This month will see thousands of people take to streets around the world to test their feats of endurance. It’s marathon season. And this week, we’re looking at the science behind what keeps you running.
We’ll learn about the psychological preparation that goes into undertaking mammoth challenges, like marathons and expeditions. And meet a science who’s endured the Antarctic winter, and is now training to be an astronaut.
We’ll find out just how genetic our ability to cope with endurance exercise is. How air pollution could be affecting your running times. And find out how evolution has gifted our animal friends with some unique ways of getting ahead.
As well as all that, there’s the science of what makes something ugly. And an exciting innovation that could see us using cow dung to fuel our cars.
All that and more in this week’s Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Alex Lathbridge, Chhavi Sachdev and Candice Bailey
Producers: Robbie Wojciechowski with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Imaan Moin, and Minnie Harrop
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49:30
Ant antics
This week, a court in Kenya sentenced four men to either a year in prison or a fine of £5,800 for trying to smuggle 5,000 ants out of the country. The contraband included highly-valued ants like the giant African harvester ant, and it’s believed these ants were intended for exotic pet markets abroad. But all this talk of ant smuggling got the Unexpected Elements team feeling antsy to talk ants! We learn about the earliest ants who lived among dinosaurs, ants that can sniff cancer, and ants who were sent into space! Then we take a turn from ants to anteaters and talk to Mariella Superina from the International Union for Conservation of Nature about the different adaptations and skills needed for anteaters to successfully eat ants. Plus, we discuss plant smuggling and ant wrangling, both unexpectedly dangerous ventures. All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Leonie Joubert and Godfred Boafo
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Imaan Moin, Robbie Wojciechowski and Minnie Harrop
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49:29
In memoriam
On 21st April 2025, Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, died. His funeral took place on 26th April, with thousands of mourners crowding into St Peter’s Square to pay their respects. Following the death of a Pope, there are centuries-old traditions and rituals that must be followed, and that got the Unexpected Elements team thinking about the science surrounding loss.
First up, we delve into the thorny issue of when early humans started to carry out funerary rituals, before turning our attention to graveyards and the life that thrives within these sacred environments. Next, we are joined Carl Öhman from Uppsala University in Sweden, who reveals what happens to our data when we die and why we should care about it. Plus, we discuss the precious materials hiding in our old devices, and find out whether animals mourn. All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Andrada Fiscutean and Edd Gent
Producers: Margaret Sessa Hawkins, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Robbie Wojciechowski and Minnie Harrop
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49:30
Kenya believe it?
This week the Unexpected Elements team left our windowless BBC studio and paid a visit to the CGIAR conference in Nairobi, Kenya. In this episode, we find out about the Kenyan invention that’s pulling clean, safe water from thin air, before discovering what makes Kenyan coffee taste so great. Next, we hear about the problems with burning charcoal and the ways in which briquettes could offer a cleaner, more sustainable solution. Plus, we’re joined by Joyce Maru, the regional director for Africa at the International Potato Centre. She reveals the science behind the orange-flesh sweet potato and explains how it could improve livelihoods and boost health across Africa. We then hear about the story of the two Kenyan inventors who have created a Swahili-speaking robot. Finally, our panellists go against the clock in our Kenyan Science Showdown.
All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Alex Lathbridge, with Christine Yohannes and Phillys Mwatee
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Sophie Ormiston and Harrison Lewis
Studio engineers: Andrew Garratt and Gayl Gordon
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49:30
An eggciting episode
This week is the Christian celebration of Easter, which sent the Unexpected Elements team scrambling for egg-related stories. First up, we find out about the rise of a vegan egg substitute. Next, we discover how to cook the perfect boiled egg, according to science. We then turn our attention to climate change, and find out how it is affecting the breeding patterns and nesting behaviour of sea turtles. Plus, we are joined by Dr Luis Welbanks, who tells us about a nearby exoplanet that reeks of rotten eggs. Finally, we delve into the science behind IVF. All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Chhavi Sachdev and Sandy Ong
Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Debbie Kilbride, Robbie Wojciechowski and William Hornbrook
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.
Netherlands