Tiny Matters

Did you know that over 75% of silent films have disappeared? The culprit: highly flammable film! We open this episode of Tiny Matters with a poker bet, a decades long grudge, and a garage full of film before we hop into the rise of nitrate (nitrocellulose) film and how it shaped film history. We chat with Robert Shanebrook, who literally wrote the book on Kodak film, and with collection manager Deborah Stoiber at the George Eastman Museum, the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the oldest film archives. We talk about the science of preserving and conserving the nitrate films that have survived, and why it’s so important for keeping cultural memories alive. Did you know that ‘George Eastman, Kodak, and the Birth of Consumer Photography’ is a National Historic Chemical Landmark? Read more about it here.
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A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, a listener asks: Could we still be carrying air from our very first breath? Deboki unpacks residual lung volume, gas exchange, and a forensic technique used to determine whether or not someone drowned. Then, the conversation turns to women’s health and bleeding disorders after a listener shares their experience living with Von Willebrand disease — the most common bleeding disorder. Sam explores what the condition is, how it was discovered, why it disproportionately affects women, and how normalizing heavy, painful periods is not just frustrating but has serious medical consequences.
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We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to [email protected] *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/tinymatters.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the early 1930s, a “new and improved” eyelash dye called Lash Lure blinded more than a dozen women, ultimately forcing the FDA to pass new regulations on cosmetics. Nearly a century later, beauty remains far safer than it was in the past, but you could argue that beauty marketing has become far more insidious, with vague language and chemophobic claims to push consumers toward products. In this episode, we chat with cosmetic chemist and science communicator Michelle Wong to unpack the booming “clean beauty” industry, including a conversation about parabens and fragrances and how chemophobia (a fear of chemicals) early in life can become a gateway to broader anti-science thinking, including anti-vax. You can follow Michelle at @LabMuffinBeautyScience on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube where she makes longer explainer videos.
Check out Wow if True here or wherever you listen to podcasts!
We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to [email protected] *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/tinymatters.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We want to recommend a new podcast called The Interface. It's the BBC's fiercly informed, fast and funny take on how tech is impacting all of us. We have become regular listeners and hope you enjoy it too!

We want to recommend a new podcast called The Interface. It's the BBC's fiercly informed, fast and funny take on how tech is impacting all of us. We have become regular listeners and hope you enjoy it too!