Curious Cases
Hosted by BBC Radio 4
About this Show
Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain tackle listeners' conundrums with the power of science!
Latest Episodes
Yawn Chorus
We often associate yawning with being tired or bored - but this week's episode explores whether it could be a clever way to cool down our brains?Hannah and Dara discover humans aren't the only species that yawn. From cats to chimpanzees and even fish, plenty of other vertebrates engage in this an...
Making Waves
What happens when you give water a really good shake? You might expect splashing, spilling and general aquatic chaos - but under exactly the right conditions, something much stranger can happen... In this episode, Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain dive into the world of 'Faraday waves': amazing geomet...
Identical(ish)
Ever wondered how close nature can get to making a human clone? And what happens if identical twin brothers marry identical twin sisters and have babies - how similar are they? Our listener Chris has been pondering this very issue, and his question takes Hannah and Dara down another scientific ra...
Trailer
Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain return for a new series, and a whole lot of new problems to solve!
Frosty Fractals
One winter morning, listener Jane opened her curtains to find her car roof covered in breathtaking, fern-like frost so intricate it looked like a William Morris print. But how does something as ordinary as ice create patterns so beautifully complex?Hannah and Dara explore this crunchy, slippery, ...
Mining for Gold (GOLD!)
From pharaohs' tombs in Ancient Egypt and medieval currency, to priceless royal jewellery and Spandau Ballet songs - gold has been prized for millennia. But it's only really in the last century or so that we've started uncovering its usefulness in less decorative applications.Today, gold is used...
Phantom Pain
What exactly is 'phantom pain' and how does it work? Hannah and Dara investigate a medical phenomenon that's been known about for centuries but is often misunderstood; and involves masses of unanswered questions.The condition 'phantom pain' is when someone gets a sensation of pain that feels like...
Tortoise Tomfoolery
Tortoises have traditionally been the poster child for slowness. These ancient, armoured reptiles are solitary, territorial and all-too-often dismissed as dull.In fact, tortoises have distinct personalities. They have changeable moods, can learn simple tasks, remember certain useful information f...
Planetary Wobble
Could you survive an eternal winter? Or is endless summer sun a more appealing prospect? Lots of us are grateful for the seasonal changes that shape the world around us, but this week Hannah and Dara are asking what life would look like without the axial tilt that brings each hemisphere closer an...
Immortal Jellies
Could immortality ever be possible for humans? It sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, but floating in oceans around the world is a tiny, transparent jellyfish that could hold the answer...Turritopsis dohrnii, known as 'the immortal jellyfish', isn’t immortal in the true sense of word - it ...
Mysteries from the Final Frontier
Space: the final frontier, a deep dark realm full of questions and mysteries - many of which science can't yet satisfactorily answer. But that won't stop the Curious Cases team!In a special edition recorded in front of an audience at the BBC Radio Theatre in London, Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain ...
Beam Me Up, Scotty!
Whether you’re stuck in traffic, waiting at the airport whilst delay after delay is announced or just really missing someone far away, a lot of us have probably wished we could teleport. But is this superpower the stuff of science fiction? Or could it, one day, become a reality?Listener Faith wan...
Going Viral
Cold and flu season is well and truly upon us, and whilst most of us are busy bemoaning the pesky viruses behind our sniffles and chesty coughs – one of our listeners has other ideas. Elizabeth wants to know whether we’re too hard on these oft-maligned microbes? We’ve all heard that some bacteria...
We Didn't Start the Fire
It has been said that you can't start a fire without a spark, but as Hannah and Dara are about to discover, that's not true!Welcome to the fiery phenomenon of spontaneous combustion, when something can ignite all on its own: no matches, no sparks, no external flame. It happens when certain materi...
Just My Luck
Are you a lucky person? Do the cards just fall well for you? Whether it's always finding a parking spot when you need one or chance encounters that change your life's trajectory for the better, some people seem to have more luck than others. Hannah and Dara explore the world of probability and ps...