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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Science to make you smile
Yesterday
What better way to celebrate World Smile Day other than with scientific excellence
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All things Oregon!
Last Friday
Join Marnie Chesterton and science journalists Chhavi Sachdev and Jes Burns, on their Ore
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Shiny: Why we are dazzled by new sparkly things
Fri 20 Sep 2024
Like magpies, we're obsessed with everything shiny. What is behind this attraction?
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NgΔ Wai Hono i te PΕ: The new MΔori Kuini
Fri 13 Sep 2024
The crowing of the new MΔori Kuini (Queen) is cause for a scientific celebration
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The world's worst tourist
Fri 30 Aug 2024
Following anti-tourism protests in Spain, we're looking at the world's peskiest visitors
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A sticky situation
Fri 23 Aug 2024
Two astronauts are stuck on the ISS, which got us thinking about other sticky issues.
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The only one
Fri 16 Aug 2024
Olympians representing their countries alone got us thinking about being the only one
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Let them eat crab
Fri 9 Aug 2024
Everything you need for a French royal banquet, with an unexpected twist, of course.
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Can I eat it?
Fri 2 Aug 2024
The discovery of champagne in a shipwreck has us pondering preservation
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Breaking, climbing, and surfing
Fri 26 Jul 2024
Could we surf on Titan, or dance like a physicist? Olympic levels of science chat.
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Mushroom magic
Fri 5 Jul 2024
Hallucinatory, deadly or lifesaving? Your one-stop guide to everything fungi
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Seismic swift
Fri 21 Jun 2024
A Taylor Swift gig in Scotland made us look at human earthquakes and animal seismographs
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An unexpected burger
Fri 14 Jun 2024
After McDonalds’ recent court case loss the team cook up a scientific culinary delight
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Balloon manoeuvres
Fri 7 Jun 2024
Balloons in South Korea have us floating ideas about airships and helium.
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Eternal flames
Fri 31 May 2024
From Olympic torches to zombie fires, we stoke the flames which do not go out
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A world going on underground
Fri 24 May 2024
In bunkers, basements and boreholes, we explore life going on underground
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Unexpected birthday party
Fri 10 May 2024
It's party time and we look to science for advice on clothes, cake and singing
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Horsey driverless cars and competitive cloning
Fri 3 May 2024
Rampaging horses lead us to horse cloning and what horseriding can teach driverless cars
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A scientific sΓ©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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BeyoncΓ©, 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’s 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