

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

Feb 15, 2021 • 20min
Chemistry at Home: Vinegar and Baking Soda (with Stephanie Ryan Ph.D.)
Bonus Episode: Chemistry at Home 10
We have a very special guest this month, Stephanie Ryan Ph.D. aka @letslearnaboutscience (on Instagram)! Stephanie leads us through some cool experiments you can do at home using vinegar and baking soda.
Be sure to check Stephanie out on Instagram, and look for her book "Let's Learn About Chemistry" wherever you buy your books!
References
Experiments by Stephanie Ryan Ph.D. - Ryan Consulting LLC
How to start a podcast. Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com
And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/
And seriously, we love using Transistor. Check it out to be sure your podcast makes a bang.
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 ★

Feb 11, 2021 • 38min
How do sunglasses protect us?
#082
Wow sunglasses sure are cool. What's the coolest thing about them? Is it how cool they make us look and feel? Or is it the chemistry inside them? We'll let you decide, but we think you'll be surprised to find out how significant a role chemistry plays in the making of your shades.
References from this episode
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.chas.8b23208
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.macromol.8b02513
https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/issues/2018-2019/December2018/2%20Shades%20TG%20Reading%20Supports.docx
https://www.safetyglassesusa.com/product-information/
https://cen.acs.org/articles/94/i19/Periodic-graphics-chemistry-sunglasses.html
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118909911.ch26
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ma960808x
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/1999/JM/a902864a#!divAbstract
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com
And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/
And seriously, we love using Transistor. Check it out to be sure your podcast makes a bang.
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 ★

Feb 4, 2021 • 28min
Why do things fade in the sun?
#081
The sun. It's nice, it's warm, it helps things grow, it helps us see, it helps us exist in the first place. But it's also a massive burning molten ball of radiation and ultraviolet rays. So how does our mysterious yellow friend fade the poor items we leave outside? Let's find out. Don't hurt us, yellow friend.
References from this episode
https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/item/why-does-ultraviolet-light-cause-color-to-fade/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/photodegradation
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4320144/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1011134404000375?via%3Dihub
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com
And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/
And seriously, we love using Transistor. Check it out to be sure your podcast makes a bang.
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 ★

Jan 28, 2021 • 43min
What is a dryer sheet?
#080
Dryer sheets. They smell good. They make our clothes soft. They get rid of static. But how? How is one little sheet allowed to solve that many problems? What are they made of? Are they bad or good or neither or both?
How to start a podcast. <- Check this out if you've got a podcast idea you want to make happen!
References from this episode
https://pubsapp.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/86/8615sci2.html
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/s1697
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jacs.8b07297
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acscentsci.9b01108
https://kristinmoonscience.com/why-static-electricity-seems-worse-during-winter/
https://umbelorganics.com/reduce-static-cling-naturally/
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com
And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/
And seriously, we love using Transistor. Check it out to be sure your podcast makes a bang.
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 ★

Jan 25, 2021 • 13min
Chemistry at Home: Pennies
Bonus Episode: Chemistry at Home 9
Here's another bonus episode dedicated to teaching a specific chemistry experiment you can do at home. This month, we see what happens when we combine salt, vinegar, and pennies?
Do you like and want more of these? Is there a way we could make them better? Let us know!
References
https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/outreach/ncw/plan-an-event/educational-resources/let%27s-do-chemistry-with-the-penny.pdf
How to start a podcast. Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com
And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/
And seriously, we love using Transistor. Check it out to be sure your podcast makes a bang.
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 ★

Jan 21, 2021 • 32min
Is glass a liquid?
#079
Glass. The more you look at it, the more clear it becomes that it holds some serious mysteries. So what really is glass? Is it a liquid? How is it different from typical solids? Does it flow and ooze over time? Is that why old windows are thicker at the bottom? Let's find out!
How to start a podcast. <- Check this out if you've got a podcast idea you want to make happen!
References from this episode
https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i47/s-glass-modern-day-researchers.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7245478/
https://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/Glass/glass.html
https://phys.org/news/2016-03-scientists-temperature-glass-liquid.html
https://ceramics.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jace.15092
https://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i20/Pyrex-100.html
Chemistry by Julia Burdge
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com
And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/
And seriously, we love using Transistor. Check it out to be sure your podcast makes a bang.
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 ★

Jan 19, 2021 • 13min
Bonus: Why does my bread taste like a banana? (and other questions)
Bonus Episode: Question and Response 17
In this month's bonus episode, Melissa and Jam respond to comments and questions about salt, bread that tastes like bananas, sunscreen on fences, AND improvements to our chemistry analogies!
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.
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com
And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/
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 ★

Jan 14, 2021 • 33min
Why do cornstarch and water do that thing?
#078
It's one of life's most head-scratchy questions, and one of the most popular chemistry mysteries for youtubers. So let's get to the bottom of this crazy, shape-shifting substance, and finally find out why cornstarch and water do that thing!
How to start a podcast. <- Check this out if you've got a podcast idea you want to make happen!
References from this episode
https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/getting-tomato-sauce-out-of-the-bottle-minus-the-mess
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/rheology
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/past-issues/2016-2017/february-2017/no-hit-wonder-d3o.html
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ef502171d
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c01760
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed082p445
http://helix.northwestern.edu/blog/2009/08/walking-water-er-oobleck-science-chicago-finale
https://www.pnas.org/content/116/42/20828.short?rss=
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/oobleck-bring-science-home/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-quicksand/#:~:text=Quicksand%20is%20a%20mixture%20of,filled%20with%20air%20or%20water.
https://www.nature.com/news/2005/050926/full/news050926-9.html
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/microscopy-reveals-why-ketchup-squirts/3002513.article
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/past-issues/2016-2017/february-2017/no-hit-wonder-d3o.html
https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/issues/2016-2017/February%202017/chemmatters-feb2017-d3o.pdf
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com
And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/
And seriously, we love using Transistor. Check it out to be sure your podcast makes a bang.
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 ★

Jan 7, 2021 • 36min
What is iodized salt? And why?
#077
Who's doing what to our salt? What's iodine, do we need it, why, and how do they get it in there? This week Melissa and Jam dive head first into figurative iodized salt dunes. Let's take a closer look at the chemistry of something so everyday, we hardly even think about it.
How to start a podcast. <- Check this out if you've got a podcast idea you want to make happen!
References from this episode
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es0719071
https://pubs-acs-org.libproxy.library.unt.edu/doi/10.1021/ed077p984#:~:text=The%20presence%20of%20iodine%20in,in%20preventing%20simple%20endemic%20goiter
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ed062p1016
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/past-issues/2015-2016/february-2016/salt-facts.html
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com
And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/
And seriously, we love using Transistor. Check it out to be sure your podcast makes a bang.
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 ★

Dec 31, 2020 • 29min
How do fireworks use chemistry to look awesome?
#076
Happy New Years Eve! Let's all kiss 2020 a speedy (not speedy enough) goodbye and look at some beautiful exploding lights! And why not look at the chemistry in these things as well. How do fireworks work? How do they get up into the air? And most importantly, how do they explode in different colors and patterns? Let's find out! And thanks for being one of the great things about 2020, we love you guys!
How to start a podcast. <- Check this out if you've got a podcast idea you want to make happen!
References from this episode
https://www.compoundchem.com/2013/12/30/the-chemistry-of-fireworks/
http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=4130#:~:text=What%20makes%20gunpowder%20seem%20to,built%20up%20and%20%22explodes%22.
https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/articlesbytopic/oxidationandreduction/chemmatters-oct2010-fireworks.pdf - by Kathy De Antonis
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife.
Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com
And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/
And seriously, we love using Transistor. Check it out to be sure your podcast makes a bang.
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 ★