrument that helped Katherine Burr Blodgett and Irving Langmuir make discoveries in material science tha ... Show More
37m 28s
Sep 2025
Flemmie Kittrell and the Preschool Experiment
Alexis Pedrick joins Katie Hafner to bring you an episode from The Lost Women of Science Initiative, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to telling the forgotten or untold stories of remarkable female scientists and their groundbreaking work through history. The episo ... Show More
52m 4s
Sep 2025
The CRISPR Babies
In 2018 news broke that a Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, had used CRISPR to edit human embryos, and twin girls had been born as a result. The story set off an explosive bioethical controversy. As gene editing expert Kiran Musunuru put it, "He Jiankui's genetic misadventures were ... Show More
53m 33s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
The Periodic Table of the Elements (Encore)
You’ve seen it in your science classroom, and there was probably a copy of it on the inside cover of your chemistry book. Maybe if you are a real nerd, you might even have your own personal copy.  Yet its very creation was a revolutionary breakthrough that helped scientists and g ... Show More
10m 3s
Oct 2025
Episode 640: Heinrich Himmler Part IV - From Atlantis to Auschwitz
<p>This week, the boys dive deep into Heinrich Himmler’s deranged Ahnenerbe - the SS’s “research institute” dedicated to proving Aryan supremacy through archaeology, mythology, and pure pseudoscience. From Karl Wiligut, the self-proclaimed prophet of Nazi meth, to Hans Hörbiger’s ... Show More
2h 5m
Aug 2024
Bonus: Fun Fact or Fake Factoid?! A Chemistry and Trivia Showdown
<p>In this bonus game edition of 'Chemistry For Your Life', host Melissa, co-host Jam, and guest Claire embark on an entertaining journey of debunking or verifying popular 'fun facts' submitted by their listeners. The game, titled 'Fun Fact or Fake Factoid', involves dissecting q ... Show More
28m 6s
Jul 2022
Episode 124: Junk Room
tail spinning
14m 57s
Jan 2024
EP: 217 Super Civilizations with Hugh Newman
Embark on a captivating journey into the ancient past with our latest podcast episode featuring renowned author and explorer, Hugh Newman. Join us as we delve deep into the mysteries of Karahan Tepe, an archaeological site that predates Göbekli Tepe, challenging our understanding ... Show More
1h 23m
Dec 2024
Music That Makes You Murder?! Black Metal
Today's episode is a special collab with Stakuyi who takes us on the insane story of the Norwegian Black Metal band Mayhem and the wild developments that unfolded. From church burning, to murder, and more, this episode was an interesting one. Subscribe to our Patreon Follow us on ... Show More
1h 19m
Sep 2025
Episode 59: Dr. Paul Chirik on Modern Alchemy
Dr. Paul Chirik, the Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Chemistry and the Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Princeton University, researches something he calls “modern alchemy.” As many of the world's most effective chemical catalysts are made from rare and precious metals, Dr ... Show More
17m 43s
Mar 2019
The periodic table turns 150
Are chemical elements critical for the modern economy in dangerously short supply? It's a question that Justin Rowlatt poses a century and a half after the Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleev published the original periodic table.Justin speaks to two chemists - Andrea Sella of Unive ... Show More
19m 21s