Summary
Much ado was made about a cancelled auction of an ultra-rare set of Shakespeare’s folios, which could have fetched millions of dollars.
This headline – along with Shakespeare being one of the world’s most well-known playwrights – inspired the Unexpected Elements team to delve into the science of stories.
First up, we find out why your brain loves a tale. We then discover that some people can’t see images in their mind when they read, and reveal the impact this could have.
Shakespeare’s folios are almost 400 years old, but how have they survived that long? We get on the line with Kathryn Kenney, a book and paper conservator, to find out how she keeps precious books safe.
We also find out about a disappearing island, whether climate change needs a new narrative and if you could eat books to survive. All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Camilla Mota and Tristan Ahtone Producer: Margaret Sessa Hawkins, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Imaan Moin and Minnie Harrop Studio Manager: Rhys Morris
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. |
| 0:21.7 | 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. |
| 0:40.2 | This past week, I took some time off and used it to wend my way home from a work trip to the Eastern European country of Bulgaria by train. |
| 0:50.8 | And train travel gives you the chance to meet new people and hear their stories. |
| 0:55.0 | And that's how, on a train speeding through the Alps, I heard about the Hungarian president's obsession with building football stadiums. |
| 1:05.0 | Billions have gone into building stadia around the country with the aim of creating a world-class national team. |
| 1:13.3 | And do you have a world-class side now? I asked. |
| 1:17.2 | My Hungarian companion chuckled. No, not really. Our footballers are still just as bad as before. |
| 1:23.9 | But do you know what we have instead? We are now global leaders at building football |
... |
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