Chemistry For Your Life

Епизоде

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  Is red light therapy real or a scam? 17.09.2026 47мин

  Can shining a red light on your face really improve acne, wrinkles, inflammation, or wound healing, or is red light therapy just an expensive skincare scam involving a slightly alarming mask? How could ordinary visible light affect cells beneath your skin, and should you trust the products filling your social media feed? Melissa and Jam investigate photobiomodulation, mitochondria, collagen, blue light, FDA clearance, and the research behind this increasingly popular wellness trend. The answer is more scientifically interesting, and more complicated, than either of them expected.
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  What the heck is going on inside microwaves? 10.09.2026 24мин

  Melissa finally explains to Jam how microwaves work after making him wait for an entire week. What the heck is going on inside microwaves? How does it do it's thing and make our food tasty? Is it magic?
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  Which chemistry lessons have stuck with us? (Happy Chemiversary!) 03.09.2026 1ч 14мин

  What happens when a chemist and a non-chemist make a podcast together for seven years? Which chemistry lessons stuck, which episode ideas spectacularly refused to cooperate, and does Jam still count as a layperson after all this time? Joined by returning guest Claire, Melissa and Jam celebrate the seventh anniversary of Chemistry For Your Life with listener questions, behind-the-scenes stories, friendship reflections, favorite science facts, and one very large chemistry cookie cake. Come for the chemiversary; stay for the long-running argument about reality TV.
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  Can water air-condition your house? 27.08.2026 31мин

  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 conditioner run on water, what does humidity have to do with its effectiveness, and could an icy new invention help prevent overloaded power grids? In the final installment of our air-conditioning series, Melissa and Jam explore evaporative cooling, ancient climate-control tricks, and some promising innovations for a hotter world. It turns out “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” is more scientifically accurate, and more annoying, than we’d like.
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  What’s the dark side of air conditioning? 20.08.2026 53мин

  Could a cheaper, more environmentally friendly refrigerant already exist, and could corporate lobbying be helping keep it out of American air conditioners? Why did the chemicals once hailed as safe alternatives become environmental villains, and are their replacements actually much better? Melissa and Jam follow the twisty history of Freon, ozone depletion, greenhouse gases, propane, and air-conditioning regulations to find out why choosing a refrigerant is never as simple as “this one works.” Grab your red string and conspiracy board, because the chemistry drama is heating up.
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  Reddit Chemistry: Why do metals make different-colored flames? (and other questions) 13.08.2026 46мин

  What happens when a chemist ventures onto Reddit to answer the internet’s most pressing science questions? Why does carbon get its own entire branch of chemistry, what makes fireworks burn different colors, and can an invention work even when its inventor has no idea why? Melissa and Jam tackle those mysteries, plus laboratory disasters, stress recovery, wireless charging, and one surprisingly complicated “Am I the Jerk?” dilemma. It’s chemistry support for the internet, because Reddit clearly has plenty of need for it.
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  How does your AC actually make cold air? 06.08.2026 38мин

  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, and why does part of the AC blow out even more heat? In this episode, Melissa and Jam crack open the mysterious black box of air conditioning to explore refrigerants, phase changes, energy transfer, and the surprisingly clever science keeping your house livable. Plus: frozen AC coils, summer survival drinks, and the beginning of Hibiscus Girl Summer.
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  Why do diet coke and mentos do that thing? 30.07.2026 31мин

  You know what we're talking about. That spectacular fizzy geyser. This week, Melissa and Jam explore what makes diet coke and mentos go crazy together. Is it love? Is it hate? Is it chemistry? Why diet coke specifically? Or more importantly, why mentos? Let's get into it.
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  Why do people hate organic chemistry? 23.07.2026 53мин

  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 get her PhD. Listen to hear what Melissa found as she dove deep into the question "Why do people hate organic chemistry?" for the past few years.
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  What if the system needs fixing instead of the students? (BCCE 2026) 20.07.2026 28мин

  What if the biggest challenge in chemistry education isn’t helping students survive—but helping them thrive? In this final bonus episode of our BCCE Community Conversation series, Melissa talks with Leyte Winfield about creating learning environments where students feel like they belong. They discuss moving beyond “weed-out” culture, designing courses that maintain high standards while expanding opportunity, and why the future of chemistry depends on empowering talented students rather than simply filtering them out. It’s a fitting conclusion to a series all about rethinking how we teach and learn chemistry.
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  What’s really happening when our hair gets damaged? 16.07.2026 34мин

