From photographic film to scientific glassware, Ainissa Ramirez’s new book The Alchemy of Us offers a unique insight into our relationship with technology. Find out what we thought about the book, and hear from Ramirez herself as she talks about digging into archives around the world to uncover forgotten characters and intriguing stories.

You can also read the full review of The Alchemy of Us here.

Book club video

We’re trying out something new – book club on screen! You can see Katrina Krämer, Jen Newton and Phillip Broadwith discuss The Alchemy of Us.

Next month, we’ll read three books on a topic that has been on all our minds lately: pandemics. Join us when we discuss and compare Outbreaks and Epidemics by Meera Senthilingam, Adam Kucharski’s The Rules of Contagion and The Pandemic Century by Mark Honigsbaum, written before Covid-19 hit the world.

If you, dear listener (or viewer), have any thoughts on The Alchemy of Us or know of a book you would like us to discuss in an upcoming book club, let us know in the comments below or tweet at us @ChemistryWorld.