Shows
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryOxygen, Enormous Bugs, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryThis podcast will the introduce 4-inch-long cockroaches, giant millipedes up to 8 feet long, and dragonflies the size of pigeons of the Carboniferous era (323 to 299 million years ago) and ask the question: Why were bugs so BIG 300 million years ago? The answer in no small part is because of oxygen (O), the 8th element of the periodic table and one most life on earth can’t live without.2025-05-2510 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryFrancium, Fairy Tales, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryIn Paris, at the Institut du Radium, Madame Marie Curie, looked over graduates of the class of 1929 and selected the top student, Marguerite Perey (who was only 19 years old), to come and work as her technician. Perey discovered and named Francium, and, like her mentor before her, became a beacon for women in science everywhere. 2025-04-2505 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryBeryllium, the Demon Core, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryIn part one of the beryllium (Be) story, you learned that four atomic cores were created for the Manhattan Project, but only three were detonated. The fourth core, nicknamed Rufus, continued to be used in further research … until it killed two careless scientists who mishandled the beryllium tamper. That’s when its name was changed to the Demon Core. 2025-03-2507 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryBeryllium, Fission, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryThis podcast was initially inspired by the 2023 movie, Oppenheimer, and the Manhattan Project which means it has a New Mexico connection (Yay!). Because, while the use of a Beryllium tamper saved the lives of numerous scientists working with radioactive materials at Los Alamos, mistakes could be fatal (Boo!).2025-03-0906 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryVanadium, Flow Batteries, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryWith the rise of variable renewable energy like solar and wind, the term “variable” became an immediate problem. Solar creates electricity when the sun shines, but at night? Back to electrical generation with fossil fuels. When the wind blows there’s power, but when it doesn’t, coal and gas fill in the gaps. Thus began a concerted push for a new generation of batteries for use during downtimes. Was there a periodic table element that could be safely used in renewable power generation? Why, yes, there was!
Vanadium.2025-02-2509 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryLead, Lead Poisoning the Cowboy Way, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysterySometimes the Periodic Table of Death and Mystery comes very close to home.
She was from a prominent family in her small, insular town, and he worked as the manager at a brothel. She was eighteen when they met and he was thirty-six and married. She became pregnant with his child before he was shot, dead from the
lead of a bullet fired in anger.
His name was José Ramirez, but everyone called him Joe. 2025-01-2507 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysterySilicon, Green Obsidian, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryGreen obsidian—a stone as transparent as glass with iron and chromium impurities that create its rare color—was considered a luxury trade good in pre- and post-Columbian Central American culture. Archaeologists have found green obsidian hundreds to thousands of miles away from its origin. For example, it was discovered in a ritual cremation in Belize and in Mayan temples. So why was it found in the Texas panhandle and how does silicon play a role?2024-12-2510 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryChromium, Gummy Bears, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysterySome formsof chromium are incredibly toxic. Just ask Hinkley, California. Others are in your daily multivitamin because chromium plays an important role in sugar metabolism and mood improvement. So, what happens if a person doesn’t get enough chromium in their diet and does it really have a link to gummy bears?2024-11-2504 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryIron Ore, the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryIn 1975, an obscure Iron ore ship disappeared under the waters of Lake Superior, but the tale of its last voyage became immortalized in 1976 by the singer Gordon Lightfoot as The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It’s a heartfelt ballad that transports the listener into the gales of November and leaves them aching for the Fitz’s lost crew.2024-11-1007 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryGallium equals Good Death, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryDid you know Gallium is so safe, you can buy it online and let your kids play with it? So what does it kill? Infectious bacteria! Remember those face masks we all slapped on our faces a couple of years ago? Gallium-doped fabrics and regeneration matrices are powering up anti-infection, anti-viral mediums in medicine, and preventing anti-bacterial resistance.2024-10-2505 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryPeriodic Table of Death and Mystery: Author SpotlightHost Laura Haas steps into Studio B to talk with Carol Potenza, award-winning mystery author and creator of the Periodic Table of Death and Mystery podcast. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to peak into the mind that transformed the periodic table into a playground for murder and mayhem.2024-10-1513 min
