The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry: Series 1-10
BBC Science Sleuths Solve Everyday Mysteries
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Narrated by:
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Adam Rutherford
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Hannah Fry
About this listen
Science sleuths Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Hannah Fry investigate everyday mysteries.
In this irreverent and illuminating popular science show, award-winning geneticist Dr Adam Rutherford teams up with mathematics guru Dr Hannah Fry to solve puzzling conundrums sent in by listeners. For the past five years, they've been scrutinising a cornucopia of cases using the power of science - from why people shout on their mobile phones to how much the bacteria in our body weighs.
In these 50 episodes, they tackle topics including what makes gingers ginger, how to make the perfect cup of tea, whether being left-handed affects your brain and why we get static shocks. Plus, they explain why the Earth spins, what's inside a black hole, why tunes get stuck in our heads and how bats echolocate - as well as solving the enigma of why sex exists and discovering whether science can help you win the lottery.
So whether you're curious about déjà vu, wondering if we could shoot lasers to the moon or simply desperate to identify the tiniest dinosaur, Fry and Rutherford have the answers you need. Helping them to find the solutions are a host of fellow scientists and special guests including Professors Alice Roberts, Marcus du Sautoy and Jim Al-Khalili, Jay Rayner, Shaun Keaveney, Rory Cellan-Jones and Duncan Wisbey.
Presented by Drs Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry
Producer: Michelle Martin
Includes archive from Outlook on BBC World Service, broadcast August 2016; 'Horizon: Playing God', first broadcast January 2012; and The One Show, BBC TV
Series 1 featuring: Kate Williams, Jonathan Rees, Neal Harwood, Jane Wakefield. Masdar City man, Nick Zakarov, Greg Jenner, Dr Nicholas Gall, Dr Adam Fitzpatrick, Shelley Dougherty, Lucie Green, Andrew Pontzen
Series 2 featuring: Professor Andrea Sella, Alex Probyn, Dr Nick Knight. Claudia Hammond, Dr Marek Kukula, Philip Ball, Dr Helen Czerski, Dr Susan Holmes, Professor Alice Roberts, Dr Claudia Uller, Professor Marcus du Sautoy
Series 3 featuring: Professor Linda Marchant, Professor Chris McManus, Professor Sophie Scott, Professor Dorothy Bishop, Professor Danielle George, Dr Louisa Preston, Tristan Bassingthwaighte, Professor Steve Bloom, Dr Aaron Cypess, Mark Miodownik, Dr Randy Lewis
Series 4 featuring: Michael Bonshor, Dr Vicky Williamson, Professor Frank Close, Andrew Pontzen, Alex Bellos, Jeff Heys, Eric Chudler, Claudia Hammond, Hugo Spiers, Catherine Loveday
Series 5 featuring: Professor Tim Spector, Ed Yong, Andrew Pontzen, John Hammond, Dr Jo Mountford, Dr Sheena Cruikshank, Dr Keri Nicholl, Dr Marek Kukula, Catherine Loveday, Martin Conway
Series 6 featuring: Dr John Bradshaw, Professor Matthew Cobb, Niamh Nic Daeid, Sheila Rowan, Andrew Pontzen, Professor Francis McGlone, Dr Brian Kim, Trevor Cox, Chris French
Series 7 featuring: Mark Miodownik, Jay Rayner, Lucie Green, Phil Livermore, Terry Virts, Shaun Keaveney, Dr Lauren Stewart, Rhys Phillips, Helen Czerski, Bill Domhoff, Mark Blagrove, Francesca Siclari
Series 8 featuring: Kate Jones, John Ratcliffe, Jackie Blisset, Linda Bartoshuk, Nick Robinson, Sarah Montague, Andrew Pontzen, Jim Al-Khalili, Rob Jenkins, Franziska Knolle, Rory Cellan-Jones, Ceri Brenner, Tom Murphy
Series 9 featuring: Carin Bondar, Lynne Boddy, Susie Maidment. Steve Brusatte, Mark Miodownik, Chris Lutz, Becky Wragg Sykes, Andrew Pontzen, Jo Dunkley, Jim Al-Khalili
Series 10 featuring: Rakhi Mahbubani, Sam Harper, Sean Carroll, Trevor Cox, Sophie Scott, Duncan Wisbey, Chris Moulin, Catherine Loveday, Jen Rogers, David Spiegelhalter, Lauryn Benedict, Miranda Krestovnikoff, Don Kroodsma
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 15th-19th February 2016 (Series 1), 30th May-3rd June 2016 (Series 2), 3rd-7th October 2016 (Series 3), 5th-9th December 2016 (Series 4), 13th-17th March 2017 (Series 5), 12th-16th June 2017 (Series 6), 25th-29th September 2017 (Series 7), 8th-12th January 2018 (Series 8), 26th February-2nd March 2018 (Series 9), 28th May-1st June 2018 (Series 10)
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What listeners say about The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry: Series 1-10
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 04-18-21
Love it!
Very Interesting and funny series.
I really enjoyed listening and bought the second book too
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- Anonymous User
- 08-09-22
great tidbits of science
easily answers science questions that one ponders. very fun show! the 2 scientists are funny and lighthearted.
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- Anonymous User
- 06-18-21
Extremely Fun, Quite Entertaining, Some Education
This was extremely fun and quite entertaining. It makes STEM concepts very approachable to a wide audience. Personally there was only some educational benefit since I was already familiar with many of the topics, but I did still occasionally learn something new. I would definitely recommend this radio-podcast to anyone interested in STEM, and especially to parents looking for something to enjoy with their kids.
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- Anonymous User
- 03-22-22
Loved it
I really enjoyed listening to this. It kept me company during my exercise. Looking forward to the next one.
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