Podcast
Tiny Matters
Hosted by Multitude · EN
Science shapes every facet of our lives, but so much of its influence is overlooked or buried in the past. Tiny Matters is an award-winning science podcast from the American Chemical Society about tiny things — from molecules to microbes — that have a big and often surprising impact on society. Every Wednesday, hosts and former scientists Sam Jones and Deboki Chakravarti cover topics from infectious disease to the search for extraterrestrial life, embracing the awe and messiness of science today and throughout history, asking questions like, "how was IVF invented?," "what do glaciers tell us about Earth’s ancient past?," and "why is smallpox the only human infectious disease we’ve eradicated?" New episodes every Wednesday wherever you listen to podcasts.
26episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
[BONUS] The ‘Plankton Manifesto’ and the birth of MRI: Tiny Show and Tell Us #48
1w ago00:15:37Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we dive into the Plankton Manifesto and why these drifting, diverse organisms are so essential to life on Earth. Then we trace the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) roots of MRI, through a listener’s personal experience as a patient and chemist.Check out This Guy Sucked here or wherever you get podcasts!We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →When movies caught fire: The history and science of nitrocellulose film
2w ago00:36:27Tap to summarizeDid you know that over 75% of silent films have disappeared? The culprit: highly flammable film! We open this episode of Tiny Matters with a poker bet, a decades long grudge, and a garage full of film before we hop into the rise of nitrate (nitrocellulose) film and how it shaped film history. We chat with Robert Shanebrook, who literally wrote the book on Kodak film, and with collection manager Deborah Stoiber at the George Eastman Museum, the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the oldest film archives. We talk about the science of preserving and conserving the nitrate films that have survived, and why it’s so important for keeping cultural memories alive. Did you know that ‘George Eastman, Kodak, and the Birth of Consumer Photography’ is a National Historic Chemical Landmark? Read more about it here. Check out Wow if True here or wherever you listen to podcasts!We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →[BONUS] Von Willebrand disease and how old is the air in your lungs?: Tiny Show and Tell Us #47
3w ago00:18:44Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, a listener asks: Could we still be carrying air from our very first breath? Deboki unpacks residual lung volume, gas exchange, and a forensic technique used to determine whether or not someone drowned. Then, the conversation turns to women’s health and bleeding disorders after a listener shares their experience living with Von Willebrand disease — the most common bleeding disorder. Sam explores what the condition is, how it was discovered, why it disproportionately affects women, and how normalizing heavy, painful periods is not just frustrating but has serious medical consequences.Check out Pale Blue Pod here or wherever you get podcasts!We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →‘Clean beauty’: Cosmetics, chemophobia and the anti-vax pipeline
4w ago00:34:34Tap to summarizeIn the early 1930s, a “new and improved” eyelash dye called Lash Lure blinded more than a dozen women, ultimately forcing the FDA to pass new regulations on cosmetics. Nearly a century later, beauty remains far safer than it was in the past, but you could argue that beauty marketing has become far more insidious, with vague language and chemophobic claims to push consumers toward products. In this episode, we chat with cosmetic chemist and science communicator Michelle Wong to unpack the booming “clean beauty” industry, including a conversation about parabens and fragrances and how chemophobia (a fear of chemicals) early in life can become a gateway to broader anti-science thinking, including anti-vax. You can follow Michelle at @LabMuffinBeautyScience on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube where she makes longer explainer videos. Check out Wow if True here or wherever you listen to podcasts!We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →[BONUS] The Chemists’ Wars: The Origin Story of Chemistry
May 1100:37:56Tap to summarizeHave you checked out ACS' new podcast Chain Reaction? Today we're bringing Tiny Matters listeners one of our favorite episodes! Chemistry doesn’t just shape conflict — conflict shapes chemistry. And at no time in history is that more apparent than during the two world wars. Historian Alison McManus recounts how the race to weaponize toxic gases like chlorine and mustard gas transformed chemists into key military players, spurred industrial growth, and ignited an international arms race during WWI. However, some battles of the world wars weren’t waged against an opposing army, but against diseases that soldiers caught while in combat. Journalist Karen Masterson reveals how WWII triggered a massive scientific mobilization — a secret, high‑stakes search for synthetic quinine and antimalarial drugs that would ultimately help seed the modern pharmaceutical industry. Packed with espionage, innovation, and ethical dilemmas, this episode uncovers how war accelerated chemistry in ways that still shape science today.Available wherever you get podcasts! Transcripts and episode sources at acs.org/chainreactionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →[BONUS] Antarctic dinosaurs, blood restriction therapy, and an HIV prevention breakthrough: Tiny Show and Tell Us #46
