Let's Talk Chemistry- a science podcast by ChemTalk

Imagine being a detective in the world of molecules, uncovering secrets that could save lives. That’s what medicinal chemistry does—it helps us design drugs that target diseases like puzzle pieces fitting together. On this exciting episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry edited by Presley Vu, hosts Yeongseo Son and Jason Lu talk about their interview with Dr. Donna Huryn, Professor of Practice at the Univ...

What does it mean to digitize chemistry? How can we create artificial life forms? What are the origins of life? On this exciting episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry edited by Emma Stewart, hosts Grace Go and Alexander Seo talk about their interview with Dr. Lee Cronin, the Regius Chair of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. Dr. Cronin is celebrated for his groundbreaking work in creating artificia...

What makes a good scientist? What makes a good student? On this exciting episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry edited by Emma Stewart, hosts Jasmine Winter and John Strojny talk about their interview with Dr. Steven Clarke, UCLA’s Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. We hope you enjoy! If you would like to know more about Dr. Steven Clarke, you can check out his research here or reach...

What if we could make bags out of the food we eat? On this electrifying episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry edited by Presley Vu, hosts Yeongseo Son and Alexander Seo talk about their interview with Dr. Karen Wooley, a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University. She shares her work with sustainability, sugars, and industry. We hope you enjoy! If you would like to know more about...

The most humble creatures on earth sometimes reveal incredible solutions and secrets. GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein), naturally found in jellyfish, is a marker used in almost all biological laboratories. On this exciting episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry edited by Presley Vu, hosts Yeongseo Son and John Strojny talk about their interview with Nobel Prize Laureate Dr. Martin Chalfie, a University Pr...

Organic chemistry is art. Each chemical structure comes with a certain number of lines, a certain shape, a certain essence to it. How can we manipulate a chemical reaction to produce a useful product? How can we defy what chemistry claims to be incredibly hard and accomplish unique mechanisms? On this episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry edited by KG Gude, hosts Olivia Lambertson and Jasmine Winter tal...

With curiosity and creativity, there are no limits. We can be scientists. We can be doctors. We can be authors. Our renowned guest today has done all three. On this riveting episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry edited by Presley Vu, hosts Yeongseo Son and Grace Go talk about their interview with Nobel Prize Laureate Dr. Robert Lefkowitz, a James B. Duke Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biochemist...

A tool to help us study the structures of atoms and molecules, spectroscopy is used everywhere to solve big problems. From astronomers who are determining the distance of a distant star to chemists who are solving biochemical problems, spectroscopy has a unified purpose: to see better. On this exciting episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry (edited by Presley Vu), hosts Jasmine Winter and Nina Deng talk...

Superheroes don’t just exist in our comic books. We find them, here, in the real world. They protect the innocent. They fight injustice. They use their powers and skills for good. And we have interviewed one such superhero—working as both a global research scientist and serving as an elected government official. On this riveting episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry (edited by Presley Vu), hosts Yeongse...

What if our lab coats were more scientist-friendly? What if we transformed them to be safer? On this special episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry, hosts Yeongseo Son and Olivia Lambertson interview Derek Miller, the founder of Genius Lab Gear. He shares with us about the launch of their new product—the lab coat project, and how it will address the needs of scientists. If you like to know more about Gen...

With the rise of AI and machine learning, how are scientists incorporating these new tools in their research? With these computational methods, how are scholars stretching new limits and advancing our understanding of the world around us? On this exciting episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry, hosts Yeongseo Son and Ankur Rao talk about their interview with Dr. Emily Ryan, an Associate Professor of Mech...

What if we could use water droplets to “pull bread out of air” and drive agriculture? What if we could use a drop of our sweat to understand our health? On this riveting episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry, hosts Yeongseo Son and Olivia Lambertson talk about their interview with Dr. Richard Zare, a Marguerite Blake Wilber Professor of Natural Science and a Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University...

Many of us are familiar with lab safety and the precautions we take when doing simple experiments in school laboratories. But how does this safety look different on a larger scale and how do we avoid the potential danger of large amounts of chemicals? On this episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry, hosts Yeongseo Son and Olivia Lambertson talk about their interview with Dr. Syeda Sultana Razia, a Profess...

