Podcasts by The Episodic Table of Elements
A chemistry podcast about the fascinating true stories behind each element on the periodic table.
Further podcasts by T. R. Appleton
Podcast on the topic Chemie
All episodes
92. Uranium: Two Untold Tales (Live At Harvard) from 2023-05-29T10:00:53
America's worst radioactive accident isn't Three Mile Island, and the Nazi nuclear physicist wasn't assassinated by the famous baseball player.
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91. Protactinium: Decolonize Science from 2022-10-19T10:00:43
Sometimes we need a quiet moment in order to step back and look at the bigger picture.
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90. Thorium: Bright Lights, Big City from 2022-02-22T13:30:39
Sure, thorium could provide practically limitless clean energy, but then we couldn't build weapons of mass destruction.
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89. Actinium: The Windup…And The Pitchblende from 2021-11-08T11:00:59
We all know that radioactive rocks glow in the dark, except they actually don't, except for when they actually do.
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88. Radium: Several Sordid Affairs from 2021-10-18T10:00:53
Out of all the characters who encounter radium in this episode, the only one to emerge unscathed is the guy who comes face-to-face with Satan.
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87. Francium: Nothing To Do With Cats from 2021-09-13T10:00:57
You don't have to have a degree to do science, but it helps.
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86. Radon: It’s Coming From Inside The House from 2021-08-23T10:00:28
You know something's amiss when you set off the radiation alarms while walking in to the nuclear power plant.
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85. Astatine: Pathological Science from 2021-08-02T10:00:22
The story of astatine takes us to Alabama, Dacca, Romania, Vienna, and California, but definitely not Switzerland.
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84. Polonium: The Distinguished Alumna Of Warsaw’s Flying University from 2021-07-05T10:00:16
Sadly, it's no longer possible to purchase this lethally radioactive element for fifteen cents and a cereal boxtop.
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83. Bismuth: The Friendly Oddball from 2021-06-14T10:00:05
The periodic table shows the natural patterns and trends among the elements. Bismuth does not abide.
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82. Lead: Irrational Self-Interest from 2021-05-24T11:00:59
We just can't seem to stop chasing the sweet, sweet taste of element 82.
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81. Thallium: It Rides A Pale Horse from 2021-04-26T10:00:32
In which we learn how reading mystery novels might very well save a life.
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80. Mercury: Fatally Toxic And Probably In Your Mouth from 2021-04-12T10:00:10
Even if you hate tuna, have flawless teeth, and only use digital thermometers, humans have historically not been shy about getting a mouthful of mercury.
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79. Gold: Lump Sum from 2021-03-29T10:00:53
All other metals step aside, because today we deal with the king of elements.
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78. Platinum: A Tous Les Temps, A Tous Les Peuples from 2021-03-15T10:00:53
Sometimes, being set in stone isn't permanent enough.
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77. Iridium: T. Rex And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day from 2021-03-01T11:00:04
Alvarez noticed a great disturbance in the rocks, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
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76. Osmium: It Stinks! from 2021-02-08T11:00:31
This entire episode serves as cautionary advice to anyone seeking to add osmium to their element collection.
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75. Rhenium: A Love Of Two Brains from 2021-01-25T11:00:05
Witness an incredible, unbreakable bond between two who couldn't be more alike. We'll also learn about a married couple.
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74. Tungsten: What Is The Atom We Love? from 2021-01-11T11:00:12
All right, everybody settle down. Welcome to the weekly meeting of the National Association Of W Lovers.
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73. Tantalum: Mystery Meat from 2020-12-28T11:00:31
Once more, the periodic table drags us to hell -- this time by way of ancient Greece.
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72. Hafnium: The Isomer Bomb from 2020-12-14T11:00:34
The science suggests hafnium can't be used to create a gamma ray bomb, but that won't stop the U.S. government from trying.
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71. Lutetium: Swampland Centaurs from 2020-11-16T11:00:22
Let us ensure we remember the lanthanide series before we leave it behind once and for all.
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70. Ytterbium: White Gold from 2020-11-02T11:00:20
When Johann Bottger failed to turn lead into gold, porcelain made a pretty good consolation prize.
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69. Thulium: Out Of The Way from 2020-10-19T10:00
We'll go to the land of the ice and snow... and figure out exactly where that is, too.