Girls Gone HallmarkHaunted WeddingGet ready to be haunted by love with Haunted Wedding as Girls Gone Hallmark conjures up a delightful discussion about this spooky seasonal premiere! Megan and Wendy ghost hunt their way through the festive charm and supernatural surprises, from ghostly encounters to heartwarming moments. You won’t want to miss this boo-tiful episode, so cozy up with your favorite treat and listen to the review now! Email us your review at girlsgonehallmark@gmail.com or let’s talk about it in the Girls Gone Hallmark Facebook Group! We Need Your 5-STAR Ratings and Reviews Apple Podcast listeners: Use your phone’s podc...2024-10-1530 minGirls Gone HallmarkHaunted WeddingGet ready to be haunted by love with Haunted Wedding as Girls Gone Hallmark conjures up a delightful discussion about this spooky seasonal premiere! Megan and Wendy ghost hunt their way through the festive charm and supernatural surprises, from ghostly encounters to heartwarming moments. You won’t want to miss this boo-tiful episode, so cozy up with your favorite treat and listen to the review now! Email us your review at girlsgonehallmark@gmail.com or let’s talk about it in the Girls Gone Hallmark Facebook Group! We Need Your 5-STAR Ratings and Reviews Apple Podcast listeners: Use your phone’s podc...2024-10-1530 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryArsenic, Poison Books, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryArsenic? Really? Too easy since it’s one of the most toxic substances on earth. But when mixed properly arsenic creates some beautiful paint colors and dyes: rich lemon yellow, brilliant red-orange, and a gorgeous emerald green. And humans wouldn’t do anything stupid with those colors like dye cloth for clothes, decorate children’s toys, or use it in cloth book covers. Right?2024-09-2505 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryMercury, Hats, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryAlice in Wonderland’s Mad Hatter wore a top hat made of felt—but not the felt you find in craft stores and kindergartens. This felt was made of mercury-treated animal fur. For those who prepared the felt and created the hats, mercury had a devastating effect on the brain and neurological systems. And the actual history of how mercury became a part of the felting industry is, well, yuck.2024-09-1506 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryCesium, Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon, and the Periodic Table of DeathLet’s introduce Cesium casually, nonthreateningly, so I don’t scare away non-conspiracy theorists, because it looks like Cesium is going to take a dive into UAPs and USOs. Don’t know what those are? Well, my friends, a little transmedium travel on Alien Spacecraft might be right up your alley.2024-08-2507 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryAluminum, Sapphire Glass, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysterySapphires are made up of a mixture of aluminum and oxygen slightly contaminated with titanium and iron. Get rid of the contamination, and aluminum oxide is completely transparent. That’s right: Transparent aluminum. Now where have we heard that term before?2024-07-2505 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryIridium, Asteroids, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryThink you’re having a bad day? Dinosaurs at the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event say, “Hold my beer.” Why? Because 66 million years ago—give or take—an asteroid approximately 50 miles wide hit the earth, catches pretty much everything on fire for 100s of miles, creates tsunamis 1000 feet high, and pitches the world into darkness for a year or two. Bye-bye dinosaurs. And how did we puny humans figure this out? The periodic table element, Iridium, and opposable thumbs.
References for this episode can be found at the following website:
https://carolpotenza.com/hydrogen-and-the-periodic-table-of-death/
More from Carol...2024-06-2505 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryKrypton, Kryptonite, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryThe periodic table element krypton is colorless, odorless, tasteless (Hey. Like iocaine powder) except it is chemically inert, which means it really doesn’t react with anything. It’s essentially harmless. OR IS IT? Refugees from the planet Krypton might beg to differ.
References for this episode can be found at the following website:
https://carolpotenza.com/hydrogen-and-the-periodic-table-of-death/
More from Carol Potenza and to sign up for her monthly newsletter, please visit her at https://carolpotenza.com/
Music for the Periodic Table of Death was created by Gioele Fazzeri and published under...2024-05-2506 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryThorium and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryYou’re a (Th)ORoughly bad-a** scientist, a true (Th)ORnament in the scientific heavens. Your name is Jöns Jacob Berzelius, you’ve been proclaimed the “Father of Swedish Chemistry,” and celebrated as one of the founders of modern chemistry. So, Jöns, since Disneyland hasn’t been invented yet, what are you gonna do next? Name the NEXT element discovered after the Norse god of Thunder—THORium!
References for this episode can be found at the following website:
https://carolpotenza.com/hydrogen-and-the-periodic-table-of-death/
More from Carol Potenza and to sign up for her monthly ne...2024-04-2506 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryZinc, Sunflowers, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryWhere would the average person get toxic exposure to Zinc? How about a breach of 3 million gallons of thick orange-yellow sludge from the Gold King mine in Southern Colorado that spilled into the Animas River in northern New Mexico? And how on earth could sunflowers help?
