Unexpected Elements Podcast
The news you know, the science you don鈥檛. Unexpected Elements looks beyond everyday narratives to discover a goldmine of scientific stories and connections from around the globe. From Afronauts, to why we argue, to a deep dive on animal lifespans: see the world in a new way.
Episodes to download
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A scientific s茅ance
Fri 26 Apr 2024
Conjuring, not spirits, but critical thinking to expose fradulent psychics
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Computer memories and quantum futures
Fri 19 Apr 2024
From silicon chips behind the Iron Curtain to quantum computing in the cloud.
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Beyonc茅, banjos and dancing chemistry
Fri 12 Apr 2024
Beyonce's reappraisal of who can do country music spurs an Unexpected Elements hoedown
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Unexpected elections
Fri 5 Apr 2024
What do stickleback fish have to do with millions of people鈥檚 voting intentions?
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Ancient water, modern solutions
Thu 21 Mar 2024
With water shortages and melting ice caps making the news we look at unexpected solutions
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Fandom: The next generation
Thu 14 Mar 2024
K-Pop fans send us on a journey into fandom through Star Trek, football and physics
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Unexpected Oscars
Thu 7 Mar 2024
As award season reaches its climax, Unexpected Elements holds its own glitzy ceremony.
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Leaping in Sync
Thu 29 Feb 2024
As the leap year helps keep us in sync, we explore nature鈥檚 ways of staying in rhythm
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Going the distance
Thu 22 Feb 2024
A tribute to marathon runner Kelvin Kiptum and the science behind his record performances
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Not so random acts of kindness
Thu 15 Feb 2024
Are African spiders behind the ultimate act of kindness in nature?
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Deep in thought
Thu 8 Feb 2024
News of a microchip implanted in a human brain sends our imagination running wild
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How plankton made mountains
Thu 1 Feb 2024
The world鈥檚 largest cruise ship has set sail 鈥� but what stowaways are hiding onboard?
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Populations of people, frogs and microbes
Thu 25 Jan 2024
With China鈥檚 population declining, would decreasing populations be better for the planet?
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Rulers and the rules of ageing
Thu 18 Jan 2024
Under the stress and strains of leadership, how might power affect youthfulness?
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Super corals and science diplomacy
Thu 11 Jan 2024
Could tensions around the Red Sea affect research into heat-resistant super corals?
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The Best of Unexpected Elements
Thu 28 Dec 2023
Marnie Chesterton and Caroline Steel look back at some of the best bits of the show.
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An exploration of empathy
Thu 14 Dec 2023
On the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, we look at empathy
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Meetings with intelligent worms
Thu 30 Nov 2023
From worm blobs to mangoes - there鈥檚 more to meetings than you thought.
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All about cricket(s)
Thu 23 Nov 2023
The science of spitting on cricket balls, particle accelerators and insect sounds
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Why we need to talk toilets
Thu 16 Nov 2023
Nov 19 is UN World Toilet Day. Can the world sanitation crisis be tackled?
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Scary science
Thu 2 Nov 2023
Is fear good for you? In the week where many celebrated Halloween, we look at the science
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How bedbugs took over the world
Thu 12 Oct 2023
Why is bedbugs' unconventional mode of reproduction so successful?
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