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68. Erbium: Hyperlink from 2020-10-05T10:00:18
Element 68 plays an important role in stitching together the World Wide Web -- for better or for worse.
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Upcoming Schedule, Part II from 2020-09-14T10:00:03
Hello, Listener. Under better circumstances, you would be learning about erbium right about now. Unfortunately, that episode is not quite ready yet. Between my day job and the possibility of a very...
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67. Holmium: This Magnet Moment from 2020-08-24T10:00:33
Holmium: Equally beloved by theoretical physicists and Jedi Knights.
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66. Dysprosium: Hard To Get from 2020-08-10T10:00:17
You spin me right round, baby, right round, like a windmill, baby, right round round round.
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65. Terbium: The Joy of Tedium from 2020-07-27T10:00:46
For more than one reason, element 65 makes the short list of"most annoying elements."
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64. Gadolinium: Three Wise Men from 2020-07-13T10:00:03
Like Luke Skywalker, today's tale takes a farmboy to greatness.
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Cast Your Vote from 2020-07-06T10:00:43
If you enjoy The Episodic Table Of Elements, please consider nominating the show for a Podcast Award.
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63. Europium: The Age Of Enlightenment from 2020-06-22T10:00:36
As element collectors, may we all one day be as fortunate as Frank Harold Spedding.
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62. Samarium: Eponymous Honorarium from 2020-06-01T10:00:09
We hear all sorts of incredible stories on this podcast, but today we'll meet the most unbelievable character of all time: A friendly bureaucrat.
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61. Promethium: What A Friend We Have In Prometheus from 2020-05-18T10:00:38
We've met mythological light-bearers before, but this one possesses a decidedly nobler spirit.
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60. Neodymium: Anarchy And Order from 2020-05-04T10:00:34
Decades of complex geopolitical chaos ultimately result in one afternoon's rather embarrassing hospital visit.
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59. Praseodymium: Grandiloquent Sesquipedalianism from 2020-04-20T10:00:14
Sometimes, the most interesting aspect of an element has nothing to do with chemistry at all.
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58. Cerium: Light My Fire from 2020-04-02T10:00:30
It's the most common flint you'll find, except it's not actually flint at all.
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57. Lanthanum: Hidden In Plain Sight from 2020-03-23T10:00:32
Let's uncover element 57, and find out why the"rare earths"are neither rare nor earths nor an empire.
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56. Barium: Glow-Getter from 2020-03-09T10:00:18
When you really want to suck all the air out of a room, barium will help you out.
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55. Caesium: A Brief History Of Time from 2020-02-24T11:00:43
We'll trace the history of the most important caesium-based technology all the way back to its original roots: a stick.
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54. Xenon: Ignoble Gas from 2020-02-10T11:00:12
Truly strange things start to happen when you breathe this rarefied air.
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53. Iodine: Purple Haze from 2020-01-27T11:00:58
We'll pull in our elemental haul from the sea while Lady Jane Davy spits in the ocean.
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52. Tellurium: To Hell You Ride from 2019-12-30T11:00:19
Collecting elements can be risky business. Tellurium is one of those elements that poses a dire threat -- not to one's health, but to the element collector's reputation in polite society.
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51. Antimony: Can You Return An Inheritance? from 2019-12-16T11:00:03
It's like an Everlasting Gobstopper, but Willy Wonka is a fratricidal German monk.
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50. Tin: Your Metal Pal Who’s Fun To Be With from 2019-11-25T11:00:05
We've palled around with tin for thousands of years, but you should know that it's a fair-weather friend.
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49. Indium: The Spectre Of Isaac from 2019-11-11T11:00:06
The story of indium is pretty straightforward, but its namesake is practically impossible to pin down.
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48. Cadmium: Don’t You Know That You’re Toxic? from 2019-10-28T10:00:55
Cadmium will let you choose among a range of orange-ish hues, but it's some pretty awful news if you contract the"cadmium blues."
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47. Silver: Our Own Image from 2019-10-14T10:00:53
Silver is more than just a precious metal. It's also a reflection of ourselves.
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46. Palladium: The Old Razzle Dazzle from 2019-09-23T10:00:20
Those people who've been involved with palladium's history seem to harbor a dubious predilection for stretching the truth.
