Circles, circumferences and Covid
Unexpected Elements
BBC
4.4 • 566 Ratings
🗓️ 17 January 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After the comic malfunctions of a self-driving car, which drove its passenger/prisoner in endless circles, Unexpected Elements rounds its attention on the humble circle. Explore how one man calculated the circumference of the Earth 2,000 years before GPS was invented, then be spellbound by the Magic Circle and the mysterious woman who broke into it. And as we hit the five-year anniversary of the Covid pandemic, we take a look at the cycle of infection and mutation, before asking, 'why don’t we have one antiviral pill that kills them all?' We’re joined by evolutionary psychologist Professor Robin Dunbar, who calculated Dunbar’s number; that is, the maximum number of folks you can hold onto in your circle of friends... five? 500? 5,000? Robin reveals how many REAL friends science says you can have. Presenters: Marnie Chesterton, with Camilla Mota and Phillys Mwatee Producers: Harrison Lewis, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and William Hornbrook
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Oh, hello. You have chosen a BBC podcast, but before you listen to it, we thought you might |
| 0:04.7 | like our podcast too. You might. You might. It is called Sightracked with me, Nick Grimshaw. |
| 0:09.2 | And me, Annie Mack. And we talk about the week in music. All the news, all the cultural |
| 0:14.0 | happenings in the UK and beyond. And great guests. And it's on BBC Sounds. Yes, where you can |
| 0:19.7 | also enjoy lots of playlists, music mixes and |
| 0:22.6 | live radio. Everything from my six music breakfast show to Radio 3 Unwind. But obviously start |
| 0:29.2 | with our podcast sidetrack. Obviously. Obviously. So if you like music, listen on BBC |
| 0:33.7 | Sounds. Last weekend, I went to Dublin and Belfast. on BBC Sands. |
| 0:41.6 | Last weekend, I went to Dublin and Belfast. |
| 0:47.2 | Two cities, one the capital of the Republic of Ireland and one the capital of Northern Ireland, |
| 0:48.6 | so part of the UK. |
| 0:55.7 | Different countries, but part of the same island, and I drove between them without any border crossing. |
| 1:02.7 | And it was work, and so I had some dinner money, and I spent it all on crisps, or to be international potato chips. I posted a picture of my hall on social media. I was told I'd bought the |
| 1:09.7 | Northern Irish kind, not the Irish kind, which was |
| 1:13.6 | when I discovered that these crisps with the same name are in fact two separate companies with two |
| 1:20.5 | separate recipes and they even have the same but subtly different mascot, which is a jolly potato |
| 1:26.9 | in a hat and a jacket, on the |
| 1:28.8 | outsides of the packet. The same but different. I'm Marnie Chesterton from the BBC World |
| 1:35.8 | Service. This is the science show inspired by news headlines. |
| 1:56.0 | And to find that inspiration, I'm pleased to say I'm joined by a crack team of global science broadcasters. |
| 2:02.2 | In Sao Paulo, Brazil, we have Camilla Mota. Hello. |
| 2:05.5 | Oh, amani? Hello. |
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