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Unexpected Elements

Forgetful fish, telescopic worms and bad air days

Unexpected Elements

BBC

Science

4.4567 Ratings

🗓️ 14 September 2023

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In a week where global heat records have melted, we find out how that can make fish life-threateningly stupid. We also dive a little deeper to find the part of the ocean where a little heat proves life-enhancing.

And we bring you boring science… no, not in that way. Find out what tree rings can tell us about ancient civilizations and past climates. Also, a new Japanese mission aims to park nice and neatly on the moon – how different is that from the famous first effort from the Apollo 11 team?

We hear about an unwelcome Delhi resident that’s taking years off locals lives – air pollution. And what is a “supervolcano” and how likely is it that one ruins our run as dominant species on this planet?

Presented by Marnie Chesterton With Chhavi Sachdev and Tristan Ahtone

Producers: Alex Mansfield, Ben Motley, Sophie Ormiston, Emily Bird and Patrick Hughes

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 with

0:29.3

our podcast sidetrack. Obviously. Obviously. So if you like music, listen on BBC Sounds.

0:34.0

In our restless world, the news never stops. There's always something happening somewhere.

0:39.5

So catch up with the day's most important news stories in the Global News Podcast.

0:44.2

The Global News Podcast, from the BBC World Service.

0:47.4

The latest edition is available now.

0:49.7

Search for it wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

1:01.5

So last week, I spent the week learning how not to get killed. I was on a BBC journalist's training course, which covers many kinds of death to swerve,

1:08.2

from bombings and bullets to heatstroke and road traffic collisions.

1:12.5

It also taught me how to prevent my colleagues from dying, and now I'm pretty good at applying

1:17.2

a tourniquet to a horribly realistic bleeding leg stump. I'm certainly no war correspondence,

1:24.2

but, as our instructor pointed out, hostile environments aren't just political ones.

1:30.6

As this planet heats up, places change.

1:34.0

And so does the traditional knowledge about how to safely operate in those places.

1:39.1

We're learning how to tread on thin ice.

1:42.5

I'm Marnie Chesterton from the BBC World Service.

1:45.4

This is Unexpected Elements.

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