(Part 2/2) This month, Stereo Chemistry is sharing a pair of episodes from Distillations, a podcast from the Science History Institute. We rely on rare-earth elements to make many essential technologies like smartphones, medical imaging devices, and wind turbines. But how much do you know about where these extraordinary materials come from? In this two-part series, Distillations hosts Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago explore the source of rare earths' "magic," the costs of acquiring these elements and what scientists are doing to try to find a way to produce them sustainably.

A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/373odhN.

Find more stories from Distillations at Distillations.org.

Image credit: Courtesy of Distillations/C&EN

(Part 1/2) This month, Stereo Chemistry is sharing a pair of episodes from Distillations, a podcast from the Science History Institute. We rely on rare-earth elements to make many essential technologies like smartphones, medical imaging devices, and wind turbines. But how much do you know about where these extraordinary materials come from? In this two-part series, Distillations hosts Alexis Pedrick and Elisabeth Berry Drago explore the source of rare earths' "magic," the costs of acquiring these elements and what scientists are doing to try to find a way to produce them sustainably.

A transcript of this episode is available at https://bit.ly/373odhN.

Find more stories from Distillations at Distillations.org. Image credit: Courtesy of Distillations/C&EN

This month, we're sharing an episode of the podcast My Fave Queer Chemist. Hosted by graduate students Bec Roldan and Geraldo Duran-Camacho, the show celebrates the excellence of LGBTQ+ chemists everywhere. Stereo Chemistry is excited to share this recent episode featuring inorganic photochemist Irving Rettig. In the episode, Rettig discusses his background in art conservation, his experiences finding support and community in grad school, and his work promoting transgender-inclusive name change policies within academic publishing.

Note: This episode includes the use of slang terms for some members of the LGBTQ+ community. A transcript of this episode is available at bit.ly/3624azW. Follow My Fave Queer Chemist on Twitter at @MFQCPod. Find new episodes at anchor.fm/mfqc.

Read C&EN's article "LGBTQ+ Chemists You Should Know About" at cenm.ag/historiclqbtq. Image credit: My Fave Queer Chemist/Will Ludwig/Yang Ku/C&EN

More than 50 years of missions to Mars paint a clear picture of a cold, dry, desert planet. And at the same time, photographs, minerals, and other data tell scientists that Mars once had as much water as Earth, or even more. Why are the two planets so different today? In this episode of Stereo Chemistry, we talk to scientists about the latest research on Mars's water and where they think the water went.

Listen to the end of the episode for an announcement about the future of Stereo Chemistry.

Sign up for C&EN's newsletter at bit.ly/chemnewsletter.

A transcript for this episode is available at bit.ly/3hPfHcP.

Image credit: Kevin Gill/Flickr based on data from NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/USGS

Toxic elements like lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium in food are not a new problem. But when they show up in pureed vegetables and other foods intended for babies, alarm bells go off. That's what happened in recent months following a bombshell congressional report that found neurotoxic metals in baby food from multiple manufacturers. In this episode of Stereo Chemistry, host Kerri Jansen and C&EN reporter Britt Erickson explore the fallout from that report and renewed efforts by baby food manufacturers, regulators, advocacy groups, and agricultural scientists to rein in the problem.

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Instructions for adding Chemistry Update to your smart speaker are available at cenm.ag/chemistryupdate. An edited transcript of this episode is available at bit.ly/32JQhox. Image credit: Ollinka/Shutterstock

Living longer has been a human obsession for centuries, but while medical science has helped extend average life span, not all those extra years can be healthy. It turns out that aging is a major risk factor for disease. Follow along as host Kerri Jansen and reporter Laura Howes ask if instead of extending life span, we could extend health span and how modern science could make that a reality. An edited transcript of this episode is available at bit.ly/2NKNZkV. Help us shape the future of Stereo Chemistry by taking the survey at bit.ly/StereoChemSurvey. Image credit: Yang H. Ku/C&EN

Where do you take your career after you've won all of science's biggest prizes? In this episode of Stereo Chemistry, C&EN executive editor Lisa Jarvis sits down with Nobel laureates Frances Arnold and Jennifer Doudna to hear about whether their career goals changed after they got that early-morning phone call in October and how the pandemic has shifted the way they approach their work. A script of this episode is available at bit.ly/3u7jCW7. Sign up for C&EN's newsletter at cenm.ag/chemnewsletter. Catch up on last year's package of trailblazing women chemists, edited by Jennifer Doudna, at cenm.ag/2020trailblazers. Image credit: Caltech (Arnold)/Laura Morton Photography (Doudna)

Researchers want to invent the technologies of the future, but there are plenty of chemical questions lurking in the past. In this episode of Stereo Chemistry, C&EN assistant editor Gina Vitale joins host Kerri Jansen to explore the centuries-old secrets and nagging mysteries that keep science historians up at night—and how these researchers go about solving them. A script and additional resources are available at bit.ly/3qGGHg5.

Sign up for C&EN's Grad Student Survival Guide at cenm.ag/gradsurvivalguide. Image credit: Marjolijn Bol/Lawrence Principe/John Haldon

As we prepare for a new US president, many chemists are wondering how the administration change may affect them and their work. Will President-Elect Joe Biden change immigration policies that have reduced the number of foreign students studying at US universities? How might scientific integrity standards in the federal government change under the Biden-Harris team? And will this administration grant the chemical industry's wish to stop the trade war with China and other US trading partners? In this episode of Stereo Chemistry, C&EN policy reporter Cheryl Hogue joins host Kerri Jansen to help orient listeners to how a Biden administration is likely to impact the world of chemistry. A script for this episode is available at bit.ly/37oPYT9.

Find all C&EN's COVID-19 coverage at cenm.ag/coronavirus.

Make a donation to support C&EN's nonprofit science journalism at cenm.ag/donate. Image credit: Luca Perra/Shutterstock

Many grad students may be surprised to learn their university's policies for reimbursing medical fees for lab injuries do not cover grad students, or cover grad students only under certain circumstances. And it can be hard to get clarity on what is and is not covered. That's left some grad students in an uncomfortable limbo of seeking answers after they've already racked up thousands of dollars in bills for an injury in the lab. In the latest episode of Stereo Chemistry, we uncover the source of this confusion and ask what—if anything—grad students can do about it.

A script for this episode is available at https://bit.ly/3kMwE5O.

Read C&EN's cover story, "Who pays when a graduate student gets hurt?" at bit.ly/2INB4M5. Sign up for the Grad Student Survival Guide at cenm.ag/gradsurvivalguide. Image credit: danielfela/Shutterstock