Category: Retired

Is the pencil underrated? Tim Harford examines the role pencils have played in developing our world, and finds out why some writers have called them a "miracle of the free market". Do they have a point?

It performs headstands in a desert; now this beetle is teaching us how to collect water. The Stenocara beetle survives in one of the most arid places in the world – the Namib Desert in southern Africa. Scientists have been studying its wings and back. With Patrick Aryee. See our Stenocara beetle animation: www.bbcworldservice.com/30animals #30Animals

When a small town in Texas changed its name to DISH, the satellite TV company gave its residents free TV for a decade. What DISH Network didn’t know was that the name change was a way for one local politician to get revenge on another. PLUS: we take to the phones and answer your questions on our Customer Service line.

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Facebook’s 'like' button is ubiquitous across the web. It’s how user data is collected, meaning adverts and newsfeeds can be targeted more effectively. Some say there’s nothing to worry about, but others point to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, suggesting how Facebook might shape our opinions. But is there something else we should be worried about? Approval from our friends and family can be addictive – so is the pursuit of “likes” on social media the reason we’re glued to our mobile phones? Tim Harford asks how should we manage our compulsions in this brave new online world.

Want a warm and waterproof wetsuit? Then take a look at how the sea otter does it! It’s all down to air-trapping hairs. Ideally, surfers want something that is flexible and easy to wear, which sheds water as quickly as possible when you are out of the sea and will keep you warm when you are in it. With Patrick Aryee. www.bbcworldservice.com/30animals #30Animals

Enron collapsed nearly 20 years ago, but chances are something you use today was affected by emails sent by 150 of the company’s top employees. These emails — about meetings and energy markets but also affairs, divorces, and fraud — have helped create new technologies, fight terrorism, and added to our understanding of how we communicate. But should these emails have been released in the first place? PLUS: “Uncut” reveals Enron’s former CFO’s second act.

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