It may be our first episode, but we aren't afraid to start out with the hard stuff - hard X-rays, that is. We discuss what X-rays are, what they might sound like, and why Dugan is so fond of using them from studying transition metal complexes. We also end up getting a bit philosophical about structural vs. spectroscopic X-ray characterization and dive into EXAFS, the one technique that manages to be both at once.