PARADIS: Well, let's just break down what we look for in a sunscreen. Like, Ayesha, what do you look for in a sunscreen for yourself?
RASCOE: I don't want to get letters about this, but I'm going to be honest 'cause this is a safe space, I hope. I don't really think about it that much. If I'm going to the beach or something, I do get sunscreen for me and the kids. And I just look at, you know, what's on the shelf and is cheap, and is - you know, say is sunscreen. That's all I look for. I don't want it greasy. I don't want it to show.
PARADIS: No. No, you don't. And you want it to last a while. Maybe even you want it to be water-resistant. There are all these assumptions built in. And the biggest one is probably you want it to protect from sunburn and ultimately from cancer, right?
RASCOE: I mean, that's the main thing. I don't want the cancer. I don't want the cancer or the sunburn. Definitely don't want the cancer. Yes.
PARADIS: I know. And on top of that, you also want it to be pretty cheap. And I learned that these can be competing things on a chemistry level - to be nontoxic and not oily and water-resistant and be protective. Like, this is a lot to ask from a lotion that you also want to look invisible.
ANNA WANG: Yeah. It turns out it's super high-tech. It's like someone said, hey, make me a cake that's vegan and nut-free and dairy-free. And it still works somehow, and it's great.
PARADIS: This is Anna Wang. She is an associate professor of chemistry at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. And she calls herself a soft-matter scientist. She told me this means she likes dealing with everything squishy, which I really love.
WANG: I really appreciate it as that high-tech material. And as a - you know, a chemist and physicist, it gives you so much to work with from both those angles.
RASCOE: Well, you know, I'm curious. What is the origin story of modern sunscreen?
PARADIS: So the first commercial product for sunscreen was developed just after World War II. During the war, airmen were supplied with this product called red veterinary petroleum, or red vet pet. It was this dark, thick jelly. And after the war, one of those airmen, who was a pharmacist, adapted the product into what eventually became Coppertone.
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UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: Coppertone is taking the wraps off summer.
PARADIS: Now, Coppertone is this iconic suntan cream that was immortalized in mid-20th century billboard and TV jingles, like ads showing a child with that gorgeous tan line and no burn.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing) Coppertone's for you and you and you too. Whoever you are, wherever you are, you'll get a beautiful tan and beautiful skin...
PARADIS: So that's a commercial from 1978.
RASCOE: I mean, they used to have real jingles back then. We've been deprived (laughter). But I would think, not only do we not have jingles like that now, I would think that a lot else has changed since then, right?
PARADIS: Oh, definitely. I mean, Coppertone was originally marketed as a suntan cream, so big emphasis on the tan. But over the years, the idea of sunscreen has morphed into more of a product to protect from the sun. And on that note, there is actually big news in sunscreen in the United States.
RASCOE: Breaking sunscreen news? What is the breaking news on sunscreen?
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #4: A new sunscreen ingredient. The Food and Drug Administration approved the chemical compound bemotrizinol in sunscreens sold in the U.S. This is the...
