Unexpected Elements Podcast
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.
Episodes to download
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Science of the future
Friday
Exciting developments in science, in cervical cancer, xenotransplantation, fusion energy
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An episode inspired by our listeners
Fri 2 Jan 2026
In this special programme, we revisit our listeners’ favourite topics and then dig deeper
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The gift of science
Boxing Day 2025
This Boxing Day and holiday season, our present to you is the science of gifts.
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Why are we sad when television series end?
Fri 19 Dec 2025
The end of Australian soap opera Neighbours has us looking at the science of being sad
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Chicken, with a side order of science
Fri 12 Dec 2025
Japan’s love for fried chicken at Christmas gets us digging into chicken’s origins.
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Some bear-y interesting space science
Fri 5 Dec 2025
A teddy lost in space has got us seeking stories about space, bears and getting lost!
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The unexpected science behind Klimt's artwork
Fri 28 Nov 2025
A record-breaking painting leads us to microbes, spiders, gold and cave art.
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Some Beautiful Science
Fri 21 Nov 2025
The Miss Universe pageant final has us examining the science of beauty
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A keg of beer-based science
Fri 14 Nov 2025
Inspired by the opening of a 150-year-old bottle of ale, we pore over beer-based stories
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A science heist
Fri 31 Oct 2025
The Louvre jewel theft has us inspecting heists and crime scenes in science.
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How does biometric data work?
Fri 24 Oct 2025
Europe’s new entry/exit system has us looking at the science behind biometric data.
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Why are gold prices so high?
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Record-high gold prices have us searching for science nuggets
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The strongest stuff in the Universe
Fri 10 Oct 2025
The Unexpected Elements team are flexing their muscles and tackling all things strong.
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Science inspired by Taylor Swift
Fri 3 Oct 2025
Taylor Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl inspires this week’s episode.
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Two-hundred years of trains
Fri 26 Sep 2025
The anniversary of the first passenger steam train has us examining the science of trains
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Pirate science ahoy!
Fri 19 Sep 2025
For International Talk Like a Pirate Day, we set anchor on some swashbuckling science.
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Some dam awesome science
Fri 12 Sep 2025
How do we decide when, where, and even whether to build dams?
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Punk rock science
Fri 5 Sep 2025
A new, spiky dinosaur has us riffing through all things punk, rock and metal.
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Where do beaches come from?
Fri 29 Aug 2025
With people visiting the seaside, we investigate bucketloads of beach-based science
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Mountains of overtourism
Fri 22 Aug 2025
As Nepal makes 97 non-Everest peaks free to climb, we look at the science of overtourism.
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Why do we follow trends?
Fri 15 Aug 2025
The fad for ugly-cute Labubu dolls has us playing around with the science of trends.
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Floods, mangroves and rampaging tractors
Fri 8 Aug 2025
This week, the team discusses the causes of floods and possible solutions.
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Traffic science
Fri 1 Aug 2025
A Shanghai robo-traffic-cop has the team contemplating the science of traffic.
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Trailer: 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle
Mon 28 Jul 2025
The epic space story of a sci-fi dream that changed spaceflight forever
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The science of ageing
Fri 25 Jul 2025
The world’s oldest president presents us with the chance to explore some ageing science.
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How dust affects the world
Fri 18 Jul 2025
A new report on the dangers of dust sends us storming off into dust-related science.
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Sharks, albatrosses, the Jaws theme and fishing
Fri 11 Jul 2025
Shark Awareness Day sends us on a deep dive into marine biology.
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Cargo ships, chemical spills and caribou
Fri 4 Jul 2025
The X-Press Pearl disaster takes us on a voyage through shipping-related science.
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A roarsome episode
Fri 27 Jun 2025
This week, a brand-new dinosaur sent us on a palaeontological stomp.
