How do gemstones get their color?

How can the same element make both pencil lead and diamonds? This week we wrap up our pencil chemistry mini-series by answering a surprisingly tricky question: how do erasers actually erase? Then we dive into one of chemistry’s coolest ideas. Graphite and diamond are both made en ...  Show more

#158 Rebroadcast Gemstones come in all sorts of colors, but how do they get them? Are different stones super different at the molecular level? How do these different colors happen naturally? And how can those colors be replicated in lab-made gemstones? Let's get into it. Referenc ...  Show more

Why is it so hard to get a picture of the Milky Way? How much of our galaxy have we mapped? What the heck is a "barred spiral" and what does that have to do with our core? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!

Today it’s great to chat with Lori Gottlieb and Guy Winch on the podcast. Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, which has sold over a million copies and is currently being adapted as a television series. In a ...  Show more

Send us Fan MailIn Episode 139 of Book Talk, Etc., Tina and Renee share their possible 5+ star reads. They also share what they've been loving lately, their latest reads, and have book talk about trying to find 5-star reads. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE ...  Show more

This episode begins with a rant. This rant, in particular, comes from Dan Engber - a science writer who loves animals but despises animal intelligence research. Dan told us that so much of the way we study animals involves tests that we think show a human is smart ... not the ...