Unexpected Elements

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Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō: The new Māori Kuini Sep 13, 2024

Show notes

Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō ascends the Māori throne as the new Kuini (Queen), much to the joy of her people, heralding a new age of prominence for the Kiingitanga movement.

We ask whether the new queen may have a biological advantage making her a better fit for leadership, whilst searching for examples of matriarchy in the animal kingdom and analogous human societies.

As is customary, Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō was crowned on the same day as her father’s funeral, thrust into a leadership role during a time of profound grief. We hear from Prof Lucy Selman, expert in palliative and end-of-life care from the University of Bristol, and founder of the Good Grief Festival. She speaks about the physical and emotional manifestations of grief and how it can be processed and overcome, even in the face of immense responsibility.

We remember the legendary voice of the late James Earl Jones, who played the intergalactic monarch, Darth Vader, as Marnie unpicks the science of stuttering.

Unravel a massive jigsaw puzzle, uncover a hidden secret behind Queen’s hit song Don’t Stop Me Now, and delve into the fascinating realm of neuroscience and much more on Unexpected Elements.

Thrillseekers Sep 06, 2024

Show notes

Here on Unexpected Elements, we've been glued to the drama of the Paralympic games in Paris. But it's not just the thrill of the competition that's got us hooked, we've also become obsessed with some of the high-octane training regimes undertaken by the athletes.

Take American 'Armless Archer' Matt Stutzman, who shoots arrows through the windows of his own house and car to recreate the high pressure of the Olympic stadium. He's chasing a thrill, and so are we!

We hear about the research on one extraordinary woman who had a medical condition which caused her to have no fear.

And we follow the fate of an extraordinary marine creature, who detaches his own arm in his quest for a mate.

We hear about why humans love to be scared - as long as it's all in good fun.

And we hear about the space debris falling to earth, and the thrilling quest of a plane full of scientists who want to watch it fall.

That and loads more unexpected elements in this week's show.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Tristan Ahtone and Affelia Wibisono Producer: Emily Knight, with Harrison Lewis, Dan Welsh and Noa Dowling Sound engineer: Gwynfor Jones

The world's worst tourist Aug 30, 2024

Show notes

Following anti-tourism protests across popular Spanish cities and towns, we are looking for the world's most unwelcome visitor. Our panellists (and producers) are pitching their terrible tourists to see who really is the worst of them all. Some of our contenders include...

The wild boars who's unanticipated vacay to Rome has gone on for so long and caused so much carnage that researchers are putting them on birth control.

The microbes potentially hitching a ride to the moon via space probes and astronauts' poo

The multi-destination parasite who wreaks havoc as it interrails through snails (castrating them on the way), frogs (making them spout multiple limbs) and birds.

But there are some instances when tourists can be a good thing - and this is especially the case in the human body when we want to grow a baby. How is in that we are able to protect what should be an 'unwelcome visitor' from a hyperalert, hostile immune system? Our expert Edward Chuong explains.

Plus, we uncover the DNA origins of the world's most popular coffee bean, hear the freeloading activities of the male angular fish, and read out a selection of your wonderful emails.

Presenter: Caroline Steel Panellists: Phillys Mwatee & Christine Yohannes Producer: Julia Ravey Production team: Emily Knight, Noa Dowling Studio manager: Emma Harth

A sticky situation Aug 23, 2024

Show notes

The US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are currently stranded on the ISS. They arrived on the Boeing Starliner, which was meant to bring them home after eight days. Unfortunately, it has run into tech issues, meaning that the astronauts may be stuck up there for up to eight months.

We started to ponder, what could an extended period of being stuck in space do to your body?

Next we look to the world of psychedelics research, which has currently got itself a little bit stuck.

We also find out more about the Haraldskær Woman, discovered preserved in a Danish bog in the 1800s. Mads Ravn, head of archaeology, research and collections at the Vejle Museums in Denmark, reveals the stories behind the bog bodies and explains how they ended up stuck in the mud.

And staying with the theme of stickiness, we find out what Neanderthals used as glue.

That, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Camilla Mota and Kai Kupferschmidt Producer: Harrison Lewis, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and Noa Dowling. Sound engineer: Mike Mallen

The only one Aug 16, 2024

Show notes

The Olympics is all about flying the flag for your home country, shoulder to shoulder with your team-mates. But what if you have no team-mates? At this year’s Olympic games, four countries had just one competitor. Like Sean Gill from Belize, Somalian runner Ali Idow Hassan, or Romano Püntener, a mountain-biker representing Liechtenstein.

This got us thinking about the only one. The panel discuss what it must be like to be an ‘Endling’ – the last remaining animal of an otherwise extinct species, and wonder if there might be ways to bring them back.

