Chemistry is everywhere. From cosmetics and the clothes we wear to life-saving medicines and kitchen experiments, chemical processes are all around us, defining our interactions with the world we live in.

In this episode, Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu joins Professor Helen Czerski to discuss how chemistry shapes our understanding of the world. Their conversation explores our complex relationship with plastics; the fact that synthetic products are not always harmful and natural ones not always safe; and the ways machine learning could transform chemical testing and revolutionise the development of new medicines.

Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu is President of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. She is the author of Chain Reaction: The Wondrous Chemistry of Everyday Life.

Professor Helen Czerski is a British physicist, oceanographer, and broadcaster.

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