Mysteries of Science

Dan and Michael explore the biggest mystery of them all: how did everything begin?
Around 75 years ago, British astronomer Fred Hoyle went on the radio and used the term "Big Bang" for the very first time. The odd thing is, he was making fun of it. He didn't believe a word of it, and he never changed his mind.
So how do we know the Big Bang really happened? Astrophysicist Dr Maggie Lieu from the University of Nottingham explains how Edwin Hubble worked out that the universe is expanding, and why that means everything must have started from one infinitely small, infinitely hot point. She also tells the story of the two scientists at Bell Labs who found the leftover glow of the Big Bang, but spent ages scrubbing pigeon poo off their antenna first because they were convinced the signal was just noise.
Then theoretical astrophysicist and science communicator Ethan Siegel explains why Fred Hoyle was so against the idea, how he turned out to be right about where carbon, nitrogen and oxygen come from, and what might happen at the other end of the story. Will the universe end in a big crunch, freeze forever, or do something nobody expected?
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Are you a lucky person? Do you have a lucky number, a lucky shirt, or a favourite pair of lucky pants? In this episode of Mysteries of Science, hosts Dan and Michael investigate one of life's slipperiest puzzles: is luck actually real, or is it just a story we tell ourselves?
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We're in the archives for another episode of Mysteries of Science. In our first of season three, released on April Fool's Day, hosts Dan, Stevie, and Michael take a deep dive into three of the most famous scientific hoaxes. We're looking at the Cottingley Fairy photographs, crop circles, and zero gravity day...
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Two hikers stumble upon something in the ice: a mummy. Called, Ötzi, over the next few days, the mummy's extracted and examined by experts. It turns out to be 5,000 years old.
Who was this person? How did they get there? And what can we learn from the body in the ice?
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Dan and Ciaran open an archive case: Are dragons real?
Why do stories of fire-breathing, winged beasts appear in cultures across the world – and can science explain their origins?
We're on the quest for answers; from Viking myths to Chinese legends, dinosaur fossils, and even the lair of real-life Komodo dragons. Legendary author Cressida Cowell, dino-expert Nick Crumpton, and Chester Zoo’s own Komodo dragon keeper, Matthew Cook help unpick which mysteries are real and which ones are rubbish.
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