Navigating northward
Unexpected Elements
BBC
4.4 • 566 Ratings
🗓️ 11 April 2025
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Aurora Borealis – also known as the Northern Lights – won’t be at their peak activity much longer, and the Unexpected Elements team dreams of going north to see them. And that has got us looking at the science of navigating our way north!
We hear about how humans have been using the sky to navigate for millennia, and we learn about how relying on GPS may be impacting our memory ability.
And while humans use maps to get around, how do animals know where to go on their long migrations? To find the answer, we speak to Dr Kayla Goforth at Texas A&M University who studies exactly how sea turtles and monarch butterflies innately know how to navigate the world around them.
We also learn why polar bears keep themselves ice-free, and we hear old records of the first men to reach the North Pole.
All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Andrada Fiscutean and Phillys Mwatee Producer: Imaan Moin, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Noa Dowling and William Hornbrook
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Last week, my partner planned a surprise weekend away. I had no idea where we were going. |
| 0:09.3 | She even managed to get me on a train without me reading any signs. |
| 0:13.4 | As I looked out the window, frustrated and excited, I watched a beautiful sunset. |
| 0:18.8 | On the left-hand side of the train, which gave me a vital clue. |
| 0:23.9 | We were heading north. |
| 0:25.5 | And north from Liverpool Street Station in London to me means one thing. Cambridge. |
| 0:31.2 | Surprise ruined, but I felt very smug about my navigation skills. |
| 0:35.4 | I'm Caroline Steele from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:37.9 | This is unexpected elements. |
| 0:51.7 | And as always, I'm joined by a panel of journalists from around the world. |
| 0:55.7 | Dialing in from Nairobi, Kenya, it's Phyllis Mwati. |
| 0:58.8 | Hello, Hujambo, Caroline. |
| 1:00.6 | And joining us from Bucharest, Romania is Andrade Fisguton. |
| 1:04.5 | Buena, Caroline. |
| 1:05.8 | This is the show that starts with something important that's happening in the world |
| 1:09.5 | and uses that as an excuse to wander into the land of science. |
| 1:13.8 | Here's a clue as to what caught our eye this week. |
| 1:16.6 | The voices will probably sound familiar. |
| 1:19.5 | Marnie, I've got a riddle. |
| 1:21.2 | Great. |
| 1:22.1 | So see if you can work on what I'm talking about. |
| 1:23.6 | It's a really beautiful riddle. |
... |
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