The phizz-whizzing science of Roald Dahl
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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O-P-asuntolaina on hyvä valinta elämäsi tilanteisiin. Lisäksi osuuspankin omistajaasiakkaan lainoista kertyy OP-boonuksia. Op.fi kautta asuntolaina. Asuntolainen myöntää osuuspankki.
Elavena täällä moikka! Jogo joguagogälit! Se on silgin sille a herko. O jogo miga mago!
So this week I've been sorting through piles of belongings in preparation for a move and I found my lovely old enamel librarians badge. Now, back at school I occasionally attempted to claim that I was wearing it ironically, and for the most part just hid it, because, yes, it was not cool to be the person who volunteered to spend a lunch break reshelving books and adding laminated covers. But library assistants had first access to all the new books, and I still remember that tingly feeling, an urgency almost like greed, as I realized I was surrounded by portals to thousands of worlds, some real and some fictional, and all I needed to do to visit one was to curl up on a beanbag with a book and read.
I'm Marnie Chesterton from the BBC World Service. This is Unexpected Elements.
And joining me for storytime today are two fantastic broadcasters. In Singapore we have Sandy Ong. Hello. Hi Marnie, Nihau. And in Helsinki, Finland, hello Tristan Artone.
Hyundai Hondo and Haper.
So, for any new listeners out there, this is a science show inspired by the news or events in the news, and each week we scour the headlines and the calendars for a story or an event that catches our imagination. And that starting point becomes our muse, our inspiration to talk science, often springing into unexpected directions. Now, I've already mentioned my love of hanging out at the School Library, and this week our starting point is connected to an author whose books would have laden the shelves. Take a listen to this. Hello and welcome to a very special Roll Doll Day. His books are loved by tens of millions of young readers the world over. I'm Matuda. One of the witches, Mr. Lee Walker. They've been made into Hollywood films.
The stars were out in force for the world premiere of Fantastic Mr. Fox.
What do you still wife? Oh, I love it. I love it. Yes. I I don't know what I'd do without something to work and worry about all day.
So thirteenth of September is roll Dahl Day. So Dahl, who was born right here in Cardiff where I am today, is the author of Matilda, Charlie in the Chocolate Factory, BFG, countless more. Millions of kids will have imagined delicious lickable wallpaper, or life inside a giant peach, or having the power to move objects with their mind, or fly, or become a mouse, thanks to the worlds he created. I should say he is not an uncontroversial figure. He made anti-Semitic comments that since his death his family have condemned and apologised for. He also definitely had a cruel story. Streak, which bled into some of the stereotypes he used in his books. So a few years ago, twenty twenty three, his publishers released updated versions of his children's books reviewing some of the language that he used.
He also had an extraordinary life, I'd say, writing in his two autobiographies about the horrors of his school days and the horrors of fighting in World War II. He invented language, he invented wild worlds of possibility, and even patented a brain shunt, the Wade Dahl Tilvalve. So World Dahl Day is to celebrate that creativity, and we're here to bounce off those ideas and back into science. Who, Panel, wants to start? Oh.
super excited about this week's theme because I don't know about you guys, but I loved Rodell growing up. One of my favorite books of his was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which as you probably know is about young Charlie Bucket winning a golden ticket to visit the world famous but very mysterious Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Which is this glorious place of a chocolate river, edible rooms, and so on. But what I want to talk about today is a different kind of magic.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–7:31
2
What is Roald Dahl Day and why is it celebrated?
7:31–15:48
3
How did the hosts introduce the controversy around Dahl’s anti‑Semitic remarks?
15:48–21:44
4
How are scientists trying to create chocolate in the lab and why does it matter?
21:44–44:40
5
How are researchers engineering pleasant dreams for patients under anaesthesia?
44:40–51:45