Harriett Gilbert talks with Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah about his hauntingly beautiful novel Paradise.
It tells the story of Yusuf, a 12 year-old boy living in East Africa at the beginning of the 20th Century. Sold off to settle his father’s debts, Yusuf embarks on a journey across the African continent. Through his naive and innocent eyes, the journey starts out as an adventure, but every wonderous thing Yusuf sees, every glimpse of paradise, is polluted by violence, the growing influence of colonialism, and the looming spectre of World War One.
Paradise is a stunning novel - a multi-faceted, vivid exploration of the shifting culture of Africa at the turn of the century. It’s layered with mythology, Biblical and Koranic symbolism, and an unflinching insight into the effects of colonialism.
In an interview, Prince Harry says he can't see a world where his family will visit the UK after he lost his security legal challenge. Also: a man's blood could unlock universal antivenom after being bitten many times.
Some people fall asleep almost as soon as their head touches the pillow, while for others it can take hours of tossing and turning. CrowdScience listener Assia needs at least 45 minutes to get to sleep: it's always taken her a long time to drift off no matter how tired she is, and nothing seems to make a difference. She asked us to investigate.
Presenter Caroline Steel turns to experts to find out what happens in our bodies when we fall asleep, and why it’s more difficult for some than others. Eus van Someren explains how our bodies know when it’s time to get some rest and what can influence the difficulty of getting to sleep from our earliest years. Morten Kringelbach reveals that there may be more stages of sleep than we thought, and Ada Eban-Rothschild tells us why we have something to learn from the birds and the bees about getting a good night’s rest.
Caroline has trouble getting to sleep herself, and volunteers to have her sleep monitored in Cardiff University’s sleep lab. And we share some expert tips on falling asleep more easily.
Presenter: Caroline Steel
Producer: Jo Glanville
Editor: Cathy Edwards
Studio Manager: Jackie Margerum
Production co-ordinators: Jana Holesworth and Josie Hardy
With thanks to Professor Milton Mermikides for permission to include his composition ‘Transitions’.
(Photo: Caroline Steel takes a nap in Cardiff University’s sleep lab)
Ivory Coast's main opposition leader Tidjane Thiam has been struck off the electoral list. The judiciary has declared he is ineligible to run in October's presidential election due to his citizenship. Tidjane Thiam also held French citizenship which he renounced in order to run for the presidency. A court this week argued, that the former Credit Suisse boss forfeited his Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987. We'll get analysis
Also, did past African National Congress party (ANC) governments in South Africa interfere with investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes? President Cyril Ramaphosa has set up an inquiry. How will it work?
And, how does money laundering work, what is a 'grey list' and how do countries can get off it?
Presenter: Charles Gitonga
Technical Producer: Jack Graysmark
Producers: Tom Kavanagh and Nyasha Michelle in London and Richard Kagoe in Nairobi
Senior Journalist: Karnie Sharp
Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard
On 21st April 2025, Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, died.
His funeral took place on 26th April, with thousands of mourners crowding into St Peter’s Square to pay their respects.
Following the death of a Pope, there are centuries-old traditions and rituals that must be followed, and that got the Unexpected Elements team thinking about the science surrounding loss.
First up, we delve into the thorny issue of when early humans started to carry out funerary rituals, before turning our attention to graveyards and the life that thrives within these sacred environments.
Next, we are joined Carl Öhman from Uppsala University in Sweden, who reveals what happens to our data when we die and why we should care about it.
Plus, we discuss the precious materials hiding in our old devices, and find out whether animals mourn.
All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Andrada Fiscutean and Edd Gent
Producers: Margaret Sessa Hawkins, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Robbie Wojciechowski and Minnie Harrop
President Trump ousts Waltz and nominates him for UN post. Waltz had added a journalist to a group chat on military plans. Also: President Zelensky hails minerals deal as "truly equal partnership."
Scientists from around the world have gathered together at the annual European Geosciences Union general assembly, to discuss current projects, working hypotheses and potential findings. There are nearly 18,000 in attendance this year and there is much to learn.
AMOC – the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation - brings warmth to the north and cooler waters to the south in huge volumes. Climate modellers have expressed concern for its collapse (and subsequent weather chaos) as temperatures rise more generally, but others have said it is more resilient. But Stefan Rhamstorf has announced that extending the models past 2100 can show a different picture. The odds have shifted from 10% to more like 50/50 if the Paris climate target is missed.
Has such climate change ever occurred before? And if so, what drove it? Hana Jurikova and colleagues have been using novel techniques to detect a link between atmospheric CO2 levels and rapid climate change in the geological past, and explains how boron records in ancient brachiopods might give us a clue.
What of the 6.2 magnitude earthquake near Istanbul last week? Could it have been worse? Will the next one be the big one? Expert Patricia Martínez-Garzón of GFZ in Germany doesn’t quite allay the fears.
Could more lives be saved from landslides and flash floods if we could set up a warning system? Stefania Ursica hopes so, and has looked to animal behaviour to design a programme to scan networks of seismic monitoring stations’ output for the faint signals. Encoding different hunting and communication strategies – from nomadic whales to humming birds and bats, her new algorithm might be just the thing, though prediction will always be a different problem.
Presenter: Roland Pease
Producer: Alex Mansfield with Sophie Ormiston
Production co-ordinator: Josie Hardy
(Image: 3D render of a Topographic Map of Western Europe with the clouds from 27 January, 2025. Credit: Frank Ramspott/Getty Images)
Nigeria has appointed Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar as its 15th commander in its fight against militant jihadist insurgency. Why is it proving difficult to tackle?
Why are healthcare workers in Mozambique on strike again?
And plans to make refugee camps in Kenya self-sufficient after cuts in global aid
Presenter: Charles Gitonga
Producers: Bella Hassan, Yvette Twagiramariya and Frenny Jowi
Technical Producer: Philip Bull
Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga
Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard
Kyiv and Washington agree an economic partnership giving US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals. Also: US economy shrinks for the first time since 2022, and hope for the Mexican amphibian on the brink of extinction.
India holds security talks and Pakistan warns of imminent military strikes from India, following the deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. Also: Vietnam's reunification day, and a new eye test.
