Tiny Matters
A science podcast about things small in size but big in impact. Every other Wednesday, join hosts Sam Jones and Deboki Chakravarti as they unpack the little things that make the big things in our world (both good and bad) possible.
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The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics is two short days away. As over 10,000 athletes gather in Paris, France, anticipation builds. But that anticipation is not just for the next 19 days of fierce competition, it’s also for the Seine. The Seine River is set to host events including the 10 kilometer marathon swim and the triathlon, but as the Games approached, much of the testing showed that the Seine was still teeming with dangerous levels of E. coli and other bacteria. And a lot of people are asking, "why is this river so dirty?" In today’s episode, we’re going to get into the interesting history of how people have dealt with sewage, from Mesopotamia times to today, and how the Seine, as well as a river Sam knows well — the Potomac — are trying to clean up their acts. We'll dive into questions like, 'Will it ever be legal to swim in the Potomac?' 'Did Thomas Crapper actually invent the cra... um, toilet?' 'How do you clean up dilapidated old mines that are poisoning a river?' and more.
- From Mesopotamia messes and the 1858 Great Stink to today's flush toilets and fatbergs
- The disappearance of 10,000 skeletons and get those eyes outside: Tiny Show and Tell Us #2
- It’s sporty (science) summer: Cutting edge monitoring of sweat, and how decades of labiaplasty inspired a new bike saddle
- Parrotfish poop beaches and an altitude adaptation: Tiny Show and Tell Us #1
Hosts
![Sam Jones, PhD](/content/acs/en/pressroom/tiny-matters/_jcr_content/articleContent/columnsbootstrap_162992486/column0/columnsbootstrap/column0/textimage/image.img.png/1692035881209.png)
Sam Jones, PhD
Science Writer & Exec Producer
![Deboki Chakravarti, PhD](/content/acs/en/pressroom/tiny-matters/_jcr_content/articleContent/columnsbootstrap_162992486/column0/columnsbootstrap/column1/textimage_copy/image.img.png/1692035880788.png)
Deboki Chakravarti, PhD
Science Writer & Co-Host
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After years of producing quality episodes, Orbitals has bid farewell to our followers at the end of 2021.
But rest assured, all of the Orbitals episodes will remain up on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher & Audible.