Tiny Matters
Multitude
Science shapes every part of our lives, but so much of its influence is overlooked or buried in the past. Tiny Matters is an award-winning podcast about tiny things — from molecules to microbes — that have a big and often surprising impact on society. From deadly diseases to forensic toxicology to the search for extraterrestrial life, hosts and former scientists Sam Jones and Deboki Chakravarti embrace the awe and messiness of science and its place in history and today, and how it could impact our world’s future. New episodes every Wednesday. Tiny Matters is brought to you by the American Chemical Society, a non-profit scientific organization based in Washington, D.C., and is produced by Multitude.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 18, 2022 • 34min
Body farms: Anthropological research facilities are teaching us about life after death
When it comes to human decomposition, scientists have a pretty good understanding of what happens shortly after you die. But what happens months or years later is mostly a mystery, and that makes it hard for law enforcement to figure out how a person died and, ultimately, provide answers to loved ones of the deceased. That’s where anthropological research facilities (a.k.a. body farms) come in. Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories here and here. More on the MOVE bombing. Episode transcripts 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.
May 4, 2022 • 38min
What happened to Zika virus and the families affected?
In 2016, Zika virus dominated the news, but today it seems to have dropped out of public consciousness. Zika is still out there and thousands of children and their families continue to be impacted by its devastating effects. In this episode, you’ll hear from a scientist who's been working with children with congenital Zika syndrome since the start of the outbreak, as well as from a journalist who has spoken with families who are feeling left behind. Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories here and here. Episode transcripts at acs.org/tinymattersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Apr 20, 2022 • 33min
Sugar: The addiction debate and an ancient mutation that’s killing us today
We humans eat a heck of a lot of sugar. So, how do our bodies process it? And why is eating so much of it so bad? In this episode, we tackle those questions, plus the ‘is sugar addictive?’ debate, and talk about how a DNA mutation that helped our ancestors survive millions of years ago is making life in today’s sugar-saturated world all the more dangerous. Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories here and here. Episode transcripts at acs.org/tinymattersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Apr 6, 2022 • 26min
Bioterrorism: Weaponizing science has been around for centuries
Science, when it falls into the wrong hands, can do a whole lot more harm than good. This episode is about the historical use of biological agents, the science behind what makes them dangerous, and how researchers are developing drugs to save people who have been exposed to them. Episode transcripts at acs.org/tinymattersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mar 23, 2022 • 24min
What is a memory? And how is it stored?
Have you ever had such a clear memory of something and then found out it never happened? We tend to think of a memory as a photo in an album that we can open up and access whenever we want. But it’s more like the pieces of a photo scattered in a stack of papers and you might only be able to access a couple of those pieces at a time. In this week's episode we're asking, "How do our brains form and store memories? And why do we lose them?" Episode transcripts at acs.org/tinymattersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mar 16, 2022 • 50min
Q&A with Tiny Matters hosts Sam Jones and Deboki Chakravarti
Bonus, bonus! This week on Tiny Matters, get ready to learn a bit about hosts Sam and Deboki. Who are they? Why do they love talking about science so much? Who are their science writing idols? Are they self-conscious about what their voices sound like? Answers to those need-to-know/certainly do-not-need-to-know questions are coming your way! Episode transcripts at acs.org/tinymattersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mar 9, 2022 • 22min
Typhoid fever didn't end with Typhoid Mary
Typhoid fever is a disease that, in the United States, is synonymous with Mary Mallon—a woman better known as Typhoid Mary, who infected New Yorkers with typhoid in the early 1900s. But typhoid is not just a thing of the past. Across the globe every single year, it kills over 100,000 people. And over the last few years, even in countries like the US where typhoid hasn’t been a concern for generations, the number of reported cases is climbing. So why is typhoid making a comeback? And what are scientists doing to stop it? Episode transcripts 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.
Feb 23, 2022 • 25min
Could probiotics save coral reefs?
Pollution, disease, and climate change are pushing the limits of what coral reefs can withstand. But, despite those harsh conditions, some corals are thriving. Scientists are trying to understand how that's possible, and what they're learning could save these incredible ecosystems from extinction. Episode transcripts at acs.org/tinymattersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Feb 9, 2022 • 23min
Why don't we have an HIV vaccine?
We had a vaccine for COVID-19 within a year of identifying the virus that causes it, yet still don’t have one for HIV after 40 years of research. Why is that? On this week’s episode, Sam and Deboki cover HIV’s history and spread, how it causes AIDS, and the tiny things it does that have allowed it to evade potential vaccines for decades. Episode transcripts at acs.org/tinymattersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jan 26, 2022 • 23min
Dinosaur fossils: Informing Jurassic Park, inspiring new tech, and helping us predict Earth's future
This week on Tiny Matters, we’re talking about dinosaurs: the ancient beasts that died off 65 million years ago but whose remains still captivate us today. Fossils are helping scientists piece together how dinos and other extinct creatures looked and behaved. That info isn’t just inspiring movies like Jurassic Park—it’s helping researchers predict Earth’s future and could even lead to more sustainable tech. Episode transcripts at acs.org/tinymattersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
