T. R. Appleton

The Episodic Table of Elements

Science EN ↓ 98 episodes

A podcast about the fascinating true stories behind each element on the periodic table.

Author

T. R. Appleton

Category

Science

Podcast website

episodictable.com

Latest episode

Sep 27, 2025

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Episodes

95. Americium: Mundus Novus 27.09.2025

Many episodes have incorporated geology, but this one is more about geography. (And amateur nuclear science.)

94. Plutonium: Weapons-Grade 03.03.2025

Element 94 causes a bit of a crisis for our collections.

93. Neptunium: Great Expectations 22.08.2024

To the person who said, "the episodes are never too long," I'm terribly sorry.

The Episodic Table Of Elements Holiday Special 20.12.2023

♪ O chemistry, o chemistry, the study of all matter ♫

92. Uranium: Two Untold Tales (Live At Harvard) 29.05.2023

America's worst radioactive accident isn't Three Mile Island, and the Nazi nuclear physicist wasn't assassinated by the famous baseball player.

91. Protactinium: Decolonize Science 19.10.2022

Sometimes we need a quiet moment in order to step back and look at the bigger picture.

90. Thorium: Bright Lights, Big City 22.02.2022

Sure, thorium could provide practically limitless clean energy, but then we couldn't build weapons of mass destruction.

89. Actinium: The Windup… And The Pitchblende 08.11.2021

We all know that radioactive rocks glow in the dark, except they actually don't, except for when they actually do.

88. Radium: Several Sordid Affairs 18.10.2021

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.

87. Francium: Nothing To Do With Cats 13.09.2021

You don't have to have a degree to do science, but it helps.

86. Radon: It’s Coming From Inside The House 23.08.2021

You know something's amiss when you set off the radiation alarms while walking in to the nuclear power plant.

85. Astatine: Pathological Science 02.08.2021

The story of astatine takes us to Alabama, Dacca, Romania, Vienna, and California, but definitely not Switzerland.

84. Polonium: The Distinguished Alumna Of Warsaw’s Flying University 05.07.2021

Sadly, it's no longer possible to purchase this lethally radioactive element for fifteen cents and a cereal boxtop.

83. Bismuth: The Friendly Oddball 14.06.2021

The periodic table shows the natural patterns and trends among the elements. Bismuth does not abide.

82. Lead: Irrational Self-Interest 24.05.2021

We just can't seem to stop chasing the sweet, sweet taste of element 82.

81. Thallium: It Rides A Pale Horse 26.04.2021

In which we learn how reading mystery novels might very well save a life.

80. Mercury: Fatally Toxic And Probably In Your Mouth 12.04.2021

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.

79. Gold: Lump Sum 29.03.2021

All other metals step aside, because today we deal with the king of elements.

78. Platinum: A Tous Les Temps, A Tous Les Peuples 15.03.2021

Sometimes, being set in stone isn't permanent enough.

77. Iridium: T. Rex And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day 01.03.2021

Alvarez noticed a great disturbance in the rocks, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

76. Osmium: It Stinks! 08.02.2021

This entire episode serves as cautionary advice to anyone seeking to add osmium to their element collection.

75. Rhenium: A Love Of Two Brains 25.01.2021

Witness an incredible, unbreakable bond between two who couldn't be more alike. We'll also learn about a married couple.

74. Tungsten: What Is The Atom We Love? 11.01.2021

All right, everybody settle down. Welcome to the weekly meeting of the National Association Of W Lovers.

73. Tantalum: Mystery Meat 28.12.2020

Once more, the periodic table drags us to hell -- this time by way of ancient Greece.

72. Hafnium: The Isomer Bomb 14.12.2020

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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