Informazioni su questo podcast
Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain tackle listeners' conundrums with the power of science!
Episodi
I 50 episodi più recenti su 171
- Too Cute · 28 minWhy do we find the young of other species cute? Finding baby humans adorable makes evolutionary sense, ensuring that we care for them properly. But what about babies of other…
- Tessellation Proliferation · 28 minWe may think of tessellation as being about how to tile a flat plane but this week we reveal how repeating patterns actually occur all over the place, and can even help us solve…
- Yawn Chorus · 28 minWe often associate yawning with being tired or bored - but this week's episode explores whether it could be a clever way to cool down our brains? Hannah and Dara discover humans…
- Making Waves · 28 minWhat happens when you give water a really good shake? You might expect splashing, spilling and general aquatic chaos - but under exactly the right conditions, something much…
- Identical(ish) · 28 minEver wondered how close nature can get to making a human clone? And what happens if identical twin brothers marry identical twin sisters and have babies - how similar are they?…
- Trailer · 1 minHannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain return for a new series, and a whole lot of new problems to solve!
- Frosty Fractals · 29 minOne winter morning, listener Jane opened her curtains to find her car roof covered in breathtaking, fern-like frost so intricate it looked like a William Morris print. But how…
- Mining for Gold (GOLD!) · 28 minFrom pharaohs' tombs in Ancient Egypt and medieval currency, to priceless royal jewellery and Spandau Ballet songs - gold has been prized for millennia. But it's only really in…
- Phantom Pain · 28 minWhat exactly is 'phantom pain' and how does it work? Hannah and Dara investigate a medical phenomenon that's been known about for centuries but is often misunderstood; and…
- Tortoise Tomfoolery · 29 minTortoises have traditionally been the poster child for slowness. These ancient, armoured reptiles are solitary, territorial and all-too-often dismissed as dull. In fact…
- Planetary Wobble · 28 minCould you survive an eternal winter? Or is endless summer sun a more appealing prospect? Lots of us are grateful for the seasonal changes that shape the world around us, but this…
- Immortal Jellies · 29 minCould immortality ever be possible for humans? It sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, but floating in oceans around the world is a tiny, transparent jellyfish that could…
- Mysteries from the Final Frontier · 29 minSpace: the final frontier, a deep dark realm full of questions and mysteries - many of which science can't yet satisfactorily answer. But that won't stop the Curious Cases team!…
- Beam Me Up, Scotty! · 29 minWhether you’re stuck in traffic, waiting at the airport whilst delay after delay is announced or just really missing someone far away, a lot of us have probably wished we could…
- Going Viral · 29 minCold and flu season is well and truly upon us, and whilst most of us are busy bemoaning the pesky viruses behind our sniffles and chesty coughs – one of our listeners has other…
- We Didn't Start the Fire · 29 minIt has been said that you can't start a fire without a spark, but as Hannah and Dara are about to discover, that's not true! Welcome to the fiery phenomenon of spontaneous…
- Just My Luck · 29 minAre you a lucky person? Do the cards just fall well for you? Whether it's always finding a parking spot when you need one or chance encounters that change your life's trajectory…
- Good Vibrations? · 29 minIt turns out that the whole world wobbles. Everything has a natural frequency - the rate at which it moves when disturbed - be it a cup of tea, a building or a human organ. Even…
- To Crab, or Not to Crab? · 29 minWe can all picture a crab, but did you know that nature has reinvented those claw clicking, sideways scuttling crustaceans at least five separate times? In recent years the…
- Trailer · 2 minHannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain return to Curious Cases HQ for a brand-new series. And curios, there’s a lot to unpack! Coming soon to BBC Sounds.