Have you ever noticed that the sequoia trees in California have continued to survive forest fires? What if we told you that they had a natural flame retardant that scientists are attempting to recreate? On this episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry, hosts Yeongseo Son, Nicholas Molitor, and Nina Deng talk about their interview with Dr. Miriam Rafailovich, a Distinguished Professor of Materials Science a...

Many of us are familiar with stained glass and the beautiful translucent colors that display breathtaking artwork. Would you ever imagine that these colors are the result of nanoparticles? On this episode of Let’s Talk Chemistry, hosts Yeongseo Son and Bella Liguori talk about their interview with Dr. George Schatz, a Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University. We talk about plasmonic nanop...

Pharmaceuticals are an important technology in our world that help save so many people. But sometimes, drugs that are good for humans can get into our water supplies and harm other organisms. But why is something helpful for us, but hurtful for other animals? On this episode of the Let's Talk Chemistry, hosts Nicholas Molitor, Olivia Lambertson, and Yeongseo Son talk about their interview with...

Wouldn’t your chemistry class be so much more engaging if you were able to talk about superheroes and theoretical elements like vibranium? This educator is working to do just that. On this episode of Let's Talk Chemistry, host Olivia Lambertson interviews Dr. Sibrina Collins, an Executive Director of STEM Education and Associate Professor of Practice in Chemistry at Lawrence Technological Univ...

Most of us were learning the alphabet or how to read in kindergarten. But what if you could have been doing scientific experiments? On this episode of Let's Talk Chemistry, hosts Yeongseo Son and Olivia Lambertson talk about their interview with Dr. Danny Schechtman, the 2011 Nobel Laureate and Distinguished Professor of Material Science and Engineering at Iowa State University. We talk about...

Have you ever seen those beautiful photos of nebulas or stars in space and wondered what they are made of? This scientist researches just that! On this episode of the ChemTalk Podcast, hosts Bella Liguori and Olivia Lambertson talk about their interview with Dr. Ewine van Dishoek,  a professor of Molecular Astrophysics at Leiden University. We talk about water in space, the creation of telescopes,...

Have you wondered how something like luminescent materials can be used to diagnose diseases through your mobile? How is a discovery like this even possible? Through analytical chemistry- the branch of chemistry that focuses on experimentation! In this episode, ChemTalk hosts Isabella, Riya and Siya meet Dr. Russ Algar and discuss the spectroscopy research that he and his team are conducting at UBC...

We have seen how gas stations have changed the way humans can travel. So what if there was a gas station on the moon? On today’s episode, hosts Olivia Lambertson and Riya Jain interview Dr. George Whitesides, a Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Research Professor at Harvard University. Hosts Bella Liguori and Olivia unpack the contents of the interview including discussion on the Lorenz ef...

Chemistry is involved in everything around us, including the clothes we wear and the device we listen to podcasts on! So why is chemistry not taught as a fundamental science? On this episode of the ChemTalk Podcast, hosts Olivia Lambertson Siya and Riya interview Dr. Sourav Pal, Head of the Department, Chemistry and Professor of Chemistry at Ashoka University. We talk about the benefits of taking...

There’s got to be some good science in cooking because this scientist changed career paths from chef to chemist! On today’s episode of the ChemTalk podcast, Olivia Lambertson and Nafeesa Mamhood interview Dr. Laura Bickerton, who at the time of the interview was a grad student at the University of Oxford. We talk about what it is like to be a grad student, standardized tests, and how anion transpo...

There’s got to be some good science in cooking because this scientist changed career paths from chef to chemist! On today’s episode of the ChemTalk podcast, Olivia Lambertson and Nafeesa Mamhood interview Dr. Laura Bickerton, who at the time of the interview was a grad student at the University of Oxford. We talk about what it is like to be a grad student and how anion transport can respond to sti...

Have you ever seen a tweet saying two of your favorite celebrities are dating, only to find out that it was misinformation? We’ve been there too. Even worse, this happens all the time in science! On this episode of the ChemTalk Podcast, host Olivia Lambertson interviews Dave Farina, otherwise known as “Professor Dave Explains” on YouTube to his 2.3 million subscribers. We discuss what it is like t...