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FromChemistry World Book Club

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We have no idea

FromChemistry World Book Club

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21 minutes

Released:

Jul 4, 2017

Format:

Podcast episode

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Everything you need to know about everything we don’t yet know. This month’s book is We have no idea by the creators of PHD Comics, Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson. It discusses the great unsolved problems of physics in a way which is guaranteed to entertain. We hear from the authors, and the Chemistry World team discuss why the llama is the perfect animal for explaining the concept of binding energy.

Released:

Jul 4, 2017

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (78)

Meet the authors of the latest popular science books, and join Chemistry World for a review and discussion of the topics the book raises. Join in on twitter by using #bookclubCW

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Furry logic: Evolution has created ingenious solutions to life’s problems. Some animals use physics in a way that stumps even the physicists. Turtles, for instance, venture thousands of miles across the ocean, yet return with precision to the exact beach from... by Chemistry World Book Club
21 min listen
Why science is sexist: This month we discuss by Nicola Gaston. That science is sexist – it is. Rather, she wants to know why a field that prides itself in being rational should behave so illogically.We discuss the research she presents on unconscious bias, in... by Chemistry World Book Club
23 min listen
Thing explainer: This month we discuss Thing explainer by Randall Munroe. In this book the creator attempts to explain things as diverse as the International Space Station and the human body, using only the most common ten hundred words in the English... by Chemistry World Book Club
24 min listen
A is for Arsenic: Welcome to our new monthly podcast, theChemistry World Book Club. Each month we’ll be sharing our thoughts on one of the latest popular science releases and interview the authors to find out what inspired them to write about science. Join us for a... by Chemistry World Book Club
21 min listen
The Elements of Power: This month we discuss by David Abraham. New technologies like smart phones and wind turbines are increasing the diversity of elements that humanitiy is ustilising. Amongst them are the rare metals, which may not acutually be rare, but they often... by Chemistry World Book Club
23 min listen
Scientific Paper Writing – a Survival Guide: This month we discuss by Bodil Holst. Every budding researcher must eventually write a scientific paper, and yet how to do this is not something that is usually taught. Some supervisors provide excellent guidance and others – let's be diplomatic... by Chemistry World Book Club
29 min listen
Bring back the king: Almost a decade after its extinction, the Pyrenean ibex became newly un-extinct thanks to cloning. But what are the limits of this technology? Could we one day visit a real-life Jurassic Park? Bring back the king by Helen Pilcher recounts the... by Chemistry World Book Club
24 min listen
The telomere effect: We would all love the gift of eternal youth. That remains a dream, but there are things we can actively do to resist the effects of ageing. One proven approach is to protect our telomeres, the short chains of DNA that cap our chromosones. The telomere... by Chemistry World Book Club
22 min listen
Sorting the beef from the bull: This month we discuss by Richard Evershed and Nicola Temple. The horsemeat scandal opened our eyes to the fact that the food we eat is not always what it claims to be. Just how widespread is the problem, how do we detect it and what changes need... by Chemistry World Book Club
23 min listen
Herding Hemingway's Cats: This month we discuss by Kat Arney. In Ernest Hemingway's house in Florida there is a family six-toed cats. Their appearance is caused by a mutation in the molecular switch that controls the Sonic hedgehog gene. These cats provided Kat Arney... by Chemistry World Book Club
1 min listen
I contain multitudes: the microbes within us and a grander view of life: Some cleaning agents claim to kill 99.9% of all bacteria, but if preventing disease is the main aim, then maybe total annihilation isn’t the best course to take. We discuss this and other lessons we have learnt by studying the microbiome: the... by Chemistry World Book Club
20 min listen
Adventures in the Anthropocene: A journey to the heart of the planet we made by Chemistry World Book Club
22 min listen
The secret life of fat: Fat might not be fashionable, but it is essential. It is a living organ that communicates with the brain, controlling our behaviour and even influencing our reproductive cycles. These facts and more form the the subject of The secret life of fat:... by Chemistry World Book Club
22 min listen
Why does asparagus make your wee smell?: This month we answer the profound qustion This is the title of Andy Brunning's new book, which addresses a smorgasbord of questions about food and drink in a scientific manner. You can read here, and . We want to include... by Chemistry World Book Club
27 min listen
Grunt: the curious science of humans at war: This month we discuss by Mary Roach. The military is a huge investor in scientific and technological development. Mary Roach gained access to those who carry out research into those technologies of warfare that aren’t to do with weapons. Her... by Chemistry World Book Club
22 min listen
The death of expertise: The mass disparagement of knowledge is a recent phenomenon. Apparently we’ve all had enough of experts, and facts aren’t important, as there are always alternatives. In , Tom Nichols considers how facts fell out of favour, and what it means for... by Chemistry World Book Club
21 min listen
Losing the Nobel Prize: This month’s podcast is about the Nobel prize and the hype that has surrounded it for decades, as described in Brian Keating’s new book Losing the Nobel Prize. In 2014, Keating was confident that the invention he had helped to create –... by Chemistry World Book Club
19 min listen
Big data: does size matter?: This month, we discuss the benefits of big data and whether these are offset by their threat to privacy by Chemistry World Book Club
24 min listen
Science and the city: the mechanics behind the metropolis: In this month’s book club we discuss the technologies that help modern cities function by Chemistry World Book Club
21 min listen
The master algorithm: If there’s one thing we can learn from histroy it’s everything that there is to know. Or at least that’s the promise of machine learning. by Pedro Domingos tells us how machines that learn are starting to transform the world, bringing us... by Chemistry World Book Club
24 min listen
Scientific Babel: This month we examine the history of scientific language, with Michael Gordin's book . We ask whether the mixture of science and language can be distilled, or if our reactions to words are too strongly bonded to their meaning. We'll discover how... by Chemistry World Book Club
27 min listen
Unthinkable: In this month’s podcast presented by Emma Stoye, Helen Thomson reveals fascinating insights about some of the rarest neurological conditions known to science. From a man whose synesthesia allows him to see auras, to a woman who lacks a... by Chemistry World Book Club
19 min listen
Frankenstein: annotated for scientists and engineers: Next year will see the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelly's classic, Frankenstein; or, the modern Prometheus. To celebrate this, a new edition has been release with annotations aimed at scientists and engineers. This edition of... by Chemistry World Book Club
25 min listen
Enlightenment now: Are things getting better, or are we on the decline? In Enlightenment now, Steven Pinker argues that science and reason have made us better than ever before. Emma Stoye, Kit Chapman and Aurora Walshe find out if he hits the mark. by Chemistry World Book Club
19 min listen
Superheavy: Making and Breaking the Periodic Table: For this month’s Book Club podcast, it’s a highly unusual review scenario, as we get to grips with Superheavy: Making and Breaking the Periodic Table, written by none other than Kit Chapman (yes, the very same Kit Chapman who was, up until... by Chemistry World Book Club
19 min listen
Seeds of Science: For this month’s podcast, we explore the world of anti-GM campaigning which Mark Lynas was a part of for years, and discover what it was that made him turn his back on his extreme views. The book looks at how and why he decided to help scientists on... by Chemistry World Book Club
19 min listen
We have no idea: Everything you need to know about everything we don’t yet know. This month’s book is We have no idea by the creators of PHD Comics, Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson. It discusses the great unsolved problems of physics in a way which is... by Chemistry World Book Club
21 min listen
Homo deus and the best books of 2016: Yuval Noah Harari likes the big topics. His last book, Sapiens attempted to explain everything that has happened in the history of humanity. In his latest book he examines everything that will happen in humanity’s future. In part 1 of the podcast,... by Chemistry World Book Club
38 min listen
A course in deception: Things go from bad to worse for Mackenzie Smith when her data disappears, her lab rats are killed, and she is accused of fraud. But slowly she stars to discover who might be behind her misfortune following a series of clues her late colleague left... by Chemistry World Book Club
21 min listen
Chemistry: This month we discuss Chemistry, in which First-time novelist Weike Wang takes us inside the mind of a Chinese American PhD student in Boston by Chemistry World Book Club
21 min listen

