In the lead up to the US election President Joe Biden admitted to ‘screwing up’ in a debate against Donald Trump. His excuse? Several trips around the world, a cold and severe jet lag. Joe has Marnie and the panel wondering how we can fly better. We’ll be stopping off to hear how one species, much like the US president, should consider reducing its airmiles, if only to avoid a pointless 16,000km round trip every year. There’ll also be a stopover in Northern Canada to hear how thinning ice is making it difficult for local communities to remain in touch with their ancestral heritage and traditional modes of travel. Whilst we recommend considering more environmentally friendly alternatives here at Unexpected Elements Airways, we understand that some flights can’t be avoided. Take time whilst onboard to consider how you can reduce the symptoms of jetlag with tricks learnt from the latest scientific understanding of human physiology. Professor Rosemary Braun tells us how the clocklike rhythms of the body can be manipulated to make any long haul flights more manageable. Also, the smashing specificity of Wimbledon’s grass tennis courts, a grand astronomical debate from the 1920s and a very special Nunavut Day. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Panellists: Christine Yohannes and Meral Jamal Producers: Julia Ravey, Harrison Lewis, Dan Welsh and Noa Dowling
This week I was in Albania chatting to a local who was explaining that although his family had always made wine, there was a time under the communist regime where their land was taken away.
And after communism, everyone was given back some land, not necessarily the same hectares they'd had before and not so good for growing wine, mused my new friend.
Sadly, in Albania, as in many communist countries of eastern Europe, communism stopped people from developing land to the same extent.
In certain places, curtailing human freedoms turns out to have been a massive bonus for other species, especially trees.
And the Iron curtain has turned into something of a green belt.
I'm Marnie Chesterton from the BBC World Service.
This is unexpected elements.
I am, as ever, joined by a global panel of journalists and experts.
And in Madagascar, Christine Johannes joins us.
Christine, welcome.
Salamat Marini.
Christine, what are you doing in Madagascar?
Let's just say I came to unwind and connect with myself on a solo trip of discovery.
You know, culture, food, people, animals and spices.
I guess we will expect some sort of supplementary noise in the background.
Oh, definitely, Marnie.
I am in a very public place.
So amazing.
And in a less tropical climate.
Miral Jamal joins us from Nunavut in Canada.