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PODCAST

Tiny Matters

Science shapes every part of our lives, but so much of its influence is overlooked or buried in the past. Tiny Matters is an award-winning podcast about tiny things — from molecules to microbes — that have a big and often surprising impact on society. From deadly diseases to forensic toxicology to the search for extraterrestrial life, hosts and former scientists Sam Jones and Deboki Chakravarti embrace the awe and messiness of science and its place in history and today, and how it could

science life sciences

All Episodes

15:35

[BONUS] Four armadillos in a trenchcoat and does...

Tiny Matters ·

2025/01/29

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we cover a species of armadillo that, as it turns out, is actually four species. Then we discuss what researchers know about if pregnant people have a better sense of smell.We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tin...

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26:39

'A cage of ovulating females': The development and...

Tiny Matters ·

2025/01/22

The 1940s were a pivotal time for the world. In the United States, as men went to fight in World War II, women became essential additions to the US workforce. And when the war ended, many of those women wanted to continue working. But having more children than they wanted or could care for was a huge barrier to making that a reality. When the oral birth control pill became available in 1960, it was a massive deal because it gave women control over when and if they wanted to have children. Tod...

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1:50

Submit a Tiny Show and Tell Us — first 40 people get...

Tiny Matters ·

2025/01/17

We’re always on the lookout for Tiny Show and Tell Us submissions and we thought, why not provide a little incentive? The first 40 listeners within the United States who send us their science facts or some cool news they’ve come across or even a fun science story from their childhood will be sent a Tiny Matters coffee mug with our original logo! You can submit at this link or email tinymatters@acs.org. Ready, set, go!

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12:49

[BONUS] A hedgehog doppelgänger and STEVE lighting up...

Tiny Matters ·

2025/01/15

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we cover an aurora-like phenomenon — STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) — and how citizen science led to its discovery and unforgettable name. Then we talk about convergent evolution in tenrecs, a fascinating family of animals endemic to Madagascar. Some look identical to hedgehogs, some are similar to opossums, and others look like moles. We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters...

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28:26

Nearly 40 years after the Chornobyl nuclear disaster,...

Tiny Matters ·

2025/01/08

On April 26, 1986, the Soviet Union’s Chornobyl Power Complex nuclear reactor 4 exploded, releasing a massive amount of highly radioactive material. People living near the power plant were forced to evacuate, and the area was deemed uninhabitable. But today, many animals — some the descendants of pets left behind — have made this region their home. In this episode, we chat with researchers who have spent a lot of time in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone studying the animals that live there, tryin...

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17:41

Happy New Year! Bring on 2025

Tiny Matters ·

2025/01/01

Happy 2025! Join us as we reflect back on 2024 and share exciting episode topics and podcast plans for 2025.Send us your science stories/factoids/news for a chance to be featured on an upcoming Tiny Show and Tell Us bonus episode and to be entered to win a Tiny Matters coffee mug! And, while you're at it, subscribe to our newsletter at bit.ly/tinymattersnewsletter.All Tiny Matters transcripts and references are available here.

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16:20

[BONUS] Pollen-food allergy syndrome and stepping on...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/12/18

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we cover a study where a researcher stepped on 116 snakes over 40,000 times for science (don’t worry, the ‘steps’ were more like touches, no snakes were harmed in the process). Then we get into why a pollen allergy might trigger an allergy to some of your favorite fruits.We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story f...

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27:26

Frostbite: From Napoleonic era treatments to the...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/12/11

Dominique Jean Larrey lived quite a life. He was born in 1766, and at the age of 13, had to walk from his home in a French village to study in the city of Toulouse. That journey was 70 miles, and yes, he walked it. That would be important much later in his life, when he found himself walking through the bitter cold in Russia as the Chief Surgeon of Napoleon's army. During that time, Napoleon's troops had to contend with the reality of Russian cold and temperatures that got as low as -37 degre...

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17:46

[BONUS] Xenobots and rethinking 'junk DNA': Tiny Show...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/12/04

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we cover exciting new 'living robots' called xenobots — made from frog cells with the help of a supercomputer — and what they might be used for down the road. Then we challenge how much "junk" really makes up "junk DNA" and discuss the regulatory sequences and other things our DNA codes for that aren't functional proteins. We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* wi...

