

Chemistry For Your Life
Melissa and Jam, Bleav
A podcast that helps you understand the fascinating chemistry hidden in your everyday life.
Have you ever wondered why onions make you cry? Or how soap gets your hands clean? What really is margarine, or why do trees change colors in the fall? Melissa is a chemist, and to answer these questions she started a podcast, called Chemistry for your life!
In each episode Melissa explains the chemistry behind one of life’s mysteries to Jam, who is definitely not a chemist, but she explains it in a way that is easy to understand, and totally fascinating.
If you’re someone who loves learning new things, or who wonders about the way the world works, then give us a listen.
Have you ever wondered why onions make you cry? Or how soap gets your hands clean? What really is margarine, or why do trees change colors in the fall? Melissa is a chemist, and to answer these questions she started a podcast, called Chemistry for your life!
In each episode Melissa explains the chemistry behind one of life’s mysteries to Jam, who is definitely not a chemist, but she explains it in a way that is easy to understand, and totally fascinating.
If you’re someone who loves learning new things, or who wonders about the way the world works, then give us a listen.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 20, 2023 • 43min
What is butter?
#159
Can you spread it? Can you melt it? Can you bake with it? Can you cook things with it? You butter believe it! But what is butter? Or rather, whatter is butter? How do we turn cream into butter, and what is happening at the molecular level? Let's find out.
References from this episode
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/they_did_what_to_your_milk
https://www.compoundchem.com/2018/06/02/milk/
Biochemistry, 4th edition - Garrett & Grisham
https://edu.rsc.org/primary-science/how-to-make-butter/4011889.article
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6836175/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34065288/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814612009363
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville
J0HNTR0Y
Jeannette Napoleon
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Sarah Moar
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Nelly Silva
Venus Rebholz
Lyn Stubblefield
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Emerson Woodhall
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Bri McAllister
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Apr 13, 2023 • 46min
Bonus: How does lightning striking sand create glass? (and other questions)
Bonus Episode: Question and Response 42
In this month's bonus episode, Melissa and Jam respond to comments and questions about freezing point depression, super-heated water, what salt does to yeast, video games, and more!
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville
J0HNTR0Y
Jeannette Napoleon
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Sarah Moar
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Nelly Silva
Venus Rebholz
Lyn Stubblefield
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Emerson Woodhall
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Bri McAllister
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Apr 6, 2023 • 44min
How do gemstones get their color?
#158
Gemstones come in all sorts of colors, but how do they get them? Are different stones super different at the molecular level? How do these different colors happen naturally? And how can those colors be replicated in lab-made gemstones? Let's get into it.
References from this episode
https://www.acs.org/education/students/highschool/chemistryclubs/activities/jewelry-science.html
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville
J0HNTR0Y
Jeannette Napoleon
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Sarah Moar
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Nelly Silva
Venus Rebholz
Lyn Stubblefield
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Emerson Woodhall
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Bri McAllister
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Mar 30, 2023 • 25min
What is silver tarnish?
#073 Rebroadcast
Well if you haven't experienced silver tarnish yourself, then you've almost certainly heard people complain about it. Can anything last? These sparkly treasures we collect and cherish, are they but temporary sparkles, doomed to a fate of tarnish? Or is there a way out? Also what is tarnish? Thankfully in this case, these philosophical questions actually have a chemistry explanation. So let's get into it.
References from this episode
https://chicagoacs.org/articles/176
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ed077p328A#:~:text=In%20air%2C%20a%20silver%20object,(1).
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville
J0HNTR0Y
Jeannette Napoleon
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Sarah Moar
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Nelly Silva
Venus Rebholz
Lyn Stubblefield
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Emerson Woodhall
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Bri McAllister
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Mar 23, 2023 • 35min
How do smoke alarms detect smoke? (part 2)
#157
Part Two: When smoke alarms aren't beeping at us to replace their batteries, they are sitting, watching, waiting for the perfect moment, waiting for smoke to happen so they can alert us that a fire may be happening. But how on earth do they detect the presence of smoke? How do they only react to smoke and nothing else? What is going on inside of our little circular, protective friends? Let's find out.
References from this episode
https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Staying-safe/Safety-equipment/Smoke-alarms/Ionization-vs-photoelectric
https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Public-Education/By-topic/Smoke-alarms/Photoelectric-smoke-alarm-chart.ashx
https://www.epa.gov/radtown/americium-ionization-smoke-detectors
https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/sfm/programs-services/Documents/Sprinkler%20Applications/HowSprinklersWork.pdf
https://www.nist.gov/how-do-you-measure-it/how-do-smoke-detectors-work#:~:text=Smoke%20alarms%20detect%20fires%20by,to%20safety%20and%20call%20911.
