Taking a shortcut

After a Chinese fitness influencer was caught hitching a lift on a bicycle during the Berlin Marathon, the Unexpected Elements team find themselves contemplating a range of scientific shortcuts. First up, we hear about how Earthlings may have been hitching a lift on the back of asteroids all the way to the clouds of Venus. Next, can you tell if someone drinks beer from an X-ray of their knee? Of course not! But we find out why AI thinks you can. We’re then joined by Chad Orzel, Professor of Physics at Union College and author of How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog, who helps us explore why quantum physics might be the answer to the ultimate shortcut – teleportation. Also, how our brains create stories when we listen to music, why most people can’t digest seaweed, and the scientists who buried 2,000 pairs of underpants. All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton with Leonie Joubert and Tristan Ahtone Producers: Lucy Davies with Dan Welsh, Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and Robbie Wojciechowski