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28:31

In defense of plants: Pitfall traps, rancid aromas,...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/11/27

On Tiny Matters we just weren’t giving enough love to plants, but we’re dedicated to fixing that! In this week’s episode, we chat with Matt Candeias, the host of the podcast In Defense of Plants. We tackle a subject that we had definitely oversimplified in our minds: pollination. From stinky corpse flowers to pitfall traps to faux fermentation, the way plants have evolved so many strategies to reproduce is beyond fascinating. We can’t wait to take you all on this pollination ride!Send us your...

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14:36

[BONUS] Why we experience altitude sickness and a...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/11/20

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we cover why your body feels so ‘off’ at high altitudes and how we’ve evolved not to detect low oxygen levels but high amounts of carbon dioxide. Then we unpack the confusing world of molecule chirality — what it is, why it matters, and how we evolved to only have ‘left-handed’ amino acids but ‘right-handed’ DNA and RNA.We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with ...

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32:46

Stories trapped in ancient teeth: Reconstructing...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/11/13

How often do you think about your teeth? In this episode of Tiny Matters, we talk about how the atoms trapped within teeth can reveal what an animal ate and where it lived, and how studying teeth has helped ecologists reconstruct prehistoric food webs of megatooth sharks and retrace the steps of woolly mammoths across the Arctic. And hopefully, we’ll give you a few new reasons to appreciate your own pearly whites. Send us your science stories/factoids/news for a chance to be featured on an up...

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17:03

[BONUS] Mice aging in reverse and using origami to...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/11/06

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore the science behind a very catchy headline about a drug that makes mice look more youthful and increases their life expectancies. Then we shift gears to talk about a predatory unicellular organism with a swan-like neck that rapidly extends a great distance to capture prey. Researchers used origami to understand the mechanics behind this anatomical feat. We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinym...

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28:44

Ghosts and cyborgs: A specter skeptic and the promise...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/10/30

Halloween is right around the corner, so what better way to celebrate than a deep dive into the ‘science’ of ghost sightings? We touch on a bit of the psychology behind these experiences and then break down the equipment people use when searching for proof that spirits float among us, and how power lines and rats in walls muddy the specter detection waters. Then we switch to something a little more corporeal, but no less weird: cyborgs. Biohybrid robots hold a lot of potential, but their ethi...

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17:28

[BONUS] Algae in the clouds and colossal galaxy...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/10/23

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore the unexpected ways algae (and the things that kill them) influence cloud formation. We also chat about the massive galaxy walls in our universe, including the South Pole Wall and the Sloan Great Wall, both of which are around 1.5 billion light-years long. We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a...

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32:02

Pesticides across history and learning from millions...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/10/16

On January 27, 1958, newspaper editor Olga Huckins sat down to write an angry letter to a friend. Olga and her husband owned a private two-acre bird sanctuary, and the previous summer the government had sprayed the pesticide DDT all over that two acres to control the mosquitos. She saw wildlife, particularly birds, getting sick and dying. The friend Olga sent the letter to was none other than Rachel Carson, who would go on to write the book Silent Spring, exposing the dangers of synthetic pes...

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15:38

[BONUS] A shark’s ‘jelly-filled canals’ and deadly...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/10/09

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we talk about the ampullae of Lorenzini that allow sharks to detect the electrochemical signals coming from prey. We also cover the fascinating science behind cyanide-filled clovers. Did you know cyanide is actually a very popular poison in the plant kingdom? We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance ...

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28:58

Vaping vs. smoking: What does decades of research...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/10/02

E-cigarettes, commonly referred to as “vapes,” were invented in the early 2000s with the explicit goal of helping people quit smoking by transitioning them to something safer. But there are many people, particularly in the United States, who start vaping without ever having smoked a cigarette, leading to fears that vaping will be an on-ramp to smoking — a “gateway drug.” In fact, in the U.S. alone, nearly half a million middle school students vape. And in 2019, the CDC started receiving...

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17:01

[BONUS] How the moon causes tides and ancient viruses...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/09/25

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we break down the complicated science of tides and why some places have massive tidal swings while others do not. We also cover the role of ancient viral DNA in our genomes, and how it seems to be making us less responsive to cancer treatments like chemotherapy.We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chanc...

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30:22

Extinction: Rethinking the dodo's demise, and could a...

Tiny Matters ·

2024/09/18

Around 8 million years ago, an underwater volcano just to the east of Madagascar formed the island of Mauritius. Pigeons on nearby islands set flight and settled on that island. There they continued to evolve, and the dodo bird eventually emerged as its own species: Raphus cucullatus. And tiny Mauritius, with an area of just 720 square miles, was the only place in the entire world where the dodo lived. And it lived a good life, among bats and tortoises and other birds, safe from the predators...

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143 results

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