Curious Cases

BBC

5.0 (1)
SCIENCE
EVERY TWO MONTHS

Ad-free listening to curious science mysteries

US$2.99/month or US$29.99/year

Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain tackle listeners' conundrums with the power of science!

4 JAN

13. The Fastest Fly

The buzz of a fly hovering just above your head has got to be one of the most irritating sounds around, but this week we try to work out just how fast they could be flying. Could a claim horseflies reach speeds of up to 90 mph possibly be true, and Dara wants to know if this is what makes them so difficult to swat? Entomologist Erica McAlister is better known as the ‘fly lady’ and speaks up in defence of these tiny creatures, explaining there are 7,000 known species in the UK alone. Which makes it all the more shocking there are several that don’t have wings. For Professor Graham Taylor the question of speed comes down to a simple calculation, and the team try to work out whether a horsefly beats its wings fast enough relative to its size to travel so rapidly. He explains horseflies aren't clever, but scientists are interested in their simple brains and are studying them to use as models for drones and mini robots. Contributors: Dr Erica McAlister, Natural History Museum Professor Graham Taylor, Oxford University Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

30 min
28/12/2024

12. Bored to Death

Anyone who has ever done a long car journey with kids will be familiar with the idea of being bored to death – but can this feeling really be fatal? Hannah and Dara hear about a club where members count roundabouts and collect milk bottle tops, but boredom expert Wijnand van Tilburg explains these dull-sounding hobbies might actually have mental health benefits. He explains that science and comedy are stereotypically both seen as exciting subjects but warns them their chat about Venn diagrams might tip the balance the other way. Mind-wandering specialist Mike Esterman reveals why we're rubbish at staying on task when there are more rewarding things to do, and sets the pair a challenge to play a computer game that distracts them with pictures of cute babies and fluffy animals. Contributors: Dr Wijnand van Tilburg: University of Essex Dr Mike Esterman: Boston Attention and Learning Lab Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

30 min
21/12/2024

11. Freeze Me When I Die

When you die, would you want to be frozen so that one day you might be brought back to life? Listener Elspeth wants to know if that’s even possible. So Hannah and Dara embark on a quest to explore the chiling science of ‘cryobiology’: preserving living things at really low temperatures. It turns out there are already thousands of people alive who were once suspended in antifreeze and stored in liquid nitrogen - when they were just a small clump of cells! There’s even a frog which can turn into a ‘frogsicle’ for months on end. But re-animating full size humans is a challenge no one has solved…yet. Will some miraculous nanotechnology of a distant future solve the problem? Contributors: Professor João Pedro de Magalhães: University of Birmingham Hayley Campbell: Author and broadcaster Professor Joyce Harper: UCL Dr Hanane Hadj-Moussa: The Babraham Institute, Cambridge Garrett Smyth: Cryonics UK Producer: Ilan Goodman Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

28 min
14/12/2024

10. Night Walkers

Wake up! It’s time for a dreamy new episode of Curious Cases all about the science of sleepwalking. Listener Abigail has done some strange things in her sleep, from taking all the pictures off the wall, to searching for Turkish language courses. And she wants to know: WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? It turns out Abigail is not alone. Hannah and Dara hear weird and wonderful stories of extreme sleepwalkers - from the lady who went on midnight motorbike excursions, to the artist who does all his best work while asleep. They delve into the neuroscience to find out how you can remain in deep sleep while walking, talking or even peeing in your mum's shopping basket. They learn about some cutting edge research where the participants were sleep deprived and then half-woken with scary sounds, and they zero in on the key triggers, from a boozy night out to a squeaky bed. Contributors Professor Russell Foster: University of Oxford. Professor Guy Leschziner: King’s College London and Guys’ and St Thomas’ hospital Lee Hadwin: the sleep artist Professor Francesca Siclari: The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience Producer: Ilan Goodman Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

29 min
07/12/2024

9. A lemon-powered spaceship

Fruit-powered batteries are the ultimate school science experiment, but they’re normally used to power a pocket calculator. This week’s listener wants to know if they could do more, and sends the team on a quest to discover whether they could used to send a rocket into space? Professor Saiful Islam is the Guinness World Record holder for the highest voltage from a fruit-based battery, but disappoints the team when he reveals they produce very little power. He used 3,000 of them and only managed a measly 2 Watts. Given that spaceships are famously difficult to get off the ground, it seems a lemon battery might just fail the acid test. Author Randall Munroe is undeterred and suggests alternative ways to get energy from citrus, including burying them to make oil. Then the team discuss the pros and cons of switching to a lemon-based diet. For battery expert Paul Shearing, all this raises a serious question, about how we will power the planes of the future. He suggests solar power could play a part in short-haul flights and discusses some of the exciting battery materials being tested today. Contributors: Randall Munroe, author Professor Paul Shearing, Oxford University Professor Saiful Islam, Oxford University Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

