PODCAST · science
The chemical breakdown & Chemistry in its element
by Chemistry World
The chemical breakdown is your biweekly source of the latest chemistry news, featuring discussions by our Chemistry World writers on the most exciting announcements and innovations in the field.Plus the full archive of Chemistry in its element – the audio tour of the periodic table and beyond.From Chemistry World, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Episodes
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Waterproof white inspired by nature & low-stakes mistakes | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week we discuss a new light-controlled technique that creates structural color and water repellent properties in polymer films and discuss our low-stakes mistakes with Mason Wakley and Frankie Macpherson. What do lotus leaves and plastic sheets have in common? We discuss how structural…
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Nobel prize in chemistry 2026: predictions | The chemical breakdown podcast
It's Nobel season again! And we're doing something a little different here on The chemical breakdown. Instead of our usual stories, in this episode we are turning the microphone to speculation and discussing who we think will be taking home the chemistry Nobel prize this year with Jamie Durrani…
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Drugging the 'undruggable' cancer proteins & conserving the Bayeux Tapestry | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week, we explore how molecular glues have revolutionized how we treat previously 'undruggable' cancers and explore how modern scientific techniques are teasing apart the mysteries of one of the most iconic historical artefacts with Phillip Broadwith and Neil Withers. A ground-breaking new…
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Advances in CAR-T cancer therapy & carbon materials' hidden defects | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week, we discuss a study showing promise in applying CAR-T immunotherapy in bladder cancer tumours and breakdown how scientists have uncovered spectral signatures previously misassigned in carbon materials – with Frankie Macpherson and Mason Wakley. CAR-T therapy has been a game changer for...
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UK science department abolished & Ireland's crumbling concrete | The chemical breakdown podcast
In this episode, we discuss the changes to science policy made by the new UK prime minister and breakdown the chemistry behind crumbling concrete in Ireland. On July 21, new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham abolished the government's department of science and absorbing its functions into the…
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Thermo Fisher antibody data manipulation & the shrinking chemical recycling industry | The chemical breakdown podcast
In this episode, we breakdown the controversy behind a collection of altered images in the online catalogue of one of the largest laboratory suppliers, and discuss the complexity behind chemical recycling of plastics with Frankie Macpherson and Phillip Broadwith. Multinational laboratory supplier...
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50 years after Seveso & changing the way we separate hydrocarbons | The chemical breakdown podcast
In this episode, we reflect on the lessons learned and the impacts of the Seveso chemical disaster of 1976, and discuss the latest membrane materials that could slash the energy required to refine crude oil with Jamie Durrani and Mason Wakley. Fifty years ago, a major accident at an Italian...
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An update on the Strait of Hormuz & potential explosives at an Antarctic base | The chemical breakdown podcast
In this episode, we bring the latest from the recent temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and discuss the presence of potential explosives at the historic Antarctic bases of explorers Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott with Phillip Broadwith and Frances Briggs. The US and Iran have…
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A warning for US science & wool's chemical versatility | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week, we discuss the latest challenges facing US science outlined by president of the US National Academy of Sciences Marcia McNutt in her outgoing address as well as the unique chemistry underpinning wool's incredible properties with Neil Withers and Rebecca Trager. Marcia McNutt gave her...
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Click chemistry marks 25 years & covalent bonding in the actinides | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week, we look back at how far click chemistry has come in the last 25 years and discuss the strange bonding behaviour of some of the largest elements on the periodic table with Mason Wakley and Frances Briggs. It started as a review paper in 2001 that has since been cited almost 20,000…
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Quantum computing & a mysterious contaminant in microplastics research | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week, we discuss the latest milestone in quantum computational modelling and reveal the common laboratory item causing strange readings in microplastics research with Frankie Macpherson and Patrick Walter. A new hybrid workflow involving two IBM quantum computers and two powerful...
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Battery week 2026: The EV cathode race & battery-recycling | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week, we are celebrating Chemistry World's Battery Week with a special battery-themed episode! We discuss the race between cathode materials for electric vehicles and a new photocatalyst capable of turning plastic waste into hydrogen and value-added chemicals, with Neil Withers and Patrick...
