Why are we sad when television series end?
Unexpected Elements
BBC
4.4 • 565 Ratings
🗓️ 19 December 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The end of Australian soap opera Neighbours has us wondering why a television series ending makes us sad. Also, what does science say about how to engage with screens while still protecting your vision?
Also on the show, visual ecologist Daniel Hanley has created a camera to help us visualize the world animals see, and why are there green birds, green insects, but no green mammals?
All that plus more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, and Ella Hubber
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Oh, hello. You have chosen a BBC podcast, but before you listen to it, we thought you might like our podcast too. |
| 0:12.1 | You might. You might. It is called Sightraught with me Nick Grimshaw. |
| 0:15.2 | And me, Annie Mack. And we talk about the week in music. |
| 0:18.2 | All the news, all the cultural happenings in the UK and beyond. |
| 0:22.2 | And great guests. |
| 0:23.3 | And it's on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:24.7 | Yes, where you can also enjoy lots of playlists, music mixes and live radio. |
| 0:29.9 | Everything from my six music breakfast show to Radio 3 Unwind. |
| 0:34.5 | But obviously start with our podcast, sidetrack. |
| 0:36.3 | Obviously. |
| 0:36.7 | Obviously. |
| 0:38.2 | So if you like music, listen on BBC Sans. |
| 0:43.2 | I've lived at my current address for seven years, which makes me a newbie to the neighbourhood. |
| 0:49.7 | In my little street, most people bought their places as derelict properties at auction and have lived there ever since. |
| 0:56.8 | I was recently invited to 20-year anniversary drinks and realised that my neighbours had been together for a significant portion of their lives. |
| 1:06.5 | One of the things with a big city is that it offers you the chance to be anonymous, |
| 1:11.4 | to not know or be bothered by the lives of those who share a wall with you. |
| 1:16.4 | Me? I revel in the loose ties of these relationships. |
| 1:20.7 | We've shared jokes, gripes about the bins and socially distant street parties during lockdown. |
| 1:26.8 | And yet, they aren't family, |
| 1:29.3 | so I don't have to feel bad when I inevitably forget their birthdays. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