30 min
30/11/2024

8. Be More Athlete

Are you more of a rhino or a kitten? More like a tortoise or a hare? Listener Ivy wants to know what makes a good athlete and so Hannah and Dara tackle the science of sport. Our curious duo get to grips with the rigours of training tailored for endurance events vs those based on more explosive bursts of activity. They consider the contribution of genetics, fast vs slow twitch muscle fibres, the unique advantage of Michael Phelps's body proportions and whether butterfly really is the most ridiculous stroke in swimming. And after a rigorous scientific analysis, Dara turns out to be ideally suited for…netball. Much to his surprise. Contributors Dr Polly McGuigan: University of Bath Dr Mitch Lomax: University of Portsmouth Professor Alun Williams: Manchester Metropolitan University Dr Josephine Perry: Sports psychologist Producer: Ilan Goodman Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

30 min
23/11/2024

7. Invincible Moss Piglets

Listener Vivienne has heard that tardigrades - aka moss piglets - have special powers of survival. Radiation? Drought? Extreme cold? NO PROBLEM. Does that mean they could survive an apocalypse? And could they even help us master space travel!? Hannah and Dara learn how to find these little moss piggies in roof gutters and garden corners. And they're amazed by their capacity to dry out and hunker down for decades before springing back to life. But calamity strikes when it turns out that fine glass tubing - in the form of pipettes - is their natural predator. And worse is to come: our curious duo learn that there may be some tardigrades stuck on the moon, and one researcher has even fired them out of a gun. All in the name of science. But they have survived at least 5 mass extinctions so far. So their chances of surviving the next one are pretty good. As long as pipettes aren't involved. Contributors Dr James Frederick Fleming: Natural History Museum of Norway and the University of Oslo Dr Nadja Møbjerg: University of Copenhagen Dr Thomas Boothby: University of Wyoming Producer: Ilan Goodman Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

29 min
16/11/2024

6. The Shock Factor

If there’s one type of discharge you really want to avoid, it’s lightning, but what happens when it hits you? We hear from lightning survivor Kerry Evans, and discover that the best place to shelter – if you ever find yourself in a similarly charged storm – is in a car, or low to the ground. And why this is never a good time to take a selfie. Dr Dan Mitchard from Cardiff University’s excitingly-named Lightning Lab explains why there's no lightning at the poles, and the presenters lament that polar bears and penguins are missing out. We all know about the gods of lightning, but the mysticism doesn't stop there. Above cloud level there are many other types of unusually-named phenomena, reaching to the edge of space, including sprites, trolls and even pixies. And Professor Karen Aplin reveals that lightning has even been discovered on other planets, in a science story that could affect our plans to colonise Mars. Contributors: Dr Daniel Mitchard, Lightning Laboratory, Cardiff University Professor Karen Aplin, University of Bristol Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

29 min

See All (154)

The day’s top stories from BBC News. Keeping you informed on the important global events, including the latest on US politics and developments in Ukraine and Gaza. Delivered twice a day at weekends, daily at weekends. Follow or subscribe, so you never miss an episode. Also listen to The Happy Pod, every Saturday, for the happiest stories of the week. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

3.9 (41)

DAILY NEWS
Join friends since birth Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver twice a week for their transatlantic catch-ups, discussing everything from the highs and lows of their lives to the biggest cultural moments of the week. Every Monday, Lily and Miquita will throw the show open and invite questions on a theme; celebrity weddings, indie sleaze, orgasms, lies… Then on Thursdays, they’ll pick apart the world around them with unfiltered conversation on everything from intimacy to interiors, from exercise to elections. Email: missme@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: 08000 304 090 (+44 8000 304 090 from outside the UK) Credits: Producer: Flossie Barratt Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith Production Coordinator: Hannah Bennett Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and Ellie Clifford Assistant Commissioner for BBC: Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioning Editor for BBC: Dylan Haskins Miss Me? is a Persephonica production for BBC Sounds

0.0 (0)

PERSONAL JOURNALS
Three essential stories to round off your working day. Explaining the big topics and news from Africa, the people behind them, plus an African perspective on global stories. Hosted by Audrey Brown. Five days a week, ready by late afternoon, Monday to Friday.

