The Chemistry of Life with Kate the Chemist

Neil deGrasse Tyson (0:00)

Negin, I want to be a kid again, so I can do all those chemistry experiments that Kate the Chemist is talking about.

Negin Farsad (0:05)

Oh my God, the messier the better.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (0:08)

But then, who's going to clean up? I have to clean up.

Negin Farsad (0:10)

And that's when the experiment goes wrong.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (0:12)

That's the end of the experiment right there. Coming up, Kate the Chemist on StarTalk. Welcome to StarTalk, your place in the universe where science and pop culture collide. StarTalk begins right now.

This is StarTalk. Neil deGrasse Tyson here, your personal astrophysicist. I got with me Negin Farsad. Negin, welcome back.

Negin Farsad (0:46)

Hello. I'm your personal so far from being an astrophysicist.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (0:54)

You are my personal co-host. How's that?

Negin Farsad (0:56)

There we go.

Kate Biberdorf (0:57)

That's accurate.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (0:58)

You know what we don't do often enough on this show is chemistry. We don't. When we want to do more of it, there's only one go-to person in the universe.

Well, there might be others, but the one where we got our eyes on.

Negin Farsad (1:13)

In our universe. Yeah.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (1:15)

Our universe. We're going to have Kate Biberdorf, Kate the Chemist. Kate, welcome back to StarTalk.

Kate Biberdorf (1:23)

Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (1:26)

So you are a Professor of the Public Understanding of Science. Were you that the last time we talked?

Kate Biberdorf (1:32)

Maybe. If it was after September 2024, that's when I started working at Notre Dame. It's been so much fun.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (1:38)

Oh, no, no, no. It was before that. I think it might have been before then. So you're a Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Notre Dame.

In the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

You are the first professor to hold that title. So first, congratulations on that new title. I certainly deeply earned, given your output. And some of my favorite, like you've got a few books out there. It's elemental, the hidden chemistry in everything. You know, some chemistry is not all that hidden. You know, when stuff blows up, that's not hidden.

Kate Biberdorf (2:13)

No, it's not hidden. But it's literally everywhere. Just this morning, I did a thing with The Today Show and the lady who was doing my hair was like, there's science in this. I was like, yeah, babe, there's science everywhere. So it's just really nice to like hear that and people see it now when we start talking about it more. And that's thanks to people like you.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (2:29)

Wait, wait, were there cameras in your hair and makeup session? Cause you could have like doubled down on that.

Negin Farsad (2:34)

Turn that into an experiment with hairspray.

You must have an experiment with hairspray. Yes.

Kate Biberdorf (2:41)

Oh, for sure. It's so flammable. I think every scientist has tested that once or twice.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (2:46)

Completely flammable, completely flammable.

Also, the big book of experiments, but that's not my favorite title. It's the awesome book of edible experiments for kids, which sounds like you're just taking the kitchen and turning it into a laboratory. That's what that sounds like.

Kate Biberdorf (3:03)

Yes, that's exactly what I did. I wrote that during COVID. I opened up my pantry and was like, what do I have in here? How can I turn this into science experiments? I think it kept me sane during the pandemic, but it was so much fun to write. Cause I like to bake. There's a lot of chemistry in baking, but the cooking stresses me out. So these are all kind of like baking experiments and really fun. I enjoyed it a lot.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (3:22)

Yeah, excellent. I'm a baker too. And I'm always amazed. You just put in this, you just make this batter and then it becomes something completely different in the oven. I don't think enough of us are astonished by this fact when you think about it. I mean, it's just a complete transformation of properties.

Negin Farsad (3:44)

Except for when you're doing it wrong, in which case, I made just the simplest of just rice. I just made rice the other day for like a dinner party and I turned it into mush. So that was a chemistry experience experiment that I did very incorrectly.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (4:01)

Last time I'm attending your dinner party.

Negin Farsad (4:03)

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, no. Everyone say no to me.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (4:09)

And of course, Kate, you have a podcast called Seeking a Scientist. And how would you subtitle that?