Ijeoma Uchegbu, "Chain Reaction: How Chemistry Shapes Us and Our World" (HarperCollins, 2026)

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**Gregory McNiff** (1:31)
Welcome to The New Books Network.
Welcome to The New Books Network. I'm your host, Gregory McNiff, and I'm thrilled to be joined by Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, the author of Chain Reaction, How Chemistry Shapes Us and Our World. The book is published by HarperCollins in 2026 Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu is president of Wolfson College, Cambridge, professor of pharmaceutical nanoscience at University College London and founder of the biotechnology company NanoMerix. She is internationally recognized for her work in drug delivery and nanomedicine, particularly the use of nanoarticles to transport medicines throughout the body. In 2025, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to science and higher education.
I selected Chain Reaction because it discusses how chemistry affects everything we do, yet most people rarely think about it. I was drawn to the book because it explains everyday chemistry in a way that is accessible and engaging, while connecting it to larger questions about medicine, technology, and society. I also enjoyed the way the author combines the science itself with their own personal journey, which we'll get into. Ijeoma, thank you so much for joining me today to discuss your book.

**Ijeoma Uchegbu** (2:47)
It's a total pleasure, Gregory, and I look forward to talking about the book.

**Gregory McNiff** (2:52)
Likewise. I just want to start with a question I ask all my authors.
Why did you write, in this case, Chain Reaction and who was the target audience you had in mind?

**Ijeoma Uchegbu** (3:02)
What was the target audience first? The target audience really is everyone from age 12 up.
It really is a book that I want everybody to be able to read and understand. There are no equations, there are no structures. I'm trying to tell people that every single thing you can touch, smell, and feel is actually made of atoms, and these atoms are joined together to make molecules, and these molecules then are put together to make substances. This is what I wanted everybody to know. I wanted people to actually appreciate that even human beings, our very selves, we consist of a few molecules, water, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and our genes. I want people to look at their loved ones and say, oh my God, you're just mostly water and then a little bit else.

**Gregory McNiff** (4:07)
Yeah, no, that very much comes across in the book. I want to ask you about that. At one point, I think you say we are fundamentally just cells.
You talked about the universe being fundamentally a collection of chemical bonds. Could you make me touch on that?

**Ijeoma Uchegbu** (4:24)
So everything. I've talked about humans, I've talked about plants, animals, the atmosphere around us. They're all made up of atoms joined together to form molecules, and these molecules then bonded in some way to form materials. Even the planet Earth is a collection of atoms, which have been bonded to form molecules. Mostly oxygen and silicon are the main elements in our world. Far away planets are also just made of atoms, all bonded together to make molecules and stuff. Then think about us. You've got these atoms to make the molecules I talked about earlier, water, fats, carbohydrates, protein, genes.