- Clever Crows · 29 minThe term 'bird brain' might suggest our feathered friends are stupid, but Hannah and Dara learn it's completely untrue. They play hide and seek with a raven called Bran, and hear…
- Memory Swap · 30 minCould you ever trade memories with someone else? Fancy downloading the experience of landing on the moon, winning an Oscar or performing at Glastonbury? Listener Adam wants to…
- Clowns in Spacetime · 30 minCan you slow down time by hurtling through space at breakneck speed? Could listener Saskia’s friend - currently one year older - end up the same age as her if he went fast…
- Colossal Creatures · 29 minHow big can animals really get before they collapse under their own weight or run out of snacks? Could a 12-foot comedian survive their first punchline without snapping in half?…
- Nano Sharks · 29 minThink of a shark and you'll probably conjure up images of Jaws, but it turns out their skin is also covered in tiny teeth. Hannah and Dara investigate the incredible properties…
- Chuckle, Snigger and LOL · 29 minWhy do we giggle, snort, and bust a gut laughing? Is it just humans being weird, does it serve some higher function or do other animals crack up too? And, okay, Dara is a…
- Don't Bite Me! · 30 minEver wondered why some people are mosquito magnets and other people barely get bitten? Hannah and Dara grapple with the question of whether these insects are evil or genius…
- Aches and Rains · 29 minThe team test the theory that you can use the weather to predict pain, separating science fact from fiction. It's an area with a huge amount of conflicting research, but one man…
- Furnishing with Fungi · 29 minFrom mouldy bread to athlete’s foot, fungi don’t exactly scream “home improvement.” But what if this misunderstood kingdom is the secret to the sustainable materials of the…
- Love Neurons · 29 minWhat happens in your brain when Cupid’s arrow strikes? As a teenager, Alison developed an intense crush on George Harrison from the Beatles. But, she wants to know, why do we…
- Invisibility Quest · 30 minHannah and Dara tackle a disarmingly simple question: is anything in the universe truly invisible? After ruling out mysterious Nordic spirits and ‘Dara’s ire’, our curious duo…
- Liar, Liar · 29 minFor any of you who have ever told a porkie pie, don't worry, this week we hear why we all do it... and discover that deception is actually good for social bonding. From the red…
- The Diamond Throwdown · 32 min“Diamonds are nonsense!” Hannah boldly proclaimed in a previous episode. But listener Guy is a diamond enthusiast, and he and his diamond-loving pals were NOT OKAY WITH THIS. He…
- Trailer · 2 minHannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain return to tackle listener's questions with the power of science!
- The Fastest Fly · 30 minThe buzz of a fly hovering just above your head has got to be one of the most irritating sounds around, but this week we try to work out just how fast they could be flying. Could…
- Bored to Death · 30 minAnyone who has ever done a long car journey with kids will be familiar with the idea of being bored to death – but can this feeling really be fatal? Hannah and Dara hear about a…
- Freeze Me When I Die · 28 minWhen you die, would you want to be frozen so that one day you might be brought back to life? Listener Elspeth wants to know if that’s even possible. So Hannah and Dara embark on…
- Night Walkers · 29 minWake up! It’s time for a dreamy new episode of Curious Cases all about the science of sleepwalking. Listener Abigail has done some strange things in her sleep, from taking all…
- A Lemon-Powered Spaceship · 30 minFruit-powered batteries are the ultimate school science experiment, but they’re normally used to power a pocket calculator. This week’s listener wants to know if they could do…
- Be More Athlete · 30 minAre you more of a rhino or a kitten? More like a tortoise or a hare? Listener Ivy wants to know what makes a good athlete and so Hannah and Dara tackle the science of sport. Our…
- Invincible Moss Piglets · 29 minListener Vivienne has heard that tardigrades - aka moss piglets - have special powers of survival. Radiation? Drought? Extreme cold? NO PROBLEM. Does that mean they could survive…
- The Shock Factor · 29 minIf there’s one type of discharge you really want to avoid, it’s lightning, but what happens when it hits you? We hear from lightning survivor Kerry Evans, and discover that the…
- The Taste of Words · 30 min11 year old Esther visualises days of the week in a kind of 3D structure. It’s something called ‘synaesthesia’ and she wants to know why it happens - and why other people don’t…
- In the Groove · 31 minIt’s sometimes said that timing is everything and this week the pair investigate the mystery of rhythm, discovering why some of us might be better at staying in tempo. From the…
- Mirror, Mirror · 30 min9 year old listener Koby sends Hannah and Dara on a mission to find the shiniest thing in the world. And so they enter a world of mirrors… The journey takes them into the…
- The 5 Second Rule · 29 minWould you eat food that fell on the floor? That’s the question Hannah and Dara are getting their teeth into this week as they put the so-called ‘5 second rule’ through its paces…
- Space Bubbles · 28 minWhile chatting at the back of class, best mates Abi and Sofia got curious about bubbles. How do you make really giant ones? Could you even get one around the entire planet?…
- Trailer · 2 minCurious Cases is returning! Superstar mathematician and broadcaster Hannah Fry teams up with legendary comedian and fellow science nerd Dara Ó Briain for an all-new series of the…
- The Impossible Number · 42 minThere is a bizarre number in maths referred to simply as ‘i’. It appears to break the rules of arithmetic - but turns out to be utterly essential for applications across…
- The Mind Numbing Medicine · 44 minThis episode will render you oblivious, conked out and blissfully unaware. It’s about anaesthetics: those potent potions that send you into a deep, deathly sleep. Listener Alicia…
