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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A week ago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held its 2024 Met Gala — a yearly event to raise money for the Costume Institute. The gala also marks the opening of the Costume Institute's annual show, which this year is called "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion." The idea behind this exhibit is to showcase pieces from the museum's collection that are too delicate to show on mannequins. Instead, the exhibit will feature recreations of the pieces using AI and 3-D techniques, along with sound and smell. But what about textiles that museums choose to display — how is science used to maintain these incredible, often fragile, pieces of the past?
In this episode of Tiny Matters, Sam and Deboki cover the fascinating textile landscape, from plant-based fibers to the evolution of modern synthetic materials and the investigative approaches used to preserve not just these fabrics but also the stories they tell and the cultural significance they hold.
- Mysteries in the museum: How textile conservators investigate and preserve historic clothing
- The deadliest (curable) infectious disease on Earth, featuring John Green
- Arsenic, radium, and a locked room cyanide mystery: Poisons and the rise of forensic toxicology in early 1900s United States
- The story and science behind a life-changing technology
Hosts
Sam Jones, PhD
Science Writer & Exec Producer
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.
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