Chemistry For Your Life

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Ask a Chemist: What is "natural gas?" (and other questions)

#2 trending · Chemistry

What’s actually flowing through the “natural gas” pipes connected to your home—and did we get something wrong in our air-conditioning series? Which careers can an organic

Sep 24
25 min

Is red light therapy real or a scam?

#12 trending · Chemistry

Can shining a red light on your face really improve acne, wrinkles, inflammation, or wound healing, or is red light therapy just an expensive skincare scam involving a sl

Sep 17
47 min

What the heck is going on inside microwaves?

#5 trending · Chemistry

#007 Rebroadcast Melissa finally explains to Jam how microwaves work after making him wait for an entire week. What the heck is going on inside microwaves? How does it d

Sep 10
24 min

Which chemistry lessons have stuck with us? (Happy Chemiversary!)

What happens when a chemist and a non-chemist make a podcast together for seven years? Which chemistry lessons stuck, which episode ideas spectacularly refused to coopera

Sep 3
1 h 14 min

Can water air-condition your house?

What exactly is a swamp cooler, and why can it beat the heat in Arizona but leave you sweaty and betrayed in Houston? How can an air conditioner run on water, what does h

Aug 27
31 min

What’s the dark side of air conditioning?

Could a cheaper, more environmentally friendly refrigerant already exist, and could corporate lobbying be helping keep it out of American air conditioners? Why did the ch

Aug 20
53 min

Reddit Chemistry: Why do metals make different-colored flames? (and other questions)

What happens when a chemist ventures onto Reddit to answer the internet’s most pressing science questions? Why does carbon get its own entire branch of chemistry, what ma

Aug 13
46 min

How does your AC actually make cold air?

Is your air conditioner secretly doing chemistry while you’re inside pretending summer doesn’t exist? How does it turn hot air into cool air, and why does part of the AC

Aug 6
38 min

Why do diet coke and mentos do that thing?

#044 Rebroadcast You know what we're talking about. That spectacular fizzy geyser. This week, Melissa and Jam explore what makes diet coke and mentos go crazy together.

Jul 30
31 min

Why do people hate organic chemistry?

#135 Rebroadcast Well guess what, Melissa is a PhD Doctor now! And you know what that means? She gets to tell us more details about the research she did to get her PhD.

Jul 23
53 min

What if the system needs fixing instead of the students? (BCCE 2026)

What if the biggest challenge in chemistry education isn’t helping students survive—but helping them thrive? In this final bonus episode of our BCCE Community Conversatio

Jul 20
28 min

What’s really happening when our hair gets damaged?

#028 This week, Melissa and Jam travel even further down the rabbit hole of hair chemistry. How does our hair get damaged? How do we curl, straighten, and perm our hair?

Jul 16
34 min

What does neurodiversity mean for chemistry education? (BCCE 2026)

How do we build chemistry classrooms where more students can thrive? In this bonus BCCE Community Conversation preview, Melissa talks with Matt Mio about neurodiversity i

Jul 13
30 min

What’s the chemistry behind hairspray?

Hairspray seems simple… until you actually stop and think about it. How does it come out as a fine mist? Why doesn’t it dry up inside the can? How can it hold your hair i

Jul 9
1 h 01 min

How can chemistry teachers learn from each other? (BCCE 2026)

Great teaching doesn’t happen in isolation—it happens in community. In this bonus BCCE Community Conversation preview, Melissa talks with chemistry educator Dr. Joanne St

Jul 6
33 min

Ask a Chemist: Is Silicone actually safe? (and other questions)

What happens when some listeners challenge one of our past episodes? This week we’re revisiting our silicone episodes after several listeners pointed us toward new resear

Jul 2
35 min

How can we apply chemistry to real-world problems in the classroom? (BCCE 2026)

What if chemistry classes were organized around real-world problems instead of chapters in a textbook?In this bonus BCCE Community Conversation preview, Melissa talks wit

Jun 29
34 min

How do forensic scientists find fingerprints?

There are a lot more ways to reveal a fingerprint than the black powder you see on TV.In this second part of our forensic chemistry series with Nicki Stewart, we explore

Jun 25
54 min

Are there new, improved ways to teach chemistry? (BCCE 2026)

What does it mean to teach chemistry like a scientist? In this BCCE Community Conversation preview, Melissa talks with chemistry education researcher Ellen Yezierski abou

Jun 22
36 min

How does super glue glue things?

#061 Be honest. Have you ever glued yourself with super glue? Everyone should accidentally make that mistake at least once, so you can literally feel the impressive stic

Jun 18
31 min

Chart trend

Position in the Chemistry chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#3#5JulAugSep

all-time peak

662

days in the top 3 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where Chemistry For Your Life ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 29, 2026).

#3 — Chemistry US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

The ad placement is jarring since they sometimes land mid-sentence! Hosts and content are great and have a cool rapport. But again, please fix the ad placement.

ldnq · Jul 2025

I cannot get enough of this podcast! I’m binging past episodes right now and instantly knew it was exactly what I’ve been looking for! My kids constantly ask me questions about science, chemistry and how stuff works, and it always inspires me to look up the answers because either I’m unsure or have forgotten over the many years I’ve been out of school. This podcast refreshes all the things I learned in college or in some cases teaches me something brand new. Melissa explains things brilliantly; its easy to understand but very in-depth all at once. It helps me explain the wonderful world of chemistry to my curious little ones and sometimes even help with their homework without having to consult YouTube or Google first! Jam adds life and a refreshing curiosity to the show with his thought-provoking questions and helpful analogies. If you want to fill your mind with knowledge to help you understand the science behind everyday stuff, this podcast is for you!

Linds8686 · Feb 2024

I think the passion that Jam and Melissa have when discussing the various ways we see chemistry in our lives is beyond beautiful and amplifies the learning experience. Thank you for creating a warm and welcoming environment! It's amazing to see how accessible quality education is!! 👩‍🔬📚

NellySil:) · Nov 2023

A c&p of what I wrote to Kate and Jam upon becoming a Patreon supporter: I think I found your podcast while on a search for NGSS phenomena sources...and of course your show is that. But also, it is just so awesome and I love it so so much. No shade on Jam - I love your role and how you fulfill it too - but Melissa, your explanations!!! Your analogies!!! At first I would scroll through episodes and say to myself "oh yeah I know about that" and NOT LISTEN (what kind of scientist am I???) Then I realized that NO MATTER WHAT the topic I will get really cool insights, whether a different perspective, facts I didn't know, ideas about how to get students thinking about things.... Bottom line: THANK YOU SO MUCH for making this podcast, it totally rocks.

rgeorgier · Sep 2023

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.