{"podcast":{"title":"Instant Genius","slug":"instant-genius-226559","podcast_index_feed_id":226559,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/GLT7732401960","website_url":"http://www.sciencefocus.com/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/f7c186ec-ab83-11ed-876d-531b385da704/image/1e3aeeafe7dbc619978cf0eccb54d269.jpeg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Our Media","episode_count":652,"summary":"Whether you’re curious about getting healthy, the Big Bang or the science of cooking, find out everything you need to know with Instant Genius. The team behind BBC Science Focus Magazine talk to world-leading experts to bring you two bite-sized masterclasses on a new subject each week. New episodes are released every Monday and Friday and you can subscribe to Instant Genius on Apple Podcasts to access all new episodes ad-free and all old episodes of Instant Genius Extra. Watch full episodes of Instant Genius on BBC Science Focus Magazine's YouTube channel. Follow us on X: @SFIGPod","last_synced_at":"2026-06-19T10:17:02.929921+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559"},"episode":{"title":"How chemistry underpins every area of our lives","slug":"how-chemistry-underpins-every-area-of-our-lives","published_at":"2026-04-09T23:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559/how-chemistry-underpins-every-area-of-our-lives","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR1447570836.mp3?updated=1775661714","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR1447570836.mp3?updated=1775661714","summary":"While we may not always be consciously aware of it, chemical processes are busy whirring away every second of every day, no matter what we’re doing or where we look. Be it the reactions that continuously occur in our own bodies to keep us alive, the manufacturing processes used to make the clothes we wear, the homes we live in and the products we rely on to make our lives more comfortable, or even in the development of the medicines we use to treat disease. In this episode, we’re joined by Prof Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, professor of pharmaceutical neuroscience at University College London, and president of Wolfson College, Cambridge, to talk about her latest book, Chain Reaction – The Wondrous Chemistry of Everyday Life. She tells us how all of the bodily functions we take for granted are grounded in the chemistry of the atoms and molecules we’re made of, how we’ve harnessed the processes of chemistry to create the materials we rely on for our survival every single day, and how taking a moment or two to think about these fascinating processes can open us up to a whole new way of looking, not only at ourselves, but also at the world we live in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices","meta_description":"While we may not always be consciously aware of it, chemical processes are busy whirring away every second of every day, no matter what we’re doing or whe…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2115,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/instant-genius-226559/episodes/how-chemistry-underpins-every-area-of-our-lives/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559/how-chemistry-underpins-every-area-of-our-lives.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}