Skip to main content

Up Next

How Carbon Capture Works

How Carbon Capture Works

Season 7 Episode 13
7:39
How Does Sunscreen Work?

How Does Sunscreen Work?

Season 7 Episode 14
7:38
Why is There Plastic in Our Rain?

Why is There Plastic in Our Rain?

Season 7 Episode 16
6:43
Better Pizza Through Chemistry

Better Pizza Through Chemistry

Season 7 Episode 19
6:20
Death and Decomposition

Death and Decomposition

Season 7 Episode 20
7:04
I Created an Oil Spill in My House

I Created an Oil Spill in My House

Season 7 Episode 21
7:36
Extracting Gold from Seawater

Extracting Gold from Seawater

Season 7 Episode 22
5:39
How Oxygen Masks Brought Down a Plane

How Oxygen Masks Brought Down a Plane

Season 7 Episode 23
6:31
How Do Hydrogen Fuel Cells Work?

How Do Hydrogen Fuel Cells Work?

Season 7 Episode 24
8:11
Back to Show
Reactions

How Lead (Maybe?) Caused the Downfall of the Roman Empire

Season 7 Episode 12

Ancient Rome’s emperors did some pretty bizarre stuff—bursting into uncontrollable fits of laughter, appointing a horse as a priest, dressing in animal skins and attacking people… the list goes on. Why did they act this way? Possibly… lead poisoning. In this week’s episode, we unwrap the possibility that lead caused the Roman Empire’s collapse.

Only Available with Passport Starting
Support Provided By
Season
The Antibiotic Resistance War
13:06
Why Alex is terrified of antibiotic resistance, and what chemists are doing about it
Are Vanadium Flow Batteries Worth the Hype?
9:01
Are liquid, virtually fireproof, recyclable batteries the future of grid-scale storage?
An Antidote for Deadly Mushrooms?
11:39
Join George as he hunts for an antidote to deadly mushrooms.
Why You Can't Recycle Your Pants (Until Now)
12:15
George tests a newly discovered technique that could solve a recycling problem.
How is Ceviche "Cooked?"
11:46
How does lime juice turn raw fish into delicious ceviche? We explain with biochemistry!
Burning Forever Chemicals With Water
10:31
Forever Chemicals last… forever. Can a new technology finally send them to their doom?
The Bioconcrete Revolution (maybe)
8:21
Reducing the carbon footprint of concrete and cement by relying on biology.
Why are Mosquitos So Obsessed with Me?
9:13
Mosquitos really do prefer some people over others, and this Reactions ep explains why!
The End of Haber Bosch
13:50
Discover the single most important chemical reaction on Earth, and why we need to kill it.
What is Amorphous Ice?
9:38
This week Reactions dives into something truly out-of-this-world: amorphous ice.
Lab-grown, Plant-based, Real – What Is The Chemistry Of Meat
15:51
Are we about to re-define meat? If so, what is meat?!
But HOW Does Carbon Dioxide Trap Heat?
11:48
How do carbon dioxide molecules trap heat in our atmosphere?
Active loading indicator