Italy – The Episodic Table of Elements

43. Technetium: Naturally Synthetic

August 12, 2019

6:00 am

Leave a comment on 43. Technetium: Naturally Synthetic

Carlo Perrier, Dmitri Mendeleev, Emilio Segre, Ernest Lawrence, Etymology, Fission, Gabon, Germany, Ida Tacke, Italy, Medicine, Nuclear Power, Oklo, Otto Berg, Particle Accelerators, Synthetic Elements, Walter Noddack

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

It’s only after we gave up searching for this element that we found it out in the universe.

Continue reading “43. Technetium: Naturally Synthetic” →

33. Arsenic: It’s Not Easy Being Green

March 11, 2019

6:00 am

Leave a comment on 33. Arsenic: It’s Not Easy Being Green

Adenosine Triphosphate, Agatha Christie, Aqua Tofana, Botox, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Crime, Giulia Tofana, Italy, Literature, Napoleon, Paracelsus, Pharmaceuticals, Poisons, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Considering how synonymous this episode’s element is with “poison,” it’s astounding how eager people have historically been to ingest the stuff.

Continue reading “33. Arsenic: It’s Not Easy Being Green” →

30. Zinc: The Lecture Circuit

January 28, 2019

6:00 am

1 Comment on 30. Zinc: The Lecture Circuit

Alessandro Volta, American Civil War, Andrew Ure, Benjamin Franklin, Biology, Electricity, Electrolysis, Frankenstein, George Forster, Giovanni Aldini, India, Italy, Karl Weinhold, Literature, Lucia Galvani, Luigi Galvani, Mary Shelley, Pharmaceuticals, Primo Levi, Sculpture, Women In Science

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Learn about some of Italy’s most renowned chemists and how they inspired a most gruesome quest to conquer death.

Continue reading “30. Zinc: The Lecture Circuit” →

20. Calcium: Stone and Bone

September 10, 2018

6:00 am

1 Comment on 20. Calcium: Stone and Bone

Biology, Cliffs of Dover, Concrete, Greece, Illumination, Indonesia, Italy, Michelangelo, Mythology, Pharmaceuticals, Rome, Sculpture, Shakespeare, Theater, Washington DC

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Stories of turning flesh to stone — and vice versa — are common in mythology. With calcium, we see how those same transitions can happen in the real world.

Continue reading “20. Calcium: Stone and Bone” →