The Episodic Table of Elements

All right, everybody settle down. Welcome to the weekly meeting of the National Association Of W Lovers.

Once more, the periodic table drags us to hell -- this time by way of ancient Greece.

The science suggests hafnium can't be used to create a gamma ray bomb, but that won't stop the U.S. government from trying.

Let us ensure we remember the lanthanide series before we leave it behind once and for all.

When Johann Bottger failed to turn lead into gold, porcelain made a pretty good consolation prize.

We'll go to the land of the ice and snow... and figure out exactly where that is, too.

Element 68 plays an important role in stitching together the World Wide Web -- for better or for worse.

Hello, Listener. Under better circumstances, you would be learning about erbium right about now. Unfortunately, that episode is not quite ready yet. Between my day job and the possibility of a very big move in my near future, I simply haven't had enough time to create a quality episode according to my usual schedule -- and I probably won't be able to for the next couple weeks, either. However, I didn't want to just fall off the face of the earth. So I hope you'll accept my apologies for the...

Holmium: Equally beloved by theoretical physicists and Jedi Knights.

You spin me right round, baby, right round, like a windmill, baby, right round round round.

For more than one reason, element 65 makes the short list of "most annoying elements."

Like Luke Skywalker, today's tale takes a farmboy to greatness.

If you enjoy The Episodic Table Of Elements, please consider nominating the show for a Podcast Award.

As element collectors, may we all one day be as fortunate as Frank Harold Spedding.

We hear all sorts of incredible stories on this podcast, but today we'll meet the most unbelievable character of all time: A friendly bureaucrat.

We've met mythological light-bearers before, but this one possesses a decidedly nobler spirit.

Decades of complex geopolitical chaos ultimately result in one afternoon's rather embarrassing hospital visit.

Sometimes, the most interesting aspect of an element has nothing to do with chemistry at all.

It's the most common flint you'll find, except it's not actually flint at all.

Let's uncover element 57, and find out why the "rare earths" are neither rare nor earths nor an empire.