The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry: Series 11-15

Oct 11, 2024 10:17 PM

Author:Adam Rutherford,Hannah Fry,Adam Rutherford,Hannah Fry

Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Hannah Fry solve more of your everyday mysteries in these five fantastic radio series

Inquisitive investigators Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Hannah Fry are back to crack open another batch of baffling cases sent in by the great British public. Using the power of science, they find the surprising solutions to tricky questions such as 'Is anything really random'?, 'Why do we have hangovers?', 'Is hypnotism real?' and 'How do you make gold?'

As broadcast on BBC Radio, these 29 episodes encompass classic cosmic conundrums - including whether there is intelligent alien life out there, if infinity exists, and how wormholes could allow us to time-travel - as well as probing more down-to-earth human quirks like our differing pain thresholds, our attraction to 'bad' foods like chips and chocolate, and our varied regional accents. Plus, the duo embark on a cheery evolutionary thought experiment as they wonder what would happen if humanity became extinct...

Also included is a Valentine's episode about how love affects our brain, and a two-part Halloween special on why horror bewitches us so - and it's Rutherford and Fry squared when Stephen Fry joins the show to find out why he struggles to remember faces.

Among the many guest experts aiding the two Doctors in their investigations are quantum physicist Jim Al-Khalili, cosmologist Andrew Pontzen, 'The Angry Chef' Anthony Warner, stage hypnotist Ben Dali, psychologist Claudia Hammond, neuroscientist Sophie Scott, and Phil Plait, AKA The Bad Astronomer.

Presented by Drs Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry

This collection contains the original episodes of The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry as they first appeared on BBC Radio 4 on 3-7 September 2018 (Series 11), 21 November-26 December 2018 (Series 12), 3 April-8 May 2019 (Series 13), 30 October-4 December 2019 (Series 14), 5 February-11 March 2020 (Series 15)

Producer: Michelle Martin

Series 11 featuring: Monica Grady, Seth Shostak, Matthew Cobb, Sara Rugheimer, Peter Weyand, Polly McGuigan, Steve Haake, Colva Roney-Dougal, Bill Thompson, Tilly Blyth, Jim Al-Khalili, Irene Tracey, Steve Pete

Series 12 featuring: Janina Ramirez, Mark Thomas, Marina Tyndall, Trevor Cox, Steven Strogatz, Eugenia Cheng, Sean Carroll, Andrew Pontzen, Mark Miodownik, Linda Bartoshuk, Anthony Warner, Sally Adams, Andrea Sella, Adam Rogers

Series 13 featuring: Ben Dali, Wendy Moore, Devin Terhune, Dawn Shaughnessy, Philip Ball, Jim Al-Khalili, Matt Chandler, Wayne Urquhart, Trevor Cox, Zoe Laughlin, Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Sara Russell, Brendan Owens, Neil Comins, Steve Brusatte, Julia Clarke, Al Nelson

Series 14 featuring: Mathias Clasen, Margee Kerr, Claudia Hammond, David Poeppel, Sophie Scott, Brad Duchaine, Frank Close, Andrew Pontzen, Andrew Blum, Helen Willetts, Steven Strogatz, Matthew Cobb, Kate Jones, Phil Plait

Series 15 featuring: Mark Miodownik, Lucie Green, Andrew Pontzen, Dr Helen Fisher, Claudia Hammond, Irene Tracey, Dr Nick Davis, Dr Giulia Poerio, Claire Jones, Jonathan Ball, Wendy Barclay, Carl Philpott. Richard Warren, Heather Massey, Kathryn Jeffs, Jim Al-Khalili, Jennifer Oullette

Reviews

It is a fine thing to revisit this writer's landscape and hear his amiable voice in it again.

—— Michael Caines , Times Literary Supplement

Down in the Valley is truly evocative of time and place. A beautiful illustration of how, in some way, we are all indelibly influenced by the landscape of our childhood.

—— Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path

A cartographer and scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, Fretwell has created 70 new maps each revealing different aspects of the icy continent. We learn the locations of the "pole of ignorance", the world's driest place, and the largest penguin colonies, but also about the human history and politics of the region and - alarmingly - what Antarctica might look like once all the ice is gone.

—— Financial Times

Shows Antarctica in wonderful detail ... Peter Fretwell tells the tale of Antarctica through a collection of carefully constructed maps setting out the continent's geology, people and nature

—— Gege Li , New Scientist

A collection of maps and data from a leading cartographer seen in a new and fresh way ... really informative

—— Sandra Pereira , Portugal News

Full of courage, camaraderie and daring escapades, this reads like a Boys' Own adventure.

—— Daily Mirror

Exhilarating

—— Good Housekeeping

It's an exciting story that will inspire young people to pursue their wildest ambitions, no matter how impossible they may seem.

—— S Magazine

A riveting read from start to finish

—— Trucking

Compelling

—— Choice Magazine

Packed with bizarre, thrilling, stomach-churning anecdotes[...] gives an incredible insight into the mind of an adrenaline junkie, test pilot, father and astronaut which many more than just spaceflight enthusiasts with enjoy

—— BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Exhilarating

—— Sunday Express

After the year we've had on Earth, the prospect of an extended sojourn in space might seem more appealing than usual. Who better to guide us into the cosmos than Tim Peake? [...] Awe-inspiringstuff

—— Evening Standard

An inspiringread about reaching for the stars

—— News Letter

Tim...shows how an ordinary boy from Chichester can achieve extraordinary feats through limitless willpower and ambition

—— Sussex Life

The story of an unremarkable British boy who became a remarkable British astronaut and role model. It's an insight into the hows and whys and wherefores of European spaceflight, with some fun anecdotes of how NASA and the Russian do it as well.

—— The Unconventional Gardener

Full of escapades, Peake's autobiography reads like a Boys' Own adventure

—— The Daily Mirror

His observations are unmatched among his peers . . . listen to what your body and your brain are telling you: thank goodness for Dara

—— Big Issue

Wise, lyrical and well-researched . . . [Dara's] candid enthusiasm, his powers of observation, his passion for nature - all are being rediscovered by a world population forced to stop short and take stock

—— The Irish Times

A torrent of pure, unmediated fervour . . . an extraordinarily accomplished work for any writer, let alone one who is still a teenager . . . This is writing at its wild and unruly best

—— Dr Rachel Clarke , The Lancet

An extraordinary diary . . . it's a powerful pitch for why the school curriculum needs to be wilded and a reminder of the value of neurodiversity in literature

—— The Times

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