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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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- Maxxed out · 50 mntThe Unexpected Elements team are science-maxxing, following the headline that “maxxing” has been named 2026’s word of the year by dictionary.com. Strap yourself in for tales of…
- Defrauded, defamed, delivered · 50 mntThis week, the Unexpected Elements team have been glued to a story about a $126 million fraud caused by fake US postage labels. That inspires a show filled with lies, cheats and…
- Building bridges · 50 mntA new bridge has just been opened between China and North Korea after a 12-year delay. And that got the Unexpected Elements team thinking about some bridge-related science. We…
- Taking a shortcut · 50 mntAfter 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…
- Walk the line · 50 mntEstonian athlete Jaan Roose recently completed a jaw-dropping slackline display, performing daredevil tricks 120 metres above the streets of central Seoul, South Korea. This…
- Rogue Agents · 50 mntThis 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. Marnie…
- An identity crisis · 50 mntWhen 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…
- A distorted view · 50 mntWith 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…
- The phizz-whizzing science of Roald Dahl · 50 mntRoald 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…
- The show must go on · 50 mntThe 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. First, we hear…
- A very dry episode · 50 mntVast swathes of Europe and Asia are experiencing drought conditions, thanks to relentless heatwaves and lack of rain. This week, we find out why drought conditions could…
- Fashionably late · 50 mntNews of an Australian library book finally finding its way home 150 years after it was borrowed has the Unexpected Elements team thinking about things that get forgotten, filed…
- Light entertainment · 50 mntAs Europe experiences its first total solar eclipse in almost 30 years this week, Unexpected Elements investigates the surprising science that emerges when sunlight is blocked…
- Someone's always watching · 50 mntThe UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has found that birdwatching is the second-fastest growing hobby amongst Gen Z with 750,000 of them regularly venturing into the…
- Down The Rabbit Hole · 50 mnt75 years ago, Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland hit our screens, welcoming us into a technicolour, topsy-turvy world of eccentric characters – including the Mad Hatter, the…
- Bald caps, sparrow raps and lightning claps · 50 mntIf you were lucky enough to be at rapper Pitbull's recent concert in Hyde Park in London, you would have been greeted by a sea of bald caps. A Guiness World record-breaking sea…
- A scientific odyssey · 50 mntAs the film adaptation of the Odyssey bursts onto screens around the world this week, here at Unexpected Elements we’re undertaking our own epic journey through science – all…
- Everyone needs a hero · 50 mntA mysterious vigilante in Mexico nicknamed “Batman” has inspired the Unexpected Elements team to investigate the science of superheroes. First up, we explore whether a Batman’s…
- Stuck in a cycle · 50 mntPakistan has recently announced that they plan to abolish the 18% sales tax on menstrual products like pads or tampons. UN Women has welcomed the decision, saying that when these…
- Dividing lines · 49 mntThis week South Korea announced they will be adjusting the Civilian Controlled Zone that borders the demilitarised area between North and South Korea. The reshuffle will allow…
- Anyone for chips? · 50 mntThe spiralling cost and short supply of microchips – something the tech journalists have dubbed ‘RAMageddon’ – has the Unexpected Elements team investigating all things…
- The beautiful game · 50 mntAs the Fifa Men’s World Cup kicks off this week in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, football fever is everywhere – and this has the Unexpected Elements team exploring all…
- Science bears fruit · 52 mntLong live the king – of mangoes! In India the famed ‘king of mangoes’, the Alphonso mango, is in drastically short supply after a particularly bad bout of adverse weather…
- Celebrating science on Africa Day · 50 mntHow do you translate the latest science work across the 2000 different languages spoken around the African continent? And have you heard of sky mountain? Africa Day has the…
- Unexpected enhancements · 50 mntHave you ever wondered what happen to salmon when too much cocaine seeps into their rivers? Inspired by the Enhanced Games, we lookat unexpected areas of performance enhancement…
- Hantavirus outbreak and what’s in a name · 50 mntAn outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise ship has us looking at the unexpected science around the disease. First up, why is this outbreak such an unusual occurrence?…
