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Unexpected Elements

The man who couldn’t lie

Unexpected Elements

BBC

Science

4.4567 Ratings

🗓️ 24 August 2023

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, we start off by digging into conspiracy theories. What’s behind their enduring allure? And have they always been around? Marnie and the panel investigate.

Many conspiracy theories are based off of misinformation… but what’s actually going on in our brains when we lie? We look into the case of the man who was physically unable of spreading tall tales.

Sometimes, the truth is there, but is difficult to uncover. Delving for this deeper meaning is something particle physicists like Dr Harry Cliff have been doing for decades. Harry tells us where we are in the ongoing quest to understand our Universe.

Also, we hear the ingenious way Costa Rican scientists are dealing with pineapple waste, and we answer a South African listener’s question about evolution.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producer: Sophie Ormiston, with Margaret Sessa Hawkins and Alex Mansfield

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.

0:21.7

She has money and when you have money, you have power.

0:24.6

Join me, Jamie Bartlett, as the hunt for the missing crypto queen continues.

0:29.5

Listen first on BBC Sounds.

0:32.1

That 56 seconds, it took me to swim that gold medal win.

0:36.9

I looked for that feeling for 30 years,

0:41.5

and I never found it. A podcast about the people behind the medals. On the podium from the BBC World Service. Find it wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

1:02.2

So this week I went earthworm hunting.

1:07.3

I was at a big festival full of music, talks, film screenings,

1:10.5

but who can resist a walk and talk about earthworms? I learnt to identify eight

1:12.5

different species, discovered that they're found pretty much everywhere between frozen soil and desert

1:18.2

sand, and was told that in the future, maybe we'll eat them as paté. The British ones don't

1:25.1

taste of much, but there are some in New Zealand that are so tasty that Maori tribes restrict their consumption.

1:32.8

You can eat them as a high-ranking individual or for your final dying meal.

1:38.3

Top facts always available from me, Marnie Chesterton, on unexpected elements from the BBC World Service.

2:03.3

Joining us this week from Costa Rica is Debbie Ponchner, editor of Knowable on Español.

2:03.9

Hello, Debbie.

2:05.3

Hi, hello.

...

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