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45. Rhodium: The Most Precious Metal from 2019-09-09T10:00:49
For some people, rhodium's most important aspect is its high price. For others, it's absolutely priceless.
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44. Ruthenium: The Glow Cloud from 2019-08-26T10:00:17
Element 44 is technically not named for Russia... but perhaps it should be.
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43. Technetium: Naturally Synthetic from 2019-08-12T10:00:07
It's only after we gave up searching for this element that we found it out in the universe.
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42. Molybdenum: Conventional Weapons from 2019-07-29T10:00:31
Before we talk about one big gun, let's discuss 1,500 years of military technology.
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41. Niobium: No More Tears from 2019-07-15T10:00:08
We delve into elemental etymology today, and get to investigate a chemical phenomenon.
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40. Zirconium: Burning Up, Melting Down from 2019-07-01T10:00:11
Today, we reach the last element on the periodic table -- but only alphabetically speaking.
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39. Yttrium: It’s A Quiet Village from 2019-06-17T10:00:51
Welcome to the sleepy Swedish town of Ytterby. I hope you like it, because we'll be spending an awful lot of time there later in the series.
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38. Strontium: Little Town from 2019-06-03T10:00:13
Let's look past the bad reputation this element has to learn how it's an essential part of an idyllic childhood.
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37. Rubidium: What’s Cooler Than Being Cool? from 2019-05-20T10:00:34
Rubidium is more explosive than the alkali metals above it on the table, but it's much more interesting when it's standing almost perfectly still.
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36. Krypton: It’s A Metric from 2019-05-06T10:00:10
Like argon, today's noble gas coincidentally features prominently in science fiction -- albeit in name only. But krypton also takes a place in the science factual story of international weights and...
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35. Bromine: Come At Me from 2019-04-22T10:00:35
Don't get too excited, because bromine is an element that brings the hammer down on both extreme emotions and extreme actions.
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34. Selenium: A Fit Of Heat And Light from 2019-03-25T10:00:17
Throughout history, copying information has been arduous, messy, and even dangerous -- until one bored, depressed man figured out the secrets of selenium.
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33. Arsenic: It’s Not Easy Being Green from 2019-03-11T10:00:46
Considering how synonymous this episode's element is with"poison,"it's shocking how eager people have historically been to ingest the stuff.
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32. Germanium: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger from 2019-02-25T11:00:43
Silicon gets all the press, but germanium was the real trailblazer of the Information Age.
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31. Gallium: The Wet Bandits from 2019-02-11T11:00:32
Meet one of the periodic table's lesser-known liquid metals -- and beware some dangerous competition from a few felonious element collectors.
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30. Zinc: The Lecture Circuit from 2019-01-28T11:00:32
Learn about some of Italy's most renowned chemists and how they inspired a most gruesome quest to conquer death.
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29. Copper: Wires Crossed from 2019-01-14T11:00:26
We get lost in the woods with a couple of little guys in today's episode, and learn about a lesser-known American Civil War.
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28. Nickel: Face Value from 2018-12-31T11:00:22
From religion to money to politics, nickel finds itself at the center of all kinds of awkward conversations.
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27. Cobalt: Mischief Managed from 2018-12-17T11:00:51
Cobalt is a tricksy little element, which means the scientists who've dealt with it the most are some of the cleverest people to have ever walked the Earth.
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26. Iron: As Above, So Below from 2018-12-03T11:00:31
Is iron a metal that's more valuable than gold, or are we forever trapped in its"hated shadow?"
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25. Manganese: Undercover Operations from 2018-11-19T11:00:19
From giant prehistoric sharks to clandestine Cold War projects, manganese is an element that has concealed a lot of secrets.
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24. Chromium: I’ll Be Your Mirror from 2018-11-05T11:00:51
It might be tempting to speed right on by, but it's worth stopping for a moment to gaze at element 24.
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23. Vanadium: Beauty In The Background from 2018-10-22T10:00:07
From freeways to firefights to unfathomable depths, vanadium can often be found quietly doing the hardest work.
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22. Titanium: Dignity Over Dentures from 2018-10-08T10:00:57
Titanium is an element valued as much for its beauty as its strength -- provided you can find a genuine sample of the stuff.