4.3 (11)

NEWS
Season 7: World of Secrets presents: The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam. Also: Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods. Women accuse Mohamed Al Fayed of rape. And: The Abercrombie Guys. Investigating sexual exploitation claims against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch. Delve into a World of Secrets: the global investigations podcast from the BBC. Uncovering stories around the world and telling them, episode by episode, with gripping storytelling. Latest season: World of Secrets presents, The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam. It was the biggest gold discovery in history…until it wasn’t. In 1995, Canadian mining company Bre-X announced to the world it had found a significant amount of gold deep in the jungles of Indonesia. Stock prices soared as investors worldwide fought to stake their claim. But when Bre-X’s chief geologist mysteriously fell from a helicopter over the jungle, the story of the billion dollar discovery began to unravel. Nearly three decades later, no one has ever been held accountable. Now, host Suzanne Wilton takes listeners from the jungles of Indonesia to small town Alberta, Canada, to investigate what really happened and find out more about the man behind the biggest goldmine fraud of all time. Produced for the BBC World Service and CBC by BBC Scotland Productions. The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam was first published in May 2024. Previous seasons of World of Secrets: Season 6: The Bad Guru. A yoga school in London. A guru running from the police. How did Miranda get sucked in? Journalist Cat McShane investigates the international yoga movement headed by Gregorian Bivolaru, the spiritual guide arrested by French police in November 2023 and charged with human trafficking, organised kidnapping, rape and organised abuse of weakness by members of a sect. Season 5: Finding Mr Fox. Investigating a plot to smuggle around a hundred millions of dollars’ worth of drugs from Brazil to Europe and the miscarriage of justice that followed. But where is the man Brazilian police believe to be at the centre of it all? Season 4: Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods. Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed – then owner of Harrods, one of the most famous shops in the world – is accused of rape and attempted rape by women who worked for him. Now they refuse to be silenced any longer. Season 3: The Apartheid Killer. All the victims were black and the youngest was just 12 years old. Some relatives are still searching for the graves. They were killed during a three-year bloodbath in the 1980s, in the South African city of East London – by one person. He killed so many, he lost count. In piecing together this story, we expose the disturbed past and racial injustices of South Africa itself. Season 2: The Disciples. The cult of Nigerian prophet TB Joshua. A story of miracles, faith and manipulation, told by people from around the world, who gave up everything for one of the most powerful religious figures of the century. Lured by TB Joshua’s claimed healing powers, they live as disciples in a guarded Lagos compound, cut off from family and friends. Season 1: The Abercrombie Guys. An investigation into claims of sexual exploitation made against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch. He and his British partner were accused by several men, recruited for sex events they hosted around the world.

4.6 (8)

DOCUMENTARY
Interviews, news and analysis of the day’s global events.

0.0 (0)

DAILY NEWS
How did the planet's richest people make their billions? From celebrities and secretive CEOs to sporting legends and tech titans, Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng find out, and then decide whether they think they’re good, bad, or just another billionaire. Ever wondered how Taylor Swift went from country singer to money-spinner? How Amazon boss Jeff Bezos came to launch one of the biggest corporations of the internet age? And how six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan made his fortune with Nike? Good Bad Billionaire is here to analyse the minds, motives and money of some of the world's wealthiest individuals. No detail is too small and no story too wild to uncover. Join us on a global journey, discovering all we can about some of the richest people on the planet. We hear about billionaires in Russia, China, New Zealand, India, Nigeria and the UK. In the United States, there are those who made their money in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and high street fashion. Exploring the lives of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, El Chapo, Narayana Murthy and Kim Kardashian, this podcast paints a vivid picture of business, entrepreneurship, capitalism and how our world really works. In season two, we learn how the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Peter Jackson, Doris Fisher and George Soros came to join the billionaires' club. We explore how Tiger Woods went from a child golfing prodigy to the world’s highest paid athlete, how a communist mime artist became the boss of fashion house Prada and how Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich bought an English football club. Find out how Mukesh Ambani became Asia’s richest person, and how Patrice Motsepe became the first black billionaire in a post-apartheid South Africa. Plus, we examine some of the biggest names behind the technology shaping our world – the founders of TikTok, Google, ChatGPT, Alibaba and Bumble. But it's not just how these billionaires made their money; it's what they did with it next. Ultimately, Simon and Zing consider whether they think these people are a force for “good”, the opposite, or somewhere in between. Join Simon Jack, business editor for BBC News, and journalist, author and podcaster Zing Tsjeng as this podcast unravels tales of fortune, power, ambition and moral responsibility, and invites you to make up your own mind: are they Good, Bad, or Just Another Billionaire? We’d love to hear your feedback. Email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176. To find out more about the show and read our privacy notice, visit www.bbcworldservice.com/goodbadbillionaire

