Rebroadcast #068

This week we issue a correction, joining other science publications issuing the same correction. That's kind of an obvious answer to the question of "Is science always right?" So in this episode we explore that question, as well as what happens when science isn't right. And why that's NOT a bad thing.

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References from this episode

1. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/reactions/videos/2019/citrus-scent-debunked.html
2. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jfq.12226
3. Chemistry by Julia Burdge

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Can cooking pasta, rice, or bread, and then cooling it down, actually make it healthier? Could yesterday’s leftovers affect your blood sugar differently than a freshly cooked meal, or is this just another nutrition “hack” invented by the internet? Melissa and Jam investigate starch, glucose, insulin, digestion, crystallization, and the surprising chemistry that happens while your food sits in the fridge. Plus, the whole thing somehow turns into a Lord of the Rings battle involving glucose, hobbits, and ents, because of course it does.

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Timestamps

00:00 — Can cooking and cooling starch make it healthier?
03:52 — Why bread, pasta, and rice get a bad reputation
04:36 — Starch: a polymer made from glucose
07:03 — How glucose, insulin, and blood sugar work
09:25 — The internet’s cook-cool-reheat claim
12:14 — What crystallization has to do with leftovers
14:43 — How starch changes as cooked food cools
15:48 — What is resistant starch?
17:20 — Studies on reheated bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes
19:51 — Resistant starch, fiber, and your gut bacteria
21:26 — Can repeated reheating make even more resistant starch?
23:14 — Jam explains resistant starch using Lord of the Rings
30:44 — A free food hack with actual science behind it
34:49 — Melissa and Jam’s favorite starchy meals

References from the Episode:

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Sara Hull
Dog Day Dan
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Ash
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Autoclave
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Scott Beyer
Jessie Reder
J0HNTR0Y
Cullyn R
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Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Venus Rebholz
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon

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What’s actually flowing through the “natural gas” pipes connected to your home—and did we get something wrong in our air-conditioning series? Which careers can an organic chemistry student pursue, how do topical pain-relief gels work, and what could make a successful HIV medication suddenly stop working? Melissa and Jam answer listener questions, revisit past episodes, correct the record, and stumble into a genuinely fascinating pharmaceutical mystery. Plus, could more chemistry history and chemistry-education stories be coming to the podcast?

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Timestamps

00:00 — Another round of listener chemistry questions
02:04 — Correction: methane, propane, and household natural gas
04:01 — How European AC systems handle propane safely
05:47 — Could more chemistry-education episodes be coming?
07:33 — The overlooked women and stories of chemistry
09:20 — What careers involve organic chemistry?
12:20 — A science teacher tackles the chemistry Praxis exam
13:38 — Do apples and human skin use the same protective pigment?
15:22 — Resources for learning organic chemistry
16:32 — How do topical pain-relief gels work?
19:35 — The HIV medication that suddenly stopped working
20:52 — How one crystal can transform an entire batch

References from the Episode:

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J0HNTR0Y
Cullyn R
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Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
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Jacob Taber
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Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon

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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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Timestamps

00:00 — Is red light therapy real or a scam?
03:41 — How light transfers energy to molecules
06:24 — Is red light therapy actually infrared?
08:03 — How deeply can visible light penetrate your skin?
09:34 — What red light may do inside your mitochondria
12:00 — Oxygen transport and other possible mechanisms
13:39 — Could red light trigger collagen production and healing?
16:26 — What scientists know—and still don’t understand
20:45 — Red light, blue light, inflammation, and acne
30:03 — The major problems with current red light research
33:20 — What FDA clearance does—and doesn’t—mean
35:20 — How to evaluate a red light therapy device
40:04 — So, should you buy a red light mask?
44:06 — A new series idea: Is it a scam or is it chemistry?

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
Sara Hull
Dog Day Dan
Bri .
Summer Alden
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Jessie Reder
J0HNTR0Y
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
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Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
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#007 Rebroadcast

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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Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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Thanks to our monthly supporters
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Autoclave
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Scott Beyer
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J0HNTR0Y
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Katrina Barnum-Huckins
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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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Timestamps

00:00 — Celebrating seven years of Chemistry For Your Life
01:01 — Special guest Claire—and a chemistry cookie cake
03:04 — Nearly two million downloads and meeting listeners in real life
06:05 — What has the podcast done that Melissa and Jam never expected?
10:34 — The biggest surprises about making a podcast
16:35 — What has changed most over the past seven years?
18:30 — How the podcast changed Melissa and Jam’s friendship
25:24 — What would their past selves think of the show today?
27:24 — Episodes and guest collaborations that never panned out
35:02 — How has Jam used seven years of chemistry in everyday life?
39:09 — Is Jam still a chemistry layperson?
47:40 — Which chemistry concepts are hardest for Jam to understand?
52:12 — Their favorite things they’ve learned from the podcast
01:04:06 — Where do they hope to take the show next?

References from the Episode:

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Katrina Barnum-Huckins
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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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Timestamps

00:00 — The happier finale to our air-conditioning trilogy
00:37 — What exactly is a swamp cooler?
02:34 — How water can be used as a refrigerant
04:16 — The benefits and drawbacks of evaporative cooling
06:26 — Why air can only hold so much water
08:08 — How much can a swamp cooler lower the temperature?
08:56 — Why swamp coolers only work in certain climates
09:47 — Are refrigerants basically reusable sweat?
12:55 — Jam explains the complete swamp-cooler process
15:45 — Ancient evaporative cooling technology
17:19 — Could swamp coolers affect indoor air quality?
18:40 — An ice-slurry air conditioner designed to relieve the power grid
25:06 — Could underground temperatures heat and cool our homes?

References from the Episode:

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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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Timestamps

00:00 — The chemistry and drama hiding inside refrigerants
02:31 — Is propane an ideal refrigerant?
05:37 — How an AC episode became an eight-hour research rabbit hole
09:57 — What makes a good—and safe—refrigerant?
11:19 — The hazardous chemicals used in early refrigeration
12:08 — The invention of Freon and chlorofluorocarbons
13:18 — How CFCs damage the ozone layer
16:40 — The Montreal Protocol and the next generation of refrigerants
18:08 — Solving ozone depletion while worsening global warming
22:24 — Why isn’t propane widely used in American air conditioners?
25:35 — How US refrigerant regulations differ from international standards
29:02 — The document requesting government protection for synthetic refrigerants
40:42 — What conspiracy theories might actually be true?
50:00 — Coming next: the surprisingly cool science of swamp coolers

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
Sara Hull
Dog Day Dan
Bri .
Summer Alden
Amanda Raymond
Kyle McCray
Justine
Ash
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Julie S.
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Autoclave
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Scott Beyer
Jessie Reder
J0HNTR0Y
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Venus Rebholz
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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