Unexpected Elements

The news you know, the science you don’t.

World Service,314 episodes

Episodes

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Banging the science drum
The world's most unlikely drumming duo has us banging the drum for some rhythmic science.
23 Jan 2026,49 mins
Science down under
The Unexpected Elements team takes a trip down under to discover some Australian science.
16 Jan 2026,49 mins
Science of the future
Exciting developments in science, in cervical cancer, xenotransplantation, fusion energy
09 Jan 2026,49 mins
An episode inspired by our listeners
In this special programme, we revisit our listeners’ favourite topics and then dig deeper
02 Jan 2026,49 mins
The gift of science
This Boxing Day and holiday season, our present to you is the science of gifts.
26 Dec 2025,49 mins
Why are we sad when television series end?
The end of Australian soap opera Neighbours has us looking at the science of being sad
19 Dec 2025,49 mins
Chicken, with a side order of science
Japan’s love for fried chicken at Christmas gets us digging into chicken’s origins.
12 Dec 2025,49 mins
Some bear-y interesting space science
A teddy lost in space has got us seeking stories about space, bears and getting lost!
05 Dec 2025,49 mins
The unexpected science behind Klimt's artwork
A record-breaking painting leads us to microbes, spiders, gold and cave art.
28 Nov 2025,49 mins
Some Beautiful Science
The Miss Universe pageant final has us examining the science of beauty
21 Nov 2025,49 mins
A keg of beer-based science
Inspired by the opening of a 150-year-old bottle of ale, we pore over beer-based stories
14 Nov 2025,49 mins
A storm of science
Hurricane Melissa has us thinking about the science of storms
07 Nov 2025,49 mins
A science heist
The Louvre jewel theft has us inspecting heists and crime scenes in science.
31 Oct 2025,49 mins
How does biometric data work?
Europe’s new entry/exit system has us looking at the science behind biometric data.
24 Oct 2025,49 mins
Why are gold prices so high?
Record-high gold prices have us searching for science nuggets
17 Oct 2025,49 mins
The strongest stuff in the Universe
The Unexpected Elements team are flexing their muscles and tackling all things strong.
10 Oct 2025,49 mins
Science inspired by Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl inspires this week’s episode.
03 Oct 2025,49 mins
Two-hundred years of trains
The anniversary of the first passenger steam train has us examining the science of trains
26 Sep 2025,49 mins
Pirate science ahoy!
For International Talk Like a Pirate Day, we set anchor on some swashbuckling science.
19 Sep 2025,49 mins
Some dam awesome science
How do we decide when, where, and even whether to build dams?
12 Sep 2025,49 mins
Punk rock science
A new, spiky dinosaur has us riffing through all things punk, rock and metal.
05 Sep 2025,49 mins
Where do beaches come from?
With people visiting the seaside, we investigate bucketloads of beach-based science
29 Aug 2025,49 mins
Mountains of overtourism
As Nepal makes 97 non-Everest peaks free to climb, we look at the science of overtourism.
22 Aug 2025,49 mins
Why do we follow trends?
The fad for ugly-cute Labubu dolls has us playing around with the science of trends.
15 Aug 2025,49 mins
Floods, mangroves and rampaging tractors
This week, the team discusses the causes of floods and possible solutions.
08 Aug 2025,49 mins
Traffic science
A Shanghai robo-traffic-cop has the team contemplating the science of traffic.
01 Aug 2025,49 mins
Trailer: 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle
The epic space story of a sci-fi dream that changed spaceflight forever
28 Jul 2025,3 mins
The science of ageing
The world’s oldest president presents us with the chance to explore some ageing science.
25 Jul 2025,49 mins
How dust affects the world
A new report on the dangers of dust sends us storming off into dust-related science.
18 Jul 2025,49 mins
Sharks, albatrosses, the Jaws theme and fishing
Shark Awareness Day sends us on a deep dive into marine biology.
11 Jul 2025,50 mins