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Unexpected Elements

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The news you know, the science you don’t.

The news you know, the science you don’t. Unexpected Elements looks beyond everyday narratives to discover a goldmine of scientific stories and connections from around the globe. From Afronauts, to why we argue, to a deep dive on animal lifespans: see the world in a new way.

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Unexpected Elements: How inflation affects the entire cosmos

Discussion & Talk

28/09/2023 GMT

How inflation affects the entire cosmos

BBC World Service - Unexpected Elements, How inflation affects the entire cosmos

The science behind news about inflation leads us to the first moments of the universe.

The science behind news about inflation leads us to the very first moments of the universe, when the entire cosmos existed in a space smaller than a marble.

This week on the show that brings you the science behind the news, there are lots of stories about inflation in economies across the world. When inflation happens your money doesn’t go as far, so what does psychology say about how much money you really need to make you happy? 

We humans aren’t the only ones experiencing inflation either, trees are suffering from it too. We find out what happens when the balance of supply and demand of nutrients between trees and fungi is disrupted by climate change.

And then we take a look at the bigger picture - the much bigger picture - as cosmologist Ghazal Geshnizjani tells us about how the entire universe once existed in a space smaller than a marble.

Plus, are Romanian bear populations inflating? We probe a scientist about spider webs – why do they look the way they do? And we look at vaping – it’s illegal in some countries while smokers in other countries are encouraged to take it up. 

All that plus your emails, WhatsApps and some unexpected elephants.

Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Godfred Boafo and Andrada Fiscutean.

Produced by Ben Motley, with Alex Mansfield, Sophie Ormiston and Margaret Sessa Hawkins.

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Unexpected Elements

How inflation affects the entire cosmos

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