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b'(repeat) Solid materials get all the production credit.\\xa0Don\\u2019t get us wrong, we depend on their strength and firmness for bridges, bones, and bento boxes.\\xa0But liquids do us a solid, too.\\xa0Their free-flowing properties drive the Earth\\u2019s magnetic field, inspire a new generation of smart electronics, and make biology possible.\\xa0But the weird thing is, they elude clear definition.\\xa0Is tar a liquid or a solid?\\xa0What about peanut butter?\\nIn this episode: A romp through a cascade of liquids with a materials scientist who is both admiring and confounded by their properties; how Earth\\u2019s molten iron core is making the magnetic north pole high-tail it to Siberia; blood as your body\\u2019s information superhighway; and how a spittlebug can convert 200 times its body weight in urine into a cozy, bubble fortress.\\nGuests:\\n\\n\\nMark Miodownik\\xa0\\u2013\\xa0Professor of Materials and Society, University College, London, and author of \\u201cLiquid rules: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances that Flow Through Our Lives\\u201d\\n\\n\\nArnaud Chulliat\\xa0\\u2013 Geophysicist, University of Colorado and Institut de physique du globe du Paris\\n\\n\\nPhilip Matthews\\xa0\\u2013\\xa0Comparative physiologist at the University of British Columbia\\n\\n\\nRose George\\xa0\\u2013 Journalist and author of \\u201cNine Pints: A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood\\u201d\\n\\n\\xa0\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'