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Vanadium-based medicines & sustainable labs | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week, we discuss vanadium's potential in the medical field and the changes you can make in our lab to reduce your carbon footprint, with Jennifer Newton and Emma Pewsey. Many are familiar with vanadium's role in metal production, but did you know that it has a history of research as a...
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Inert materials & the Mary Celeste | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week, we discuss how to ensure experimental instruments are truly inert and chemistry's answer to the fate of the Mary Celeste, with Phillip Broadwith and Mason Wakley. A new study has demonstrated how unexpected results can arise from experiments using seemingly inert materials. How do we...
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The two states of water & science sleuths | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week, we discuss the peculiarities of water's behaviour and how science sleuths are fighting disinformation with Philip Robinson and Emma Pewsey. A recent study from researchers at Stockholm University has found the existence of a critical point in supercooled water, which could prove the...
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Atomic radii & synthetic food dyes | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week, we discuss team discuss the boundaries of the atom and breakdown the US's plan to eliminate synthetic food dyes with Jennifer Newton and Phillip Broadwith. The atomic radius of an atom is a concept we are taught from early in our chemistry careers, but for such an important value its...
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AAAS annual meeting & plasma chemistry | The chemical breakdown podcast
This week, we discuss reflections from this year's American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting and the latest advances in plasma chemistry with Rebecca Trager and Mason Wakley. The annual meeting of the AAAS kicked off in Phoenix, on the heels of the recent minibus...
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AlphaGenome & the RNA world hypothesis | The chemical breakdown podcast
Welcome to our latest podcast series, The chemical breakdown. Each week, we dive deeper into two stories we've covered here at Chemistry World, providing insight into the facts, why you should care, and what it means for the chemistry community. We also give you that week's headlines to keep you…
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Batteries: The bedrock of the sustainable future
In this special podcast produced in partnership with Waters Corporation, find out how understanding the chemistry and materials that go into batteries marks the first step towards making them safer and increasing energy density, and unlocks new opportunities for reuse and recycling
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Cinnamaldehyde: Chemistry in its element
How did a tree bark from Sri Lanka become one of the essential flavours of the festive season? We explore the history of cinnamon and the compound that gives it its distinctive taste and aroma
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Azidoazide azide: Chemistry in its element
A compound so explosively unstable that nobody has been able to measure how sensitive it is without it, well, exploding.
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Ochre: Chemistry in its element
How one of mankind's oldest pigments helped shepherds secure their sheep and inspired one of the most popular songs of the twentieth century
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Maltodextrin: Chemistry in its element
A sweet compound that provides ample energy for extreme endurance events – find out how maltodextrin helped Anna Ploszajski swim the English channel
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Ionic liquids: Chemistry in its element
Liquid salts, ionic melts, fused salts, or ionic glasses – call them what you like, these much-hyped solvents show great promise. Katrina Krämer speaks to chemical engineer Jason Bara about ionic liquids.
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Chlorhexidine: Chemistry in its element
An antimicrobial compound that kills bacteria and viruses quickly – found in some of the most colourful antiseptic solutions
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Asparagusic acid: Chemistry in its element
Does asparagus give you foul-smelling urine? Helen Arney investigates asparagusic acid, and the lavatorial genetic lottery that controls whether or not you can smell its distinctive aroma
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Glycyrrhizic acid: Chemistry in its element
A sweet treat with a deadly trick for Halloween – glycyrrhizic acid, or glycyrrhizin, is found in black liquorice and sweeter than sucrose, but can cause heart problems and even prove fatal if consumed in excess
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Propofol: Chemistry in its element
Also known as 'milk of amnesia', propofol helps to prevent perception of pain in surgery – just don't forget its dangerous side
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Sofosbuvir: Chemistry in its element
Hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir made waves when first launched – quicker to work and with fewer side effects than existing drugs, but it came with a hefty price tag
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Bedaquiline: Chemistry in its element
Meera Senthilingam makes a welcome return to the podcast with a drug that gives hope to the many sufferers of drug-resistant TB – still one of the world's biggest killers
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Oxybenzone: Chemistry in its element
This summer's extreme weather prompts Katrina Krämer to investigate the history of sunblock and the ingredient blamed by some for bleaching coral reefs
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Gypsum: Chemistry in its element
From Lavoisier's experiments with plaster of paris to the the 'Sistine Chapel of crystals' in Mexico, Mike Freemantle explores the history of gypsum
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Favipiravir: Chemistry in its element
Originally developed to treat flu and marketed in Japan as Avigan, promising Covid-19 trial results have seen countries stockpiling this medication by the millions
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Tannic acid: Chemistry in its element
Tannic acid in green acorns can kill wild animals and livestock, but in this podcast Mike Freemantle makes plain that you can prevent poisoning with pannage pigs.