4.8 (6)

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Hackers, North Korea and billions of dollars. Lazarus returns – in fact, the criminals never went away. Season 2 begins at an ATM, possibly near you. With Jean Lee and Geoff White. Investigators claim a secretive, elite North Korean hacking ring, nicknamed the Lazarus Group, is responsible for the theft of billions of dollars around the globe. Pyongyang denies having anything to do with cybercrimes, saying the United States is making these allegations to try to tarnish its image. Season 1 told the stories of the Lazarus Group's alleged hacks on Sony Pictures Entertainment and Bangladesh Bank and the WannaCry ransomware attack.

4.7 (13)

TRUE CRIME
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

4.5 (2)

PERSONAL JOURNALS
The latest news, insight, analysis and big name guests from the Premier League, WSL and the Football League, plus Scottish, International and European football. Join us! Get in touch with us @5liveSport on social media and remember to leave us your ratings and reviews.

4.4 (5)

FOOTBALL
Global perspectives on one big story. In-depth insights from the BBC, the world's most trusted international news provider. Make sense of the news with our experts around the world, every Monday to Friday. Episodes will be ready by 10:30 GMT. Host Katya Adler and our BBC teams guide you through one major global news story each episode. From Beijing to Boston, Baghdad to Bangalore, our unrivalled reach will take you beyond the headlines to help understand and explore what’s happening. The Global News Podcast brings you the latest updates and, on The Global Story, we will drill deep into a single story. From the climate emergency, to the burning questions around Artificial Intelligence, to the movements of money and markets, and the power of the ballot and the bullet. Katya Adler has been a BBC correspondent and editor for more than 25 years, covering conflicts in the Middle East, political and economic crises in Europe, and drug cartels in Mexico. The Global Story team would like to hear your stories and experiences on the issues that we’re covering on the podcast. Please get in touch: theglobalstory@bbc.com #TheGlobalStory and tell us your thoughts on what you would like us to talk about.

2.3 (3)

DAILY NEWS
The daily drama of money and work from the BBC.

4.7 (6)

BUSINESS
Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, narrates 100 programmes that retell humanity's history through the objects we have made.

3.0 (1)

HISTORY
The comedy podcast that takes history seriously. In each episode of You’re Dead to Me from BBC Radio 4, Greg Jenner is joined by a comedian and an expert historian to learn and laugh about the past. History isn’t just about dates and textbooks – it’s about extraordinary characters, amazing stories, and some very questionable fashion choices. How long did it take to build an Egyptian pyramid? What does the Bayeux Tapestry reveal about medieval life? Why did it take nearly half a millennium for Joan of Arc to become a saint? And was Catherine the Great really all that great? Whether you want to explore ancient landmarks like Stonehenge and Machu Picchu, dance through the history of Broadway and Bollywood, or find out how the Tudors rose to power, Greg and his guests promise to teach you something new that you won’t have heard in history lessons. Previous episodes of You’re Dead To Me have covered everything from royals to revolutionaries, actors to activists and divas to dictators. Take a stroll through the history of high-heeled shoes or get the scoop on the history of ice cream. Maybe you’d like to paint like the cave artists of the Palaeolithic era, work out like a Victorian bodybuilder, or fight like a Spartan? We’ve even hosted a special, live episode with the BBC Concert Orchestra to explore the dramatic life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Whatever your historical interests, Greg and his guests make even the trickiest topics easy to follow. Join them for a history lesson that’s as entertaining as it is enlightening - with no homework required.

5.0 (1)

HISTORY
A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.

2.0 (1)

SCIENCE
The Inquiry gets beyond the headlines to explore the trends, forces and ideas shaping the world.

4.8 (4)

NEWS COMMENTARY