Thomas Williams discusses six things which he thinks should be better known:

1. Health economics: saving lives does not save money in the long run – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_economics

2. The busiest railway stations: almost all of them are in Japan – https://japantoday.com/category/features/travel/the-51-busiest-train-stations-in-the-world-all-but-6-located-in-japan

3. Sequencing DNA: you can do it on your laptop – http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21732083-small-portable-devices-plug-laptops-taking-dna-sequencing

4. Prevalence of asthmatics in sport: asthma is no barrier to winning Olympic medals – http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/apr/29/elite-athletes-asthma-simon-yates-team-sky-swimmers

5. Changing perceptions of euthanasia: the public used to be less hostile towards it – http://www.encyclopedia.com/medicine/divisions-diagnostics-and-procedures/medicine/euthanasia

6. Churchill’s role at Gallipoli: the strategy was correct, after all – http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/gallipoli-was-not-churchills-great-folly-20110413-1ddzb.html

This week, Maria Donovan and Anna Carlisle discuss with Ivan six things which should be better known.

1. Edmund Dene Morel: political activist and reformer of the slave trade in the Belgian Congo – http://www.bouncing-balls.com/timeline/people/nr_leopoldmorel.htm
2. Ben Bulben Mountain: historic mountain range in Sligo – http://www.adventurous-travels.com/posts/ben-bulben-mountain-and-glencar-waterfall-and-lake-county-sligo-ireland
3. “What’s the lowlight of your holiday?”: sometimes the negative holiday stories are the best – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/worst-holidays-from-hell/
4. Monopoly Deal: card game variation on board game classic – http://www.boardgamereviewsbyjosh.com/2013/01/monopoly-deal-review.html
5. Lady Denman: strong independent woman and originator of pronunciation of Canberra – http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-02/lord-and-lady-denman-in-australia-exhibition/7677874
6. Cell Workout: LJ Flanders’ exercise regime for prisoners – http://www.russellwebster.com/lj-flanders-story-beyond-cell-workout/

This week, Ivan Wise discusses six things which he thinks should be better known

1. Nothing Sacred: one of the finest film comedies, starring Carole Lombarde – http://sensesofcinema.com/2011/cteq/nothing-sacred/

2. Charles Lamb: essayist and author of Tales from Shakespeare – http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44519/the-old-familiar-faces

3. Rosewood Thieves: American folk-rock band – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ARPHwygl8A

4. Takin’ Home the Asylum: BBC drama about mental health, and David Tennant’s first starring role – http://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/jun/04/mentalhealth

5. Parkinson’s Law of Triviality: how committees spend most of their time on trivia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_triviality

6. Cyrus Field: the man behind the transatlantic cable – http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/11/books/the-cable-guy.html

 

Ezekiel Jacob discusses with Ivan Wise six things which he thinks should be better known:

1. The evolution of powered flight in birds: why birds learnt to fly and why others did not – www2.gwu.edu/~darwin/BiSc151/Birds/Birds.HTML

 

2. The Varangian Guard: an elite unit of the Byzantine army, featuring Harold Hardrada –www.realmofhistory.com/2016/04/20/10-fascinating-facts-varangian-guard/

 

3. Chaser’s War on Everything: an Australian satirical sketch show – www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X3aqifX66E

 

4. Kublai Khan’s failed invasions of South East Asia: Genghis’ grandson takes China but fails to take Japan, Java or Vietnam – www.thoughtco.com/the-mongol-invasions-of-japan-195559

 

5. Molesworth: books written by Geoffrey Willans and illustrated by Ronald Searle – www.lrb.co.uk/v22/n04/thomas-jones/swete-lavender

 

6. Caledonian Orogeny: a geologist’s explanation for the 2014 Scottish referendum – www.geolsoc.org.uk/Plate-Tectonics/Chap4-Plate-Tectonics-of-the-UK/Caledonian-Orogeney

This week, David Singleton talks to Ivan Wise about six things which he thinks should be better known.

1. Tardigrades http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20150313-the-toughest-animals-on-earth

2. Fractals https://mathