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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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?
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The World Cup and hallucinogenic bananas
Thu 3 Aug 2023
The unexpected science of the World Cup and are banana skins hallucinogenic?
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Barbie in Space
Thu 20 Jul 2023
How Barbie is helping humans return to the moon, and is the colour pink actually real?
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Nato and the left-handed universe
Thu 13 Jul 2023
Nato’s summit has us considering decision-making and the balance of the universe
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Unexpected elements on the sea bed
Thu 6 Jul 2023
The team discover mysterious potato shaped nodules and hydroelectric power in your garden
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Predictions from the sky and murderous fish
Thu 29 Jun 2023
Celebrations of Eid send us on a science-filled odyssey to the stars.
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Hayfever, paleobotany and snot palaces
Thu 22 Jun 2023
Why does pollen make us sick, what it tells us about the past; and a look at snot palaces
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Wildfires and wild animals
Thu 15 Jun 2023
Smog in North America leads us to conservationists using air pollution to track animals.
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Collapsing pensions and civilisations
Thu 8 Jun 2023
French pension protests lead us to the lifespans of people, naked mole rats and societies
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Migrate ideas
Thu 1 Jun 2023
The science behind migration, a wall of wind and the real life human labour supporting AI
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Signals, seaweed and space
Thu 25 May 2023
The anniversary of the telegraph sparks an unexpected conversation about bioelectricity.
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Co-operation and cohesion
Thu 18 May 2023
Social cohesion, cellular cohesion and glue. Science stories inspired by election news
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Coronation exploration
Thu 11 May 2023
Why are rituals so important to humans - and why do they often involve precious objects?
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Animals at the Wuhan Market
Sat 25 Mar 2023
What does animal DNA from the Wuhan Market reveal about the start of the pandemic?
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Return of Cyclone Freddy
Sat 18 Mar 2023
Record-breaking Cyclone Freddy devastates Mozambique for the second time in one month.
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Human genome editing: Promise and Peril
Sat 11 Mar 2023
What are the benefits and limitations of gene editing?
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Drought worsens in East Africa
Sat 4 Mar 2023
Why the long rains in East Africa are forecast to fail again.
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Cyclone Freddy batters Madagascar
Sat 25 Feb 2023
Cyclone Freddy batters Madagascar and threatens Mozambique and South Africa.
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CRISPR & bioethics
Sat 18 Feb 2023
He Jiankui refuses to talk about his controversial genome editing of twin babies in 2018.
