Kenya believe it?
Unexpected Elements
BBC
4.4 • 566 Ratings
🗓️ 25 April 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week the Unexpected Elements team left our windowless BBC studio and paid a visit to the CGIAR conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
In this episode, we find out about the Kenyan invention that’s pulling clean, safe water from thin air, before discovering what makes Kenyan coffee taste so great.
Next, we hear about the problems with burning charcoal and the ways in which briquettes could offer a cleaner, more sustainable solution.
Plus, we’re joined by Joyce Maru, the regional director for Africa at the International Potato Centre. She reveals the science behind the orange-flesh sweet potato and explains how it could improve livelihoods and boost health across Africa.
We then hear about the story of the two Kenyan inventors who have created a Swahili-speaking robot.
Finally, our panellists go against the clock in our Kenyan Science Showdown. All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements. Presenter: Alex Lathbridge, with Christine Yohannes and Phillys Mwatee Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Sophie Ormiston and Harrison Lewis Studio engineers: Andrew Garratt and Gayl Gordon
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Can I just say? |
| 0:01.5 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast. |
| 0:04.0 | It's such a wonderful listen. |
| 0:05.6 | So nice. |
| 0:06.5 | There are loads more like it on BBC sounds. |
| 0:08.8 | Different paces, different heights. |
| 0:10.6 | The roof is buckling. |
| 0:11.9 | Where you can also listen to live sports commentary. |
| 0:14.2 | It's right foot goes for goal. |
| 0:16.7 | And then enjoy even more podcasts full of analysis and reaction to the big stories. |
| 0:21.6 | The stat that is astonishing is they ended with the lowest amount of possession. |
| 0:25.2 | And she's had to live with that. |
| 0:26.8 | So if you love sport, a passion, it's almost like a religion. |
| 0:29.7 | Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:31.8 | Sort of expecting that every week now. |
| 0:43.3 | So this week I got into an argument at an airport. I travelled thousands of miles and been awake for about 18 hours and as I was waiting for my taxi, a man came up to me and said |
| 0:50.3 | that I'd stolen his baggage. Now after a minute of arguing, getting a lot of attention |
| 0:55.8 | from passers-by, we realised that his name was Alex, and we had the same bag, same type, same |
| 1:03.2 | colour. So it turns out that I'm not a criminal, just the victim of statistical likelihood |
| 1:08.2 | and high-quality suitcase popularity. But it was all worth it because I'm no |
| 1:13.9 | longer in a windowless BBC studio talking to people over the internet. No, coming to you live |
| 1:21.2 | from the CGIAR Science Week in Nairobi, Kenya, in front of a live audience. I'm Alex Lathbridge from the BBC World Service, and this is unexpected elements. |
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