Unexpected Elements

BBC World Service

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.

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20 episodes
Updated Friday

Episodes20

Newest first

Friday · 49 min
Down The Rabbit Hole
As Disney’s Alice in Wonderland turns 75, we celebrate the science behind story
July 24 · 49 min
Bald caps, sparrow raps and lightning claps
A record at a Pitbull concert has us exploring baldness, fireballs, and rapping sparrows.
July 17 · 50 min
A scientific odyssey
A new film adaptation of the Greek epic poem sends us on our own unexpected journey
July 10 · 49 min
Everyone needs a hero
A Mexican vigilante nicknamed Batman has us exploring superhero science.
July 3 · 49 min
Stuck in a cycle
The removal of sales tax on period products in Pakistan has us talking biological cycles.
June 26 · 49 min
Dividing lines
A shifting border line in South Korea has us investigating all things boundaries.
June 19 · 49 min
Anyone for chips?
The rising cost of microchips has the team investigating chips of all descriptions.
June 12 · 49 min
The beautiful game
The Fifa Men’s World Cup has the Unexpected Elements team exploring all things football
June 5 · 51 min
Science bears fruit
A shortage of India’s prized ‘king of mangoes’ has us exploring some fruity science.
May 29 · 49 min
Celebrating science on Africa Day
From continental shifts to sky mountain, we explore the science across Africa
May 22 · 49 min
Unexpected enhancements
From cocaine salmon to peptides we look at performance enhancement
May 15 · 49 min
Hantavirus outbreak and what’s in a name
An outbreak of hantavirus has us looking at the unexpected science around the disease.
May 8 · 49 min
One hundred years of Sir David Attenborough
Sir David turns 100, but what’s the science behind achieving this significant birthday?
May 1 · 49 min
The soaring price of condoms
The strait of Hormuz blockade raises condom costs, and we explore the science of safe sex
April 24 · 49 min
Chernobyl: 40 years later
Forty years after the Chernobyl disaster, we look at radiation science.
April 17 · 49 min
The ribbiting science of frogs
A visa being revoked over frog embryos has us diving into all things amphibian
April 10 · 49 min
Is everyone accounted for?
India undertaking the world’s largest ever census has us exploring population science.
April 3 · 49 min
Putting science on the map
China’s undersea mapping project has us scanning the deep for map-tastic science.
March 27 · 49 min
A bumper edition
Colliding Japanese pedestrians has us exploring some bumpy science.
March 20 · 56 min
In the name of science
Katy Perry vs Katie Perry, a trademark war has us exploring the science of names