We delve into the intriguing psychology behind the urge to collect things, why collectors are so entranced by rare items, and how the psychological pull of ‘exclusivity’ and ‘limited editions’ can make us vulnerable to marketing scams.

And what about a baby, born of only one parent? A ‘virgin birth’ – a miracle perhaps? Not so, as we discover that females giving birth without any help from males is surprisingly common. It is called Parthenogenesis, and although humans cannot do it, a dizzying array of animals can. Alexis Sperling from the University of Cambridge explains the science.

News montage sources: Channel 5 Belize, BBC News

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton with Chhavi Sachdev and Andrada Fiscutean Producer: Emily Knight with Florian Bohr, Julia Ravey Sound engineer: Emily Preston

Let them eat crab Aug 09, 2024

Show notes

This week we’re inspired by the price of a lobster dinner fit for a king. The recently revealed price tag for President Macron’s banquet back at the end of 2023, about half a million dollars, kickstarts an Unexpected Elements challenge – can the team create something similar and manage to save not only cash, but an Italian ecosystem from an American invader?

And waste not want not as we discover how the bits of a crustacean dinner you’d usually throw in the bin may be the key to a new generation of rechargeable batteries.

We’ll also be exploring the science of spices with Dr Stuart Farrimond and singing the praises of a blue-blooded crab that’s really a giant spider, which has been helping out the medical industry for decades.

That plus many other Unexpected Elements.

Bon appétit!

Can I eat it? Aug 02, 2024

Show notes

Champagne has been discovered in a 100+ year old shipwreck. It's an amazing find. But can you drink it? Speaking of bubbly, we learn more about the physics of bubbles, and why understanding it is crucial for the climate. Also on the show, a 2,000 year-old mystery about a navigation device that persists up to the present day.

Breaking, climbing, and surfing Jul 26, 2024

Show notes

This week the panel take a look at their favourites of the newer Olympic sports as Paris 2024 gets underway. Surfing will happen in Tahiti this year, but could it ever be held on Titan, in orbit around Saturn? Obviously very unlikely, but not for the reasons you might expect. No vertebrate on earth can rock-climb like a gecko. Can nanomaterials come to our aid? And Amy Pope, Principal Lecturer of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University helps us understand the physics challenges the B-boys and girls are maybe subconsciously putting themselves through as Break Dancing makes its Olympic debut.

Also, climate change unearths some of our oldest fossils in Brazil, being scared of long words, and designing cities to be cooler.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton, with Philistiah Mwatee and Camilla Mota.

Produced by Alex Mansfield with Harrison Lewis, Dan Welsh and Noa Dowling.

Marriage madness Jul 19, 2024

Show notes

Radhika Merchant has married her partner Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani. When your Dad is the 11th richest person in the world, worth over $112bn, you can afford a wedding year, rather than a wedding day, right? After seven months of celebration, Marnie and the panel review the festivities to see if there is any science lingering under the ‘I dos’. Hear of Hindu wedding customs and superstitions, and why something called evolutionary lag might be behind traditions that make very little sense.

Also, rings, but not the wedding bands. Professor Valerie Trouet, from the Laboratory of Tree Ring Research at the University of Arizona tells tales of the ancient circles found within trees harbouring secrets of climates past and future.

Plus sleep divorce, why it might be a marriage saver, and finally putting to bed who has the best sleep pattern, the night owls or the early birds.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Panellists: Tristan Ahtone and Chhavi Sachdev Producers: Harrison Lewis, Julia Ravey, Alex Mansfield and Noa Dowling

Political Jet Lag Jul 12, 2024

Show notes

In the lead up to the US election President Joe Biden admitted to ‘screwing up’ in a debate against Donald Trump. His excuse? Several trips around the world, a cold and severe jet lag. Joe has Marnie and the panel wondering how we can fly better.

We’ll be stopping off to hear how one species, much like the US president, should consider reducing its airmiles, if only to avoid a pointless 16,000km round trip every year. There’ll also be a stopover in Northern Canada to hear how thinning ice is making it difficult for local communities to remain in touch with their ancestral heritage and traditional modes of travel.

Whilst we recommend considering more environmentally friendly alternatives here at Unexpected Elements Airways, we understand that some flights can’t be avoided. Take time whilst onboard to consider how you can reduce the symptoms of jetlag with tricks learnt from the latest scientific understanding of human physiology. Professor Rosemary Braun tells us how the clocklike rhythms of the body can be manipulated to make any long haul flights more manageable.

Also, the smashing specificity of Wimbledon’s grass tennis courts, a grand astronomical debate from the 1920s and a very special Nunavut Day.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Panellists: Christine Yohannes and Meral Jamal Producers: Julia Ravey, Harrison Lewis, Dan Welsh and Noa Dowling

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