<p>After the comic malfunctions of a self-driving car, which drove its passenger/prisoner in endless circles, Unexpected Elements rounds its attention on the humble circle.
Explore how one man calculated the circumference of the Earth 2,000 years before GPS was invented, then be spellbound by the Magic Circle and the mysterious woman who broke into it. And ... Show More
Mar 2020
Q&A: COVID-19, Solar Storms & Ancient Teeth
What happens if you overwater a plant? How does gravity actually work? And should we be cancelling mass events to contain the coronavirus? It's Q&A time on the show, and this week Phil Sansom is joined by a brainy panel of experts: plant biologist Nadia Radzman, particle physicis ... Show More
59m 30s
Aug 2021
1. Covid and the “Birthday Effect”
Host Bapu Jena is an economist and medical doctor whose latest research measures the link between birthdays and Covid. He explains his team’s findings, explores the role that kids’ parties may have played, reveals whether politics made a difference, and convinces a Zoom magician ... Show More
18m 8s
Sep 2025
Marsquakes, Vaccine Politics and Mammoth Microbiomes
This week’s roundup dives into Mars’s lumpy mantle, a nasal spray that may help prevent COVID and the growing confusion around vaccine access in the U.S. Plus, researchers link phone use while on the toilet to hemorrhoid risk, uncover ancient mammoth microbiomes and explain why s ... Show More
9m 45s
Mar 2020
Dispatch 1: Numbers
<p>In a recent Radiolab group huddle, with coronavirus unraveling around us, the team found themselves grappling with all the numbers connected to COVID-19. Our new found 6 foot bubbles of personal space. Three percent mortality rate (or 1, or 2, or 4). 7,000 cases (now, much muc ... Show More
32m 35s