References for this episode can be found at the following website:
https://carolpotenza.com/hydrogen-and-the-periodic-table-of-death/
More from Carol Potenza and to sign up for her monthly newsletter, please visit her at https://carolpotenza.com/
Music for the Periodic Table of Death was created by Gioele Fazzeri and publ...2024-03-2507 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryLithium, Social Engineering, and the Periodic Table of Health and MysteryCould lithium, a periodic table element used as an antidepressant, be added to drinking water to decrease violent crime? After all, added fluoride in drinking water results in stronger teeth and bones. Studies have analyzed communities with detectable amounts of naturally dissolved lithium in their aquifers, and you’ll never guess what they found.
References for this episode can be found at the following website:
https://carolpotenza.com/hydrogen-and-the-periodic-table-of-death/
More from Carol Potenza and to sign up for her monthly newsletter, please visit her at https://carolpotenza.com/
Music for the Periodic Table of Death wa...2024-02-2505 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryCalcium, Lovers' Graves, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryModern burial rituals frown on sharing a final resting place. Since all flesh is grass, in the end, our calcium-enriched skeletons tend to remain in our lonely graves. But sometimes what’s buried can astonish. Till Death Do Us Part? Not with these couples.
Music for the Periodic Table of Death was created by Gioele Fazzeri and published under Creative Commons License.
References for this episode can be found at the following website:
https://carolpotenza.com/hydrogen-and-the-periodic-table-of-death/
More from Carol Potenza and to sign up for her monthly newsletter, please visit her at...2024-02-1405 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryNitrogen, Cryogenic Cocktails, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryIn the bar, you see a drink billowing icy smoke and order one. The waiter drops your cocktail on the table, pours in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of −196°C (−320°F), and you quickly down the alcohol/nitrogen mix to the boisterous cheers of your friends. As the contents settle in your warm gut, the liquid nitrogen rapidly expands to gas at 700 times its volume and …
Music for the Periodic Table of Death was created by Gioele Fazzeri and published under Creative Commons License.
References for this episode can be found at the following website:
h...2024-01-2504 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryFluorine, Mt. Vesuvius, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryIn 79 A.D., a catastrophic volcanic eruption rained death down on the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Superheated gaseous clouds measuring 700°C (1300°F) swept down the sides of Mt. Vesuvius, destroying everything in their paths, including every living creature inhabiting the surrounding countryside. But this podcast is not directly about the infamous eruption. It’s about the bones and teeth of its victims. Mt. Vesuvius charged the drinking water with fluorine, making their teeth perfect and their bones strong—before the volcano killed them all.
Music for the Periodic Table of Death was created by Gioele Fazzer...2023-12-2504 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryHelium, Murder Balloons, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryHow does someone use bouncy. colorful, helium-filled
balloons to pull off a homicide? Because humans are nothing if not murderously ingenious.
Music for the Periodic Table of Death was created by Gioele Fazzeri and published by Pixabay under Creative Commons License.
References for this episode can be found at the following website:
https://carolpotenza.com/hydrogen-and-the-periodic-table-of-death/
More from Carol Potenza and to sign up for her monthly newsletter, please visit her at https://carolpotenza.com/
2023-11-2504 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryCarbon, Memory Diamonds, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryRemember you must die. The carbon in your body, as well as the rest of the chemicals that make you you are literally worth about a dollar, but get cremated and you can create a diamond out of your dead loved one that will last forever…Happy Halloween!
Music for the Periodic Table of Death was created by Gioele Fazzeri and published by Pixabay under Creative Commons License.
References for this episode can be found at the following website:
https://carolpotenza.com/hydrogen-and-the-periodic-table-of-death/
More from Carol Potenza and to sign up for he...2023-10-3104 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryHydrogen, the Hindenburg, and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryThe lightest element, Hydrogen, was responsible for the downfall of the largest dirigible ever constructed--resulting in the death of one crew member on the ground.
Music for the Periodic Table of Death was created by Gioele Fazzeri and published by Pixabay under Creative Commons License.
References for this episode can be found at the following website:
https://carolpotenza.com/hydrogen-and-the-periodic-table-of-death/
More from Carol Potenza and to sign up for her monthly newsletter, please visit her at https://carolpotenza.com/ 2023-10-2505 min
Periodic Table of Death and MysteryWerewolves, Silver Bullets and the Periodic Table of Death and MysteryFourteen-year-old Jeanne Boulet was the first victim. Next, a boy, then another girl, and another. One by one, lone men, women, and children--by varying accounts 100-300 souls--were massacred over a period of four years. Terror gripped the region, until a silver bullet ended the mystery. Or did it?
Music for the Periodic Table of Death was created by Gioele Fazzeri and published by Pixabay under Creative Commons License.
References for this episode can be found at the following website:
https://carolpotenza.com/hydrogen-and-the-periodic-table-of-death/
More from Carol Potenza and to sign up for...2023-10-2505 min