All Episodes

May 30, 2025 51 mins

With the new Mission Impossible film playing in cinemas, the Unexpected Elements team is channelling Tom Cruise’s energy to see if scientists can push the boundaries of what is considered ‘impossible.’

First up, we fuse medieval alchemy with particle physics and explore a method to turn lead into gold. We then look at the latest research that uses artificial intelligence to help us humans communicate with animals.

We put the spotlight on a favourite trope of science-fiction films – time travel! String theorist Brian Greene of Columbia University explains how going to the past, or back to the future, may or may not be hypothetically possible.

We also ponder ancient auroras, whether ants can plan a Hollywood-style heist, and what it takes to understand our consciousness.    Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Affelia Wibisono and Andrada Fiscutean Producer: Imaan Moin, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell Studio engineer: Mike Mallen

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.