The chemical breakdown & Chemistry in its element

A sweet treat with a deadly trick for Halloween – glycyrrhizic acid, or glycyrrhizin, is found in black liquorice and sweeter than sucrose, but can cause heart problems and even prove fatal if consumed in excess

Also known as 'milk of amnesia', propofol helps to prevent perception of pain in surgery – just don't forget its dangerous side

Hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir made waves when first launched – quicker to work and with fewer side effects than existing drugs, but it came with a hefty price tag

Meera Senthilingam makes a welcome return to the podcast with a drug that gives hope to the many sufferers of drug-resistant TB – still one of the world's biggest killers

This summer's extreme weather prompts Katrina Krämer to investigate the history of sunblock and the ingredient blamed by some for bleaching coral reefs

From Lavoisier's experiments with plaster of paris to the the 'Sistine Chapel of crystals' in Mexico, Mike Freemantle explores the history of gypsum

Originally developed to treat flu and marketed in Japan as Avigan, promising Covid-19 trial results have seen countries stockpiling this medication by the millions

Tannic acid in green acorns can kill wild animals and livestock, but in this podcast Mike Freemantle makes plain that you can prevent poisoning with pannage pigs.

Common in the US but banned in the EU, this animal feed additive makes for muscular pigs and beefy international trade disputes. 

Brian Clegg discovers what a six-membered silicon ring can tell us about alien life

Frances Addison on the aromatic compound found in both buttered popcorn and the bearcat's scent glands, and responsible for the distinctive smell of both

News that this cheap, ubiquitous steroid drug may reduce deaths in Covid-19 cases has been greeted with cautious optimism. Ben Valsler looks at the history of dexamethasone and the promising Recovery trial results.

Mike Freemantle on the art, history and science of this delicate, translucent ceramic material

Brian Clegg introduces the humble mineral that delights both astronomers and archaeologists

Mike Freemantle introduces the peptic ulcer treatment cimetidine, which – as Tagamet – became the first 'blockbuster' drug

The World Health Organisation hope to eradicate human African trypanosomiasis, better known as sleeping sickness, within our lifetimes. Jamie Durrani looks at a drug that may make it possible.

Georgia Mills investigates the psychoactive found in ayahuasca that may mirror near-death experiences

Katrina Krämer investigates how industrial-strength bleach became promoted as 'miracle mineral supplement' – a supposed 'cure' for autism, cancer and even Covid-19.

Brian Clegg discovers the link between olive oil, dandruff and stained glass windows.

An immune-modulating compound used to reduce the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and now showing potential against coronaviruses, interferon beta is the last of the WHO's Covid-19 Solidarity trial candidates to get the Chemistry in its element treatment.

The unexplained appearance and dramatic spread of a new form of HIV drug ritonavir hurt patients and cost its makers almost $250 million. Alexander Whiteside on the chemical phenomenon that links Irving Langmuir, H G Wells and Kurt Vonnegut.

Ben Valsler explains how a drug that prevents HIV from donning its protective 'coat' now makes up one arm of the World Health Organisation's Covid-19 trial

Will new clinical trials for Covid-19 give remdesivir a second chance? Ben Valsler introduces the broad-spectrum antiviral that didn't quite make it as the Ebola drug it was originally planned to be.

Old drugs sometimes find their way back into the news. The Covid-19 pandemic – and some very high profile backing – has led to malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine hitting the headlines worldwide. Ben Valsler explores both the history and the hype.

Brian Clegg on the popular over-the-counter painkiller, developed by a high-street pharmacy chain