It’s a Material World
30:24 minutes
Did you know that metals are actually crystals? Or that stainless steel was invented by accident? In his book Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials that Shape Our Man-Made World, Mark Miodownik takes stock of the stuff around us—a metal spoon, a drinking glass, a concrete building—and explains why these everyday materials are truly extraordinary. (Read an excerpt from the book here.)
Segment Guests
Mark Miodownik
Mark Miodownik is author of Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials that Shape our Man-Made World and Liquid Rules: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives. He’s also director of the Institute of Making and professor of materials and society at University College London in London, England.
Heard on the Air
Read an excerpt from Stuff Matters.
Meet the Producer
About Christopher Intagliata
@cintagliataChristopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer. He once served as a prop in an optical illusion and speaks passable Ira Flatowese.