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21. Scandium: Spoiling For A Fight from 2018-09-24T10:00:59
From jet fighters to sporting events to Low Earth Orbit, scandium seems to find itself at the center of conflict.
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20. Calcium: Stone and Bone from 2018-09-10T10:00:16
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.
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19. Potassium: An Undeserved Reputation from 2018-08-20T10:00:27
There's no avoiding discussing the banana in this episode, even though it really doesn't deserve its strong association with Element 19.
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18. Argon: More Than Meets The Eye from 2018-08-06T10:00:48
Today's element gets called"lazy,"but that's actually a terrible misnomer.
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17. Chlorine: Too High Or Too Low, There Ain’t No In-Betweens from 2018-07-23T10:00:26
Chlorine is an element that causes some extreme reactions, and occasionally inspires some pretty extreme reactions in humans, too.
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16. Sulfur: No Mistakes, Only Happy Accidents from 2018-07-09T10:00:16
From Vulcan to vultures, today's element brings stories of unintended consequences.
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15. Phosphorus: Dealing With The Devil from 2018-06-11T10:00:59
The history of phosphorus is largely a tale of people getting their hands dirty. Very, very dirty.
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14. Silicon: Tool Of All Trades from 2018-05-28T10:00:36
From prehistoric times right through today, our hand-held tools have been made of silicon.
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13. Aluminium: War Of The Words from 2018-05-14T10:00:02
Listen to some of the pointless arguments caused by element 13, and take a look at the argument-filled history of one sharp aluminum point.
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12. Magnesium: White Light/White Heat from 2018-04-30T10:00:08
Magnesium makes for quite a fireworks display, whether inside your body or out.
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11. Sodium: What’s In Na? from 2018-04-16T10:00:38
Turns out ancient sages and seers might've actually known a thing or two. Also, is there a good reason for sodium's chemical symbol? Na.
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10. Neon: A Sign Of The Times from 2018-04-02T10:00:07
Neon may no longer be"the new one,"but it might have a better claim to the name than any other element on the periodic table.
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9. Fluorine: Tyger Tyger, Burning Bright from 2018-03-19T10:00:16
Just *try* to tally the body count behind the periodic table's most reactive element, and learn why you should drink it.
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8. Oxygen: Take What You Can Get from 2018-03-05T11:00:37
Element 8 brings us two different stories about a population that gets a little too swept up in the latest craze, happening to commit mass murder in the process.
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7. Nitrogen: Taking The Good With The Bad from 2018-02-19T11:00:58
Today we meet one man who's responsible for the death of millions -- and the survival of billions.
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6. Carbon: The Circle Of Life from 2018-02-12T11:00:28
Learn why carbon is the foundation of all life on Earth as we investigate a chemist's suicide, death by air pollution, and one very, very cold murder case.
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5. Boron: Working Hard, Or Hardly Working? from 2018-02-05T11:00:43
Today, we look past boron's hard exterior to get to know its softer side. Its confusing, gooey, softer side.
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4. Beryllium: The Modern Sisyphus from 2018-01-29T11:00:42
As we try to dive deep into beryllium, we discover its irritating tendency to send us back to the beginning.
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3. Lithium: The Element Of Surprise from 2018-01-22T11:00:25
We cautiously approach this explosively reactive element and learn about its surprising ability to stabilize moods, with a brief foray into Bolivian economics along the way.
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2. Helium: Above All That from 2018-01-15T11:00:56
This week, we try to interact with helium, even though it really doesn't want to. Plus, we explore the occult side of chemistry as described by the theosophists.
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1. Hydrogen: Close To The Sun from 2018-01-08T11:00:57
As we investigate our first element, we'll meet warring balloonists, witness mass media's first major tragedy, and see how the tiniest mistake can cost a lot of money. Plus, we'll try to pin down w...
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0. Everything The Light Touches from 2018-01-01T11:00:50
In our inaugural episode, we'll cover the creation of the periodic table before we start exploring each element one-by-one.
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Preview The Episodic Table of Elements from 2017-12-14T14:30:49
Wondering what sorts of things you might here on The Episodic Table of Elements? I've produced this brief teaser so you can get an idea of what kinds of stories you'll hear.
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