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Ractopamine: Chemistry in its element
Common in the US but banned in the EU, this animal feed additive makes for muscular pigs and beefy international trade disputes.
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Hexasilabenzene: Chemistry in its element
Brian Clegg discovers what a six-membered silicon ring can tell us about alien life
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2AP (2-acetyl-1-pyrroline): Chemistry in its element
Frances Addison on the aromatic compound found in both buttered popcorn and the bearcat's scent glands, and responsible for the distinctive smell of both
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Dexamethasone: Chemistry in its element
News that this cheap, ubiquitous steroid drug may reduce deaths in Covid-19 cases has been greeted with cautious optimism. Ben Valsler looks at the history of dexamethasone and the promising Recovery trial results.
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Porcelain: Chemistry in its element
Mike Freemantle on the art, history and science of this delicate, translucent ceramic material
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Feldspar: Chemistry in its element
Brian Clegg introduces the humble mineral that delights both astronomers and archaeologists
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Cimetidine: Chemistry in its element
Mike Freemantle introduces the peptic ulcer treatment cimetidine, which – as Tagamet – became the first 'blockbuster' drug
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Fexinidazole: Chemistry in its element
The World Health Organisation hope to eradicate human African trypanosomiasis, better known as sleeping sickness, within our lifetimes. Jamie Durrani looks at a drug that may make it possible.
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DMT – Dimethyltryptamine: Chemistry in its element
Georgia Mills investigates the psychoactive found in ayahuasca that may mirror near-death experiences
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Chlorine dioxide: Chemistry in its element
Katrina Krämer investigates how industrial-strength bleach became promoted as 'miracle mineral supplement' – a supposed 'cure' for autism, cancer and even Covid-19.
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Oleic acid: Chemistry in its element
Brian Clegg discovers the link between olive oil, dandruff and stained glass windows.
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Interferon beta: Chemistry in its element
An immune-modulating compound used to reduce the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and now showing potential against coronaviruses, interferon beta is the last of the WHO's Covid-19 Solidarity trial candidates to get the Chemistry in its element treatment.
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Ritonavir: Chemistry in its element
The unexplained appearance and dramatic spread of a new form of HIV drug ritonavir hurt patients and cost its makers almost $250 million. Alexander Whiteside on the chemical phenomenon that links Irving Langmuir, H G Wells and Kurt Vonnegut.
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Lopinavir: Chemistry in its element
Ben Valsler explains how a drug that prevents HIV from donning its protective 'coat' now makes up one arm of the World Health Organisation's Covid-19 trial
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Remdesivir: Chemistry in its element
Will new clinical trials for Covid-19 give remdesivir a second chance?Ben Valsler introduces the broad-spectrum antiviral that didn't quite make it as the Ebola drug it was originally planned to be.
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Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine: Chemistry in its element
Old drugs sometimes find their way back into the news. The Covid-19 pandemic – and some very high profile backing – has led to malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine hitting the headlines worldwide. Ben Valsler explores both the history and the hype.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The chemical breakdown is your biweekly source of the latest chemistry news, featuring discussions by our Chemistry World writers on the most exciting announcements and innovations in the field.Plus the full archive of Chemistry in its element – the audio tour of the periodic table and beyond.From Chemistry World, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
HOSTED BY
Chemistry World
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The chemical breakdown is your biweekly source of the latest chemistry news, featuring discussions by our Chemistry World writers on the most exciting announcements and innovations in the field.Plus the full archive of Chemistry in its element – the audio tour of the periodic table and beyond.From...
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