Chemistry World Book Club

This time, we discuss and scrutinise Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome, by Venkatraman “Venki” Ramakrishnan. By the time Venki had earned a PhD in physics from Ohio University in the US, he had already made the unusual decision to change direction and focus full-force on uncovering the secrets of the ribosome, which eventually led to him co-winning the Nobel prize in 2009. Known as the mother of all molecules, you’ll find lots of information to help explain why the ribosome is so crucial in understanding DNA, as well as personal insights and tales of calamity on the way to the top.

This month’s podcast features I’m a Joke and So Are You, in which comedian Robin Ince examines what makes us human by reflecting on his own experiences and through conversations with other comedians. Ince also talks to leading neuroscientists and psychologists to learn more about phenomena such as creativity, anxiety and imposter syndrome.

This month’s podcast is about the Nobel prize and the hype that has surrounded it for decades, as described in Brian Keating’s new book Losing the Nobel Prize. In 2014, Keating was confident that the invention he had helped to create – the most powerful telescope for cosmology that had ever been built – and its findings would lead him to the Nobel prize. But when he lost the prize, Keating found himself compelled to re-evaluate the prize he had loved for so long, and ask how relevant it was for a modern world.

This month’s podcast features material scientist Mark Miodownik’s latest book Liquid: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives. Fascinated by what defines a liquid and the mechanisms behind their working, the author uses his experiences on board an every-day commercial flight as the backdrop for his writings, describing every liquid he encounters along the way, showing how there is magic in everything from aviation fuel to orange juice.

For this month’s podcast, we take a slight diversion from our usual non-fiction theme, and take a look at Jennifer Rohn’s lab-lit novel Cat Zero. Being a scientist as well as a writer, Rohn finds herself in a unique position, enabling her to combine the drama of a traditional thriller with hard science details that most books either ignore or get wrong.

Emma Stoye presents this month’s podcast about immunology professor Daniel Davis’s latest book – The Beautiful Cure. The book explores the history of immunology, along with insights from the author’s career and findings from his recent research. As a leader in the field of immunology, Davis breaks down the various factors that can affect the human immune system, explains how complex a thing it is, and goes on to explore how sensitive it is to things like sleep, stress, age and even our state-of-mind. 

In this month’s podcast presented by Emma Stoye, Helen Thomson reveals fascinating insights about some of the rarest neurological conditions known to science. From a man whose synesthesia allows him to see auras, to a woman who lacks a mental map – making even simple navigation all but impossible – Thomson recalls a number of case studies which she unearthed on a ten-year journey through academic journals. Guaranteed to make you think about things that most of us take for granted, the author reveals both the data and the human stories that give it depth.

Join Emma Stoye at the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. She speaks to New Scientist's Rowan Hooper about his book Superhuman, finds out from Philip Ball why quantum physics is Beyond Weird, and discusses the genesis of a new book with Gabrielle Walker. Plus, an in-depth chat about the very nature of the universe with Peter Atkins, whose textbook Physical Chemistry has graced the shelves of chemistry students since the 1970s.

For this month’s podcast, we explore the world of anti-GM campaigning which Mark Lynas was a part of for years, and discover what it was that made him turn his back on his extreme views. The book looks at how and why he decided to help scientists on the other side of the divide, and explores the work he has done to help farmers in developing countries.

Are things getting better, or are we on the decline? In Enlightenment now, Steven Pinker argues that science and reason have made us better than ever before. Emma Stoye, Kit Chapman and Aurora Walshe find out if he hits the mark.

For this month’s podcast, we peruse Steve Mould and Helen Arney’s new book: The Element in the Room. Inspired by the popular science stand-up show, Festival of the Spoken Nerd,  the book takes us on an energetic journey of discovery through science, showing us how to do a range of science experiments at home, and revealing facts and intriguing snippets of information that often get ignored.

This month we take a look at Testosterone rex. Cordelia Fine dismantles various ideas about gender equality, and examines why these perceptions have managed to garner such mainstream support.

This month we discuss More molecules of murder, in which John Emsley meets your morbid fascination with stories of true crime and the poisons involved

This month we discuss Chemistry, in which First-time novelist Weike Wang takes us inside the mind of a Chinese American PhD student in Boston

Dodgy dietary advice is everywhere, from bite-size morsels on social media to an all-you-can-eat buffet of books on how to eat ‘well’. ‘Lifestyle gurus’ dish up directions such as ‘cut out gluten’ or ‘consume like a caveman’, but much of their fare is fact-free. One chef thinks this is all too much to swallow, so set about reducing the science of healthy eating down to a digestible serving.  In this podcast, we discuss The angry chef – bad science and the truth about healthy eating by Anthony Warner.

We are the products of nature and nurture, but the invention of Crispr, which enables us to alter our genomes, means we could soon be nurturing nature. This may well lead to a cure for HIV or certain types of cancer, but arguably it might lead to designer babies. In this week's podcast, we discuss A crack in creation by  Crispr's inventor, Jennifer Doudna, and Samuel Sternberg.

Things go from bad to worse for Mackenzie Smith when her data disappears, her lab rats are killed, and she is accused of fraud. But slowly she stars to discover who might be behind her misfortune following a series of clues her late colleague left behind. In this month’s podcast, we discuss the novel A course in deception by Jana Rieger.

Next year will see the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelly's classic, Frankenstein; or, the modern Prometheus. To celebrate this, a new edition has been release with annotations aimed at scientists and engineers. This edition of the podcast includes a classic extract from the book, an interview with David H Guston, one of the editors of the new edition, and the Chemistry World team discuss why the novel is still relevant today.

Everything you need to know about everything we don’t yet know. This month’s book is We have no idea by the creators of PHD Comics, Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson. It discusses the great unsolved problems of physics in a way which is guaranteed to entertain.  We hear from the authors, and the Chemistry World team discuss why the llama is the perfect animal for explaining the concept of binding energy.

The mass disparagement of knowledge is a recent phenomenon. Apparently we’ve all had enough of experts, and facts aren’t important, as there are always alternatives. In The death of expertise, Tom Nichols considers how facts fell out of favour, and what it means for the future of society. Hear an interview with Tom, a reading from the book and the views of the Chemistry World team.