logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2023
49m 56s

The Best of Unexpected Elements

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Usually Unexpected Elements looks at the science behind the news, but this week Marnie Chesterton and Caroline Steel are looking back at some of the best bits from our first few months.

We’ve got the best from our team of panellists across the globe, including what’s going on in your brain when you speak more than one language, the horrific mating ritual of the bedbug and the science behind our panellist Camilla’s terrible haircut decision.

We look back at some of the brilliant scientists we’ve spoken to, with subjects as diverse as whale song, how the entire universe was once the size of a marble, why an archaeologist hasn’t run off with all the gold he’s found and how the jewel wasp turn a cockroach into a zombie.

We have ‘Under the Radar’ stories about power outages in South Africa, human ancestors from China, bringing Rhinos back to life in Kenya and how to keep everyone safe from Polar Bears in a place where there’s no phone signal.

We reflect on our attempts to find the Coolest Science in the World, and whether it’s possible to pit a hurricane machine against an alternative to antibiotics.

And it wouldn’t be a ‘best of’ show without a digest of all the fruit chat from throughout the year.

All that plus eating glue for science, our best (or worst?) puns and some singing cows.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton & Caroline Steel Produced by Ben Motley, with Tom Bonnett

Up next
Jul 4
Cargo ships, chemical spills and caribou
The X-Press Pearl shipping disaster takes us on a voyage through shipping-related science. First, we learn about how pollution from the X-Press Pearl explosion impacted the foundation of the marine food web – plankton. We also hear about an innovative system that can help slash t ... Show More
49m 29s
Jun 27
A roarsome episode
This week, Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae has been unveiled at London's Natural History Museum. This newly described herbivorous dinosaur has inspired us to take a stomp through the science of ancient animals, mass extinctions and fossils.First up, we hear about a shepherd who rec ... Show More
49m 29s
Jun 20
Some really cool science
This week, the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers at ice hockey’s Stanley Cup championship, which sent us skating into ice-related science.First up, we hear about an ancient ice skate that’s been unearthed in Prerov, Czech Republic, which sends us pondering about the physi ... Show More
49m 29s
Recommended Episodes
May 2024
Ugly animals and asteroid Apophis
One year ago, the World Health Organisation declared that COVID-19 would no longer be categorised as a global health emergency. But the pandemic has left us with a new normal in all areas of our lives. From vaccine rollout to wastewater monitoring, we’re asking: how has COVID alt ... Show More
28 m
Mar 2024
Out of Africa
The last great "out of Arica" movement of our ancestors swept out of the northeast of the continent 74,000 years ago. Archaeologist John Kappelman of the University of Texas brings us an update to this complex tale in the form of animal carcasses. We take a trip to Oxford to meet ... Show More
33m 17s
Jan 2023
The Resurrection Quest
‘Can we bring back extinct species?’ wonders listener Mikko Campbell. Well, Professor Fry is pretty excited by the prospect of woolly mammoths roaming the Siberian tundra once more. And everyone is impressed with the science that might make it happen. But Dr Rutherford comes out ... Show More
38m 30s
Apr 2023
The resurrection quest
‘Can we bring back extinct species?’ wonders listener Mikko Campbell. Well, Professor Fry is pretty excited by the prospect of woolly mammoths roaming the Siberian tundra once more. And everyone is impressed with the science that might make it happen. But Dr Rutherford comes out ... Show More
27m 19s
Jan 2023
The science stories you missed over the past four weeks
In this episode of the Nature Podcast, we catch up on some science stories from the holiday period by diving into the Nature Briefing.We’ll hear: how Brazil’s President Lula has started to make good on his pro-environment promises; a new theory for why giant ichthyosaurs congrega ... Show More
23m 39s
Mar 2020
First Animal That Doesn’t Breathe Oxygen, Biggest Explosion in the Universe’s History, and Improving Memory with the Brain’s Immune System
Learn about the first animal scientists have ever discovered that doesn’t breathe oxygen; how we might be able to hijack the brain’s immune system to improve memory; and the biggest explosion in the history of the universe.Scientists discover first animal that doesn't breathe oxy ... Show More
10m 36s
May 2024
Can we get plastic waste under control?
As the UN tries to get a global agreement on plastic waste we hear from two delegates at the conference in Ottawa; John Chweya, a Kenyan waste picker, and plastics scientist, Steve Fletcher, discuss the impacts of plastic pollution and the possible solutions. Taylor Swift’s new a ... Show More
27m 44s
Jul 2023
In search of stardust
Norwegian jazz musician Jon Larsen was having breakfast one clear spring morning when he noticed a tiny black speck land on his clean, white table. With no wind, birds or planes in sight, he wondered if it fell from space.Dust from space is not as fanciful as it sounds. Billions ... Show More
30m 43s
Feb 2022
World’s largest Jurassic pterosaur found on Skye
In a week of exciting fossils finds we get up close to a 170 million year old pterosaur, found on the Isle of Skye. And over in the States, some fossilised fish hold the clue to what time of year the dinosaurs, along with three quarters of life on Earth, met their end. We hear fr ... Show More
28m 56s
Jul 2023
Sea squirts and 'skeeters in our science news roundup
Science in the headlines: An amazingly preserved sea squirt fossil that could tell us something about human evolution, a new effort to fight malaria by genetically modifying mosquitos and why archeologists are rethinking a discovery about a Copper-age leader. All Things Considere ... Show More
8m 59s