The Sweetest Thing
Summary
Reporter Latif Nasser explores the science of sweetness, starting with a quest to find the sweetest substance on Earth. He interviews experts who explain that while artificial sweeteners like lugdunum are more potent, natural sugar often provides the highest perceived intensity. The episode also covers how smell, color, and sound can enhance sweetness perception, and how neuroscientists use lasers to stimulate sweet receptors in mice. Finally, Nasser discovers that a sugar found in raspberries exists in deep space, suggesting the universe may contain its own version of sweetness.
Topics discussed
Sponsors and show introduction
The origin of the quest: kids ask what is the sweetest thing
Defining the goal: potency vs. intensity of sweetness
The top 5 sweetest substances: from honey to Lugdum
Tasting experiment: why artificial sweeteners taste bad
The science of perception: why sugar is the most intense
Evolutionary roots: why humans crave sugar and sweetness
Sponsors and introduction of guest Dan Pashman
How smell and vision enhance the perception of sweetness
Experiment: using color and sound to boost sweetness
Neuroscience: mapping the sweet signal in the brain
Optogenetics: using lasers to create artificial sweetness
Space raspberries: finding sugar in interstellar dust
Conclusion and credits
Latif Nasser's note on vocal cord injury
Staff credits and final sponsors
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