Unexpected Elements Podcast
The news you know, the science you don’t. 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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Leaping in Sync
Thu 29 Feb 2024
As the leap year helps keep us in sync, we explore nature’s 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’s largest cruise ship has set sail – but what stowaways are hiding onboard?
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Populations of people, frogs and microbes
Thu 25 Jan 2024
With China’s 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’s 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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How inflation affects the entire cosmos
Thu 28 Sep 2023
The science behind news about inflation leads us to the first moments of the universe.
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Can technology read our mind?
Thu 21 Sep 2023
The UN General Assembly has us examining how our brains process language
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Forgetful fish, telescopic worms and bad air days
Thu 14 Sep 2023
As oceans take the heat for global warming, fish find it harder to learn their way.
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Zombies, cows and coups
Thu 7 Sep 2023
The wasp that turns cockroaches into zombies and the science hiding behind coups
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Protecting the Moon
Thu 31 Aug 2023
India's lunar landing has us looking at unexpected science around the moon
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The man who couldn’t lie
Thu 24 Aug 2023
Why do we believe in conspiracy theories, and what’s going on in our brains when we lie?
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Corrupted thinking and cancerous co-option
Thu 17 Aug 2023
Can scientific thinking detect political and corporate corruption?
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Some of our universe is missing
Thu 10 Aug 2023
Could science help trace Yevgeny Prigozhin, and the missing gas in the cosmos?
