Lights out

Unexpected Elements

BBC

Science

4.4 • 567 Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2024

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A nationwide power outage in Ecuador left 18 million people in the dark, shutting down traffic lights and the capital’s subway system.

But Ecuador isn’t the only place dealing with blackouts. In Nunavut, Canada, where panelist Meral Jamal lives, power outages happen frequently, including as she was preparing for this programme. How do you deal with a power outage in a remote place? And how did the Inuit manage the cold winter months without electricity at all?

What is the darkest colour in the world? You may think it is black, but, in fact, there is something even darker – ultra-black. Deep-sea fish, butterflies, and, surprisingly, even humans have used ultra-black for a variety of purposes, like being sneaky, fashion statements, and contemporary art.

But what about nature’s blackouts? Ocean scientists Allie Clement tells us about long sunless winters in Antarctica, merry midwinter celebrations, and how ecosystems in Antarctica responds to months of darkness.

Also, the singular origin of a new apex predator hybrid, why alligators have such disgusting table manners, and the maths of scamming which adds up to some astonishingly big bucks.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton with Meral Jamal and Phillys Mwatee Producer: Florian Bohr with Julia Ravey, Noa Dowling and Katie Tomsett Sound engineer: Tim Heffer

Transcript

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0:00.0	In 2019, we began investigating the disappearance of Dr. Ruzha Ignatva.
0:08.0	I believe we are a very special network.
0:10.0	A scammer who stole billions from investors around the world.
0:15.0	She's on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
0:18.0	And now, we have some unmissable updates. She has money and when you have
0:23.0	money, you have power. Join me, Jamie Bartlett, as the hunt for the missing crypto queen continues.
0:29.5	Listen first on BBC Sounds.
0:36.4	Last week, after recording a Taylor Swift themed show, I hung back for a couple of hours to do some science.
0:44.3	The woman herself was in town and while 73,000 fans inside the Cardiff Stadium prepared to dance and sing their socks off,
0:52.8	I lurked outside with a couple of scientists and a seismograph.
0:57.4	As we discussed on last week's show, fans up in Scotland had danced so hard it had moved the earth,
1:04.6	picking up on technology that measures earthquakes.
1:08.2	That same tech was now a mile away at my scientist's house, but the data was relayed
1:14.0	in real time to his phone. We huddled over the screen, nervous that this might not work. We checked our
1:21.1	watches and social media and heard behind us the roar of the crowd. To our delight, the graph on the phone also surged into life.
1:30.6	Taylor had just come on stage. That big spike on the small screen, translated by a seismic
1:37.6	detector, was the sheer power of joy. I'm Marnie Chesterton from the BBC World Service. This is unexpected elements.
2:00.0	And it's my joy to introduce this week's global panel.
2:04.0	In the very, very north of Canada in Nunavut, we have Moral Jamal.
2:08.6	Welcome back, Moral.
2:09.9	Hey, Marini.
2:11.3	And in Nairobi, Kenya, we have Phyllis Mwate.
	...

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