May 600:41:32Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we welcome our first‑ever guest, podcast producer and dinosaur enthusiast Steven Ray Morris. Together, we dive into three wildly different stories. First, we explore a major advancement in HIV prevention: a newly approved twice‑yearly injectable drug called Lenacapavir. We chat about how it works, why it’s a huge shift from daily pills or monthly shots, and the challenges around global access. Next, Steven takes us deep into the (mostly chilly) past — to Antarctic dinosaurs! What scientists are learning about these dinos is shifting what we think we know about where, and how, dinosaurs lived. Finally, Deboki breaks down the science behind blood flow restriction therapy, a rehabilitation technique that helps injured muscles rebuild strength using lighter loads. As always, Tiny Matters is not giving anything that could be interpreted as medical advice! Deboki also reveals she’s into weightlifting. So yeah, don’t mess with Deboki! You can find Steven and See Jurassic Right lots of places! Including Instagram, Apple Podcasts, Patreon and Etsy.Check out Spirits here or wherever you get podcasts!We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Deep-sea mining: Environmental uncertainty, ‘Law of the Sea,’ and shark potatoes
Apr 2900:43:35Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we dive into the murky, high‑stakes world of deep-sea mining — the practice of extracting valuable metals from the ocean floor. Deep-sea mining has been “just around the corner” for decades. So what’s the holdup? With the help of deep-sea ecologist Andrew Thaler and oceanography researcher Michael Dowd, we discuss what makes the deep ocean such a challenging place to operate, and unpack why polymetallic nodules have drawn so much interest, and why removing them could permanently alter ecosystems we barely understand. The episode also looks ahead, asking whether deep-sea mining is even necessary and what it could mean not just for Earth’s oceans, but for future resource extraction in places like Antarctica and the Moon. It’s a story about science, but also Victorian research ships, CIA cover stories, “shark potatoes,” and vast, untouched ecosystems. Check out Dreaming Against the Machine here or wherever you listen to podcasts.Send us your science facts, news, or other stories for a chance to be featured on an upcoming Tiny Show and Tell Us bonus episode. And, while you're at it, subscribe to our newsletter!All Tiny Matters transcripts and references are available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →[BONUS] The history of Turner Syndrome and engineering food for bees: Tiny Show and Tell Us #45
Apr 2200:15:08Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we trace the history of Turner Syndrome — from early clinical observations to the discovery of its chromosomal cause — highlighting how scientists began connecting symptoms to genetics long before DNA was fully understood. Then we follow up on a listener note about lab safety by explaining, at a molecular level, why dimethylmercury and prions are so dangerous to the human body. Ending on something more hopeful, we explore new research showing how engineered yeast could help give honey bees the nutrients they need to thrive. Team bees!Check out American Medieval here or wherever you listen to podcasts!We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →How soap shaped civilizations — and ‘ruined’ famous art
Apr 1500:30:25Tap to summarizeIn the heart of The Hague, Netherlands, the museum Mauritshuis displays some of the world’s most iconic art in its Royal Cabinet of Paintings, including ones from Rembrandt and Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. But there’s another oil painting by Vermeer that is also quite famous, called View of Delft — it's of his hometown, created around 1660.The painting is a cityscape — the only one Vermeer ever painted — a snapshot of the Dutch city of Delft from across the Schie River. In it you see the city’s beautiful architecture on full display, including buildings with striking red roofs. Well, at least they used to be red. Today they have a pink-ish hue and if you looked at the painting up close, you’d see that they are covered in white spots. And what may come as a surprise is that they are, in fact, soap. In today’s episode of Tiny Matters, we’re going to talk about the weird chemistry of soap, what ancient soap was like, and why scientists are finding soap in old oil paintings.Send us your science facts, news, or other stories for a chance to be featured on an upcoming Tiny Show and Tell Us bonus episode. And, while you're at it, subscribe to our newsletter!All Tiny Matters transcripts and references are available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →[BONUS] Camel antibodies and colorful Greco-Roman statues: Tiny Show and Tell Us #44
Apr 800:16:12Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore the strange world of camelid antibodies—tiny, heavy-chain-only immune molecules that turned out to be incredibly useful for research and medicine. Then we chat about archaeochemistry and how pristine white Greco-Roman statues were once "garishly" painted. Using modern chemical techniques, scientists are revealing traces of vivid pigments like Egyptian blue. But how definitive are these reconstructions? Drama!Check out Wow if True here or wherever you listen to podcasts!We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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