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville
J0HNTR0Y
Jeannette Napoleon
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Sarah Moar
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Nelly Silva
Venus Rebholz
Lyn Stubblefield
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Emerson Woodhall
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Bri McAllister
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Mar 16, 2023 • 31min
Bonus: Why do cucumbers upset people's stomachs? (and other questions)
Bonus Episode: Question and Response 41
In this month's bonus episode, Melissa and Jam respond to comments and questions about glass cookware, freezing point depression, digesting cucumbers, pasta staining Tupperware, hotdogs being sandwiches, and more!
References from this episode:
https://www.acs.org/molecule-of-the-week/archive/c/cucurbitacins.html#:~:text=Cucurbitacins%20are%20tetracyclic%20terpenes%20with%2Cemetics%2C%20narcotics%2C%20and%20antimalarials
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville
J0HNTR0Y
Jeannette Napoleon
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Sarah Moar
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Nelly Silva
Venus Rebholz
Lyn Stubblefield
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Emerson Woodhall
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Bri McAllister
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Mar 9, 2023 • 39min
How do smoke alarms detect smoke? (part 1)
#156
When smoke alarms aren't beeping at us to replace their batteries, they are sitting, watching, waiting for the perfect moment, waiting for smoke to happen so they can alert us that a fire may be happening. But how on earth do they detect the presence of smoke? How do they only react to smoke and nothing else? What is going on inside of our little circular, protective friends? Let's find out.
References from this episode
https://www.nist.gov/how-do-you-measure-it/how-do-smoke-detectors-work#:~:text=Smoke%20alarms%20detect%20fires%20by,to%20safety%20and%20call%20911.
https://www.compoundchem.com/2019/11/20/iypt095-americium/
https://cen.acs.org/materials/Chemistry-Pictures-Americium-beautiful/99/web/2021/07
https://www.epa.gov/radtown/americium-ionization-smoke-detectors
https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Staying-safe/Safety-equipment/Smoke-alarms/Ionization-vs-photoelectric
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville
J0HNTR0Y
Jeannette Napoleon
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Sarah Moar
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Nelly Silva
Venus Rebholz
Lyn Stubblefield
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Emerson Woodhall
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Bri McAllister
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Watch our episodes on YouTube
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Mar 2, 2023 • 37min
Baking soda and baking powder: What's the difference?
#009 Rebroadcast
Baking powder? Baking soda? I mean they're both white powders with the word "baking" in it. How different could they be? Well, one can cause miniature kitchen volcanos and the other does what? Listen this week as Melissa and Jam talk about acids, bases, baking soda, baking powder, and how they can make all the difference in your busy life as a single parent of three.
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville
J0HNTR0Y
Jeannette Napoleon
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Sarah Moar
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Nelly Silva
Venus Rebholz
Lyn Stubblefield
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Emerson Woodhall
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Bri McAllister
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Feb 23, 2023 • 47min
How does baking soda eliminate odors?
#155
So baking soda, do you bake it? Can you drink it? What's the deal? And specifically for the purposes of this episode, how does it eliminate odors? You may have heard of the idea of placing baking soda in your fridge to eliminate lingering odors, does that work? If so how? Let's bake this soda.
References from this episode
https://axial.acs.org/2018/08/03/the-science-of-baking-soda/
https://youtu.be/85diRmuk-ow
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville
J0HNTR0Y
Jeannette Napoleon
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Sarah Moar
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Nelly Silva
Venus Rebholz
Lyn Stubblefield
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Emerson Woodhall
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Bri McAllister
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.

Feb 16, 2023 • 30min
Bonus: Are candles toxic? (and other questions)
Bonus Episode: Question and Response 40
In this month's bonus episode, Melissa and Jam respond to comments and questions about smells, candles, vinegar, milk, macromolecules, and more!
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Ciara Linville
J0HNTR0Y
Jeannette Napoleon
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Sarah Moar
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Nelly Silva
Venus Rebholz
Lyn Stubblefield
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Emerson Woodhall
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Bri McAllister
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Want to start your own podcast? Use Transistor and you'll have the best podcast platform available. We use it and we are totally in love with it.