  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, straighten, and perm our hair? What's going on there at the molecular level? Let's find out!
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  What does neurodiversity mean for chemistry education? (BCCE 2026) 13.07.2026 30мин

  How do we build chemistry classrooms where more students can thrive? In this bonus BCCE Community Conversation preview, Melissa talks with Matt Mio about neurodiversity in chemistry education. They discuss why every student experiences learning differently, how understanding those differences can make us better teachers and colleagues, and why creating more accessible learning environments benefits far more people than we might expect. It’s a thoughtful conversation about curiosity, empathy, and what it means to teach the whole student.
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  What’s the chemistry behind hairspray? 09.07.2026 1ч 1мин

  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 can? How can it hold your hair in place without acting like glue? This week we’re unpacking the surprisingly clever chemistry behind one of the most common products in our homes—and discovering it’s far more complicated than either of us expected.
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  How can chemistry teachers learn from each other? (BCCE 2026) 06.07.2026 33мин

  Great teaching doesn’t happen in isolation—it happens in community. In this bonus BCCE Community Conversation preview, Melissa talks with chemistry educator Dr. Joanne Stewart about communities of practice: groups of educators who come together to share ideas, solve problems, and help one another grow. They explore why teaching is hard to improve on your own, how these communities support both faculty and students, and why meaningful change in chemistry education depends on building relationships, not just sharing resources.
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  Ask a Chemist: Is Silicone actually safe? (and other questions) 02.07.2026 35мин

  What happens when some listeners challenge one of our past episodes? This week we’re revisiting our silicone episodes after several listeners pointed us toward new research. Along the way we answer questions about mosquito wristbands, waterproof mascara, stubborn adhesives, and whether amino acids may have formed on the early Earth after all. It’s an Ask a Chemist episode full of updates, follow-ups, and a reminder that science is always a work in progress.
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  How can we apply chemistry to real-world problems in the classroom? (BCCE 2026) 29.06.2026 34мин

  What if chemistry classes were organized around real-world problems instead of chapters in a textbook?In this bonus BCCE Community Conversation preview, Melissa talks with Vicente Talanquer about helping students think like chemists rather than simply memorize chemistry. They explore why authentic, real-world problems can transform learning, how instructors can make meaningful changes without rewriting an entire course, and why teaching chemistry is about developing a way of thinking—not just delivering content.
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  How do forensic scientists find fingerprints? 25.06.2026 54мин

  There are a lot more ways to reveal a fingerprint than the black powder you see on TV. In this second part of our forensic chemistry series with Nicki Stewart, we explore the surprising chemistry behind fingerprints. From powders and iodine vapor to super glue fumes and chemical reactions, we break down how forensic scientists reveal invisible fingerprints—and why choosing the right method depends entirely on the surface, the chemistry, and the evidence they’re trying to preserve.
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  Are there new, improved ways to teach chemistry? (BCCE 2026) 22.06.2026 36мин

  What does it mean to teach chemistry like a scientist? In this BCCE Community Conversation preview, Melissa talks with chemistry education researcher Ellen Yezierski about scholarly teaching: making evidence-guided decisions about how we teach and how students learn. They discuss why content knowledge alone isn’t enough, how educators can improve their teaching without becoming full-time researchers, and why some of the best chemistry teaching ideas come from asking better questions about learning.
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  How does super glue glue things? 18.06.2026 31мин

  Be honest. Have you ever glued yourself with super glue? Everyone should accidentally make that mistake at least once, so you can literally feel the impressive stickiness of super glue. Well today, you can learn about the chemistry within super glue, without putting any fingers or other body parts at risk! Let's do this.
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  How could technology and A.I. change chemistry education? (BCCE 2026) 15.06.2026 33мин

  AI is everywhere in education right now, but is that the only technology chemistry educators should be thinking about? In this bonus BCCE preview episode, Melissa talks with Resa Kelly about technology in chemistry education, from visualizations and videos to flipped classrooms and AI. What do we actually want students to be able to do in a technology-rich world? How should that shape our teaching? And how can educators stay curious without feeling pressured to adopt every new tool that comes along?