Unexpected Elements

<p>After a Chinese fitness influencer was caught hitching a lift on a bicycle during the Berlin Marathon, the Unexpected Elements team find themselves contemplating a range of scientific shortcuts. </p><p>First up, we hear about how Earthlings may have been hitching a lift on the back of asteroids all the way to the clouds of Venus. Next, can you tell if someone drinks beer from an X-ray of their knee? Of course not! But we find out why AI thinks you can.</p><p>We’re then joined by Chad Orzel, P

<p>Estonian athlete Jaan Roose recently completed a jaw-dropping slackline display, performing daredevil tricks 120 metres above the streets of central Seoul, South Korea.</p><p>This exciting event by a world champion slackliner got the Unexpected Elements team thinking about risk-taking, acrobatics and skyscrapers. </p><p>First up, we discover that there may be anatomical differences in the brains of people who engage in risky behaviour. Next, we find out more about the engineering that keeps s

<p>This week’s news of an AI agent managing to hack into an Australian government website has the Unexpected Elements team exploring the sneaky science of infiltration.</p><p>Marnie Chesterton is joined by science journalists Paul Adepoju and Andrada Fiscutean to discover how South African drongo birds have developed an ingenious technique to protect their nest from cuckoo eggs, and to hear about the unusual approach being developed to help get eyedrops past the body’s immune system so they can

<p>When a NATO fighter jet was sent to investigate what appeared to be a suspicious drone near Vilnius airport, the culprit turned out to be something rather less threatening: a flock of birds. Inspired by this case of mistaken identity, the Unexpected Elements team explores the science of getting things wrong. </p><p>We discover why our brains are so eager to spot faces in everyday objects, from clouds to power sockets, and hear how this tendency may have evolved as a shortcut for detecting fri

<p>With the United Nations encouraging wider use of the Equal Earth map, a projection designed to better represent the true size of Earth's landmasses, the Unexpected Elements team have been thinking about distortion and the surprising new ways we can see the world and beyond. </p><p>We discover that every city's subway system has its own unique microbial fingerprint, so distinctive that researchers can identify a location from a simple swab. Then we meet the black-capped chickadee, a tiny bird

<p>Roald Dahl Day is celebrated each year on 13 September. Dahl gave us much-loved children’s books like Matilda, The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which have captivated kids for generations.</p><p>Dahl is also a controversial figure, and made anti-semitic remarks that his family have since apologised for. We explore the separation of art and artist, and go looking for the science hidden in Dahl’s fantastical stories.</p><p>We find out about the scientists brewing up chocolate – not

<p>The 80th birthday celebrations of the late, great Queen frontman Freddie Mercury have us marvelling at mercury at an elemental level: as a killer, a cure and more.</p><p>First, we hear about how to make a telescope mirror out of a spinning bowl of liquid mercury. Then we hear about killer queens; it’s a gruesome tale of pheromone-induced ant warfare.</p><p>Next, Freddie’s rare condition that caused him to have four extra incisors in his upper jaw leads us to discuss the secrets hidden within

<p>Vast swathes of Europe and Asia are experiencing drought conditions, thanks to relentless heatwaves and lack of rain. </p><p>This week, we find out why drought conditions could unexpectedly lead to an increase in water-borne disease. </p><p>Next up, we take a trip to Lake Malawi to discover why a tiny fly could help us rewrite the science of insects. </p><p>Also on the show, we’re joined by Professor Dan Parsons from Loughborough University in the UK, who tells us about the rivers that lurk b