- One hundred years of Sir David Attenborough · 50 mntSir David Attenborough is arguably the world’s favourite broadcaster, and this week he’s blowing out the candles on his 100th birthday cake. Inspired by his significant birthday…
- The soaring price of condoms · 50 mntThe blockade on the strait of Hormuz has led to an unexpected consequence – condom prices are set to increase by up to 30 percent! This has us delving into all things…
- Chernobyl: 40 years later · 50 mntOn 26th April 1986, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine exploded, releasing vast amounts of radiation. Now, 40 years later, it remains the worst nuclear…
- The ribbiting science of frogs · 50 mntIn 2025, Russian-born scientist Kseniia Petrova picked up some spliced frog embryos from a laboratory in France and brought them back to the USA to aid her research into ageing…
- Is everyone accounted for? · 50 mntThis month, India began the immense undertaking of surveying its population of 1.4 billion people in the world’s largest ever census. Inspired by this huge task, the Unexpected…
- Putting science on the map · 50 mntChina’s ambitious underwater mapping operation takes us on a voyage into the depths of ocean and map science. We look at what a network of underwater microphones can tell us…
- A bumper edition · 49 mntJapanese pedestrians have been forcefully colliding with each other in a spate of butsukari otoko – or ‘bumping man’ – incidents and the Unexpected Elements team has been…
- In the name of science · 56 mntAfter the end of a near 17-year legal battle between popstar Katy Perry and fashion designer Katie Perry, the Unexpected Elements team has been inspired to explore the question…
- Out for blood · 50 mntWith this year’s Oscars on the horizon, and vampire film Sinners nominated for a record-breaking 16 awards, the Unexpected Elements team sinks their teeth into some blood-sucking…
- The colour of science · 50 mntThe Hindu festival of Holi has the Unexpected Elements team delving into the science of colour. First up, forget chicken and egg, we bring you a whole new controversy of which…
- A sweet treat · 51 mntA dip in global cocoa prices got the Unexpected Elements team wondering about chocolate science. First, we look at how the microbial communities in cocoa beans fine tune the…
- Seeing double · 50 mntIdentical twins on trial for murder in France have left forensic experts unable to answer the question of which one pulled the gun’s trigger. With both having the same DNA, it…
- Are you lucky? · 50 mntK-pop fans in Taiwan have been turning to the God of love in the hope it will boost their luck in getting concert tickets. It got the Unexpected Elements team thinking, are some…
- Let the games begin · 51 mntThe Winter Olympics has the Unexpected Elements team looking into some of the incredible science behind the sports. First up, the tale of India’s lone luge pilot: how did using…
- Are you still with us? · 49 mntAre You Dead? That’s the name of an app that’s gone massively viral in China. Every two days, you click a green button to confirm you’re alive and well – but if you miss it, an…
- Banging the science drum · 50 mntAfter the leaders of Japan and South Korea ended their summit with the two participating in a drumming duet, we’re marching to the beat of our own drum and exploring some…
- Science down under · 50 mntThis week the Unexpected Elements team has travelled Down Under to sunny Sydney where we discover some wonderfully Australian science with the help of some wonderfully Australian…
- Science of the future · 49 mntWe take a look at some exciting science of the near future. First, the latest developments in animal-to-human organ transplants and the ambitious goals of eliminating cervical…
- An episode inspired by our listeners · 50 mntWe revisit our listeners’ favourite topics and dig deeper in this special programme. First, we hear from some of our insomniac listeners and explore how we fall asleep with…
- The gift of science · 50 mntThis Boxing Day and holiday season, our present to you is the science of gifts. First, we investigate the health benefits of donating blood, and find out about the predator…
- Why are we sad when television series end? · 49 mntThe end of Australian soap opera Neighbours has us wondering why a television series ending makes us sad. Also, what does science say about how to engage with screens while still…
- Chicken, with a side order of science · 49 mntOver the Christmas season, it is estimated that some 3.6 million families in Japan will tuck into KFC over Christmas (other fried chicken is available), which inspired the…
- Some bear-y interesting space science · 49 mntA teddy bear launched into the upper atmosphere as part of a school science project has gone missing! Inspired by this story, the Unexpected Elements team look into how bears…
- The unexpected science behind Klimt's artwork · 49 mntThe Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer by Gustav Klimt has recently sold for $236m, making it the second-most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. Inspired by this headline, the…