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A Taste for Poison: If you really want to develop an appreciation for those early pathologists who went so far as to taste-tested truly horrible samples from corpses to establish a system for detecting poisons, read a new book by US-based physiology and biophysics... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Book club – The Icepick Surgeon by Sam Kean: This month, we’re reading The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science. It’s the new book by Sam Kean, who many might know as the author of the periodic table book The... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Book club – Deep Sniff by Adam Zmith: In this episode, we’ll tackle Deep Sniff: A History of Poppers and Queer Futures by Adam Zmith. In his first book, Zmith blends historical research with wry observation to tell the story of how amyl nitrites wafted out of the lab and into gay... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Book club – Lessons from Plants by Beronda Montgomery: This episode is for all those people who have turned to gardening or amassed houseplants during the Covid lockdowns as we’ll be talking about Lessons from Plants. In it, the biochemist Beronda Montgomery explores the vigorous and creative life of... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Book club – Science in Black and White by Alondra Oubré: In this month’s episode we’ll talk about Science in Black and White: How Biology and Environment Shape Our Racial Divide by medical anthropologist Alondra Oubré. She delves into the science behind the nature versus nurture debate... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Book club – Vampirology by Kathryn Harkup: Get your garlic and crucifix ready as we tackle Kathryn Harkup’s latest book Vampirology: The Science of Horror’s Most Famous Fiend. Harkup is a chemist and science communicator, and an expert at casting a scientific eye on cultural phenomena,... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Book club – Handmade by Anna Ploszajski: How do you make a chemical-resistant beaker out of a material as fragile as glass? And how do you tell the temperature of a piece of steel without a thermometer? These are questions Anna Ploszajski tackles in her book Handmade: A Scientist’s Search... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Book club – The Disordered Cosmos by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein: We might like to think that science is purely objective, driven only by scientific principles and free of social disturbances — but this couldn’t be further from the truth. In this episode, we read Chanda Prescod-Weinstein’s debut The... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Book club – Never Mind the B#ll*cks, Here’s the Science by Luke O’Neill: In this episode, we’re looking for answers to the important questions in life like ‘Why do you believe in diets?’ or ‘Why are you working in a bullshit job?’ Biochemist and immunologist Luke O’Neill certainly doesn’t mince words in... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Book club – The Poison Trials by Alisha Rankin: This month we find out drug testing has come a long way, as we read The Poison Trials: Wonder Drugs, Experiment and the Battle for Authority in Renaissance Science, the latest book from historian of science and medicine Alisha Rankin. The... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Book club – Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks: This month we’re celebrating 20 years of a popular science classic: Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks. In his memoir, Sacks – who later became a famous neurologist – recounts how he discovered his love for... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Book club – Science books for children: Whether you’re looking for a sciencey Christmas present for the young readers in your life or just want to delve into the science of children’s science writing, this kid’s books roundup is for you. We brought together three families and their... by Chemistry World Book Club
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The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking): It’s the end times in this episode as we’re reading The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking). In five scenarios, cosmologist Katie Mack explores how the universe might meet its ultimate demise and what this might look like... by Chemistry World Book Club
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The Alchemy of Us: From photographic film to scientific glassware, Ainissa Ramirez’s new book The Alchemy of Us offers a unique insight into our relationship with technology. Find out what we thought about the book, and hear from Ramirez herself as she... by Chemistry World Book Club
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Titles in the series (78)

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