logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
49m 30s

A sticky situation

Bbc World Service
About this episode

The US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are currently stranded on the ISS. They arrived on the Boeing Starliner, which was meant to bring them home after eight days. Unfortunately, it has run into tech issues, meaning that the astronauts may be stuck up there for up to eight months.

We started to ponder, what could an extended period of being stuck in space do to your body?

Next we look to the world of psychedelics research, which has currently got itself a little bit stuck.

We also find out more about the Haraldskær Woman, discovered preserved in a Danish bog in the 1800s. Mads Ravn, head of archaeology, research and collections at the Vejle Museums in Denmark, reveals the stories behind the bog bodies and explains how they ended up stuck in the mud.

And staying with the theme of stickiness, we find out what Neanderthals used as glue.

That, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Camilla Mota and Kai Kupferschmidt Producer: Harrison Lewis, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and Noa Dowling. Sound engineer: Mike Mallen

Up next
Yesterday
Light entertainment
As Europe experiences its first total solar eclipse in almost 30 years this week, Unexpected Elements investigates the surprising science that emerges when sunlight is blocked out. We travel to the forests of Italy, where we investigate whether trees can communicate their eclipse ... Show More
49m 30s
Aug 7
Someone's always watching
The UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has found that birdwatching is the second-fastest growing hobby amongst Gen Z with 750,000 of them regularly venturing into the outdoors to spot some of our feathered friends. Inspired by this new appreciation for an old pastime, ... Show More
49m 30s
Jul 31
Down The Rabbit Hole
75 years ago, Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland hit our screens, welcoming us into a technicolour, topsy-turvy world of eccentric characters – including the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit and many more.On Unexpected Elements, we're tumbling do ... Show More
49m 30s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
Stuck in space
Bloomberg’s Loren Grush explains how two astronauts got stuck on the International Space Station and astronaut Cady Coleman tells us why she is jealous of them. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Matt Collette, engineered by Patri ... Show More
25m 41s
Mar 2025
Why were NASA astronauts ‘stuck’ in space?
Imagine going on a work or school trip for eight days, but ending up away from home for nine months. Now, imagine that journey was to space. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore’s spacecraft launched in June last year from Cape Canaveral in Florida. They were taking pa ... Show More
13m 47s
Aug 2024
One Thing: Two Astronauts. One Space Station. No End in Sight.
NASA insists they aren’t stranded. But eight weeks after their original return date, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are still on board the International Space Station. In this episode, we explain why Boeing’s Starliner – and private space travel writ large - is under ... Show More
19m 39s
Dec 2024
Stuck in space
In June 2024, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore went into space. It was expected to last just over a week. Instead, by the time they'll return, it'll have been more than eight months. This is the story of how two great American institutions - Boeing and NASA - failed them. To fin ... Show More
30m 59s
Aug 2024
How are NASA’s stranded astronauts coping?
The two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station won’t return to Earth until next year. Retired Canadian astronaut Dave Williams tells us how the astronauts may be coping with their extended stay in space — and what it all means for the burgeoning field of space tou ... Show More
18m 57s
Aug 2024
Lost in Space
Imagine taking a once in a lifetime trip to outer space only to find out you have no idea when you'll be heading home. Sounds pretty crazy, but it's happening right now. Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell joins Amy & T.J. to break down what's going on with the group of astronauts w ... Show More
36m 33s
Apr 2024
Crew Flight Test: The Astronauts
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams discuss their astronaut journeys and preparation to be the first humans to fly Starliner. HWHAP Episode 332. 
36m 56s
Jan 2019
Stuck Between The Rock and Deep Space
News of a mysterious interstellar object flying through our solar system inspired Redditors to collaboratively pen a perfectly cheesy sci-fi action movie. And now, we bring that movie to life as an audio drama. Presenting... "Stuck Between The Rock and Deep Space." 
38m 55s
Mar 2025
NASA Astronauts Finally Return, Seals Hold Their Breath, and Penguin Poop Stresses Out Krill
Two NASA astronauts are finally back on Earth after an unexpected nine-month stay in space. What kept them up there so long? Meanwhile scientists have discovered that gray seals have a built-in oxygen gauge that helps them hold their breath for more than an hour. And in the Antar ... Show More
10m 14s