PRX - Pieces for Tone: Quirky

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Caption: 1950s ad from the Givaudan Flavorist. , Credit: the Society of Flavor Chemists Library at Monell Chemical Senses Center.
Today your taste buds take center stage. First, how super-tasters' genetic gift might afford them better health. Then the art of imitation flavors.

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Jan 23, 2013
  • Length: 16:09
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: When it comes to kids and adults, the debate over fluoridated water has waged for decades., Credit: Flickr user sean dreilinger.
Today we begin the three-part series: A Day in the Life, spotlighting the common chemistry of morning, noon, and night. First, a look at what's lur...

  • Added: Nov 27, 2012
  • Length: 14:21
Caption: "Nothing sticks to 'happy pan,'" raves the bottom of this poster, the first ever advertisement for Teflon., Credit: Wikimedia Commons user trozzolo.
Treasure or toxin? In this episode we follow Teflon's rise from happy accident to indispensable tool at work, home, and even war.

  • Added: Nov 15, 2012
  • Length: 15:14
Caption: Sam Kean reading from his first book at CHF's inaugural Science Cabaret., Credit: Conrad Erb.
In this episode we welcome back author Sam Kean to discuss the secrets and surprises contained in our DNA.

  • Added: Oct 31, 2012
  • Length: 12:22
Caption: In Hieronymus Brunschwig’s Liber de arte Distillandi . . . (Strasbourg, 1512) two figures work with one of alchemy’s more grounded practices: distillation. From the Donald and Mildred Othmer Collection, CHF. , Credit: Will Brown.
In this episode, a conversation between two alchemy experts: James Voelkel, who curated CHF’s exhibit The Alchemical Quest, and Lawrence Principe, ...

  • Added: Oct 18, 2012
  • Length: 13:58
Caption: Arthur Henry Knighton’s Caustic Pot House Stacks, “A” Power Stack, “A” Pump Station, and “A” Evaporator Building., Credit: Image courtesy of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation. On view in CHF’s museum.
On today's show we track the evolution of smog from symbol of industrial progress to public-health catastrophe.

  • Added: Oct 09, 2012
  • Length: 14:19
Caption: A gourmet treat for some; a total gross-out for some others., Credit: Flickr user lmnop88a.
In this episode we test your gag reflex. First an exploration of rank, funky cheeses made from your own body's bacteria. Then the history of how di...

  • Added: Sep 18, 2012
  • Length: 13:13
Caption: Illustration of the carrack Mary Rose, which sunk off the coast of England in 1545. It's been remarkably preserved, thanks in part to resting in an anaerobic environment. , Credit: Original illustration by Anthony Anthony. Reproduction courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Ahoy, mateys. Join us on the ocean floor. In this episode we look at sunken ships: how they are preserved, and what they can tell us about past civ...

Bought by WTJU and XRAY.fm


  • Added: Sep 05, 2012
  • Length: 15:35
  • Purchases: 2
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We bring you some of our favorite segments from past Distillations episodes this week: attempts to contact aliens in space and the secret behind th...

  • Added: Aug 04, 2012
  • Length: 15:34
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We bring you some of our favorite segments from past Distillations episodes this week: animal communication in the Sonoran Desert and the toll of a...

  • Added: Aug 04, 2012
  • Length: 13:33
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This wraps up our three-part series Blood, Sweat, and Tears. First, how it feels to lose your ability to cry; then why onions bring on the waterworks.

  • Added: Jul 11, 2012
  • Length: 15:05
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In this episode we continue the three-part series Blood, Sweat, and Tears. First the history of deodorants; then experiments on how perspiration ca...

  • Added: Jul 05, 2012
  • Length: 16:44
Caption: Remember when I leeched all the calcium from your bones?, Credit: Flickr user paparutzi.
Big eyes, soft skin, squeezable cheeks. No doubt, babies are adorable. But in this episode we take a break from our cooing to examine some more ser...

  • Added: May 16, 2012
  • Length: 13:43
Caption: What is it and what does it do?, Credit: courtesy of the Bendix Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Collection, CHF Collections.
In this episode we look at the diverse history of mass spectrometry, starting with a single question: exactly what is it? Then we dip into CHF's or...

  • Added: Mar 31, 2012
  • Length: 13:18
Caption: Hydrogen and chlorine sitting in a tree... Image from Real Fairy Folks: Explorations in the World of Atoms, by Lucy Rider Meyer, 1887., Credit: Courtesy of CHF's collections.
In this episode we travel back in time to the Victorian era, when innovative teachers used fairies to convey complicated ideas in chemistry. We ada...

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Mar 16, 2012
  • Length: 09:56
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Godzilla attacks!, Credit: Flickr user Marxchivist.
On today's show we look at the real and imagined implications of genetic modification in the middle of the 20th century.

  • Added: Mar 02, 2012
  • Length: 14:40
Caption: Images from the Othmer Library of Chemical History at CHF.
There are many different types of crystals we encounter, ranging from tiny to extremely large in size.

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Jan 16, 2012
  • Length: 12:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: BBQ Inferno, from Flickr user Frederic Poirot.
In this episode, a celebration of meat: segments on an all-natural meat tenderizer, BBQ'ed carcinogens, and the history of steak.

Bought by KPIK-LP and WTJU


  • Added: Jan 16, 2012
  • Length: 11:55
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Scrooge and his third visitor. Illustration by John Leech, 1843.
In this episode we are visited by the ghosts of chemistry's past, present, and future, who teach us about Greek fire, red sludge, and the future of...

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Jan 16, 2012
  • Length: 13:46
  • Purchases: 1
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In this episode we learn about the history and future of nuclear power, in the U.S. and abroad.

  • Added: Jan 16, 2012
  • Length: 11:12
Caption: George Washington Carver., Credit:  Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
In honor of Black History Month, we reveal the lesser known accomplishments of George Washington Carver, and also pull from our oral history collec...

Bought by WKSU, Radio Catskill, and WETD


  • Added: Jan 16, 2012
  • Length: 11:57
  • Purchases: 3
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Trick or treat! On this episode of Distillations we give you a taste of both. First, try to choke back our explanation of a Dutch candy that featur...

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Jan 16, 2012
  • Length: 13:16
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: This printer’s mark shows three putti holding a harp and a compass, combining the measure and tone of music with the precision of mathematics. Title page detail from Francesco Algarotti's Dialoghi sopra la luce, i colori e l'attrazione... , Credit: Image courtesy of the Roy G. Neville Historical Chemical Library, Othmer Library of Chemical History, Chemical Heritage Foundation.
On this episode of Distillations we investigate if there's science behind the sweet sounds of a Stradivari violin and learn how chemistry influence...

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Dec 11, 2011
  • Length: 17:14
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Host Gabriel Spitzer and producer Michael De Bonis, Credit: (WBEZ/Andrew Gill)
This science special is perfect for your holiday programming needs. We've gathered our favorite segments from 2011 and gift-wrapped them in this ho...

Bought by KBRP Community Radio


  • Added: Dec 07, 2011
  • Length: 53:59
  • Purchases: 1
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We remember the legacy of the Tevatron, the particle collider that was shut down in September of 2011.

Bought by KUT and WRST-FM Oshkosh


  • Added: Sep 30, 2011
  • Length: 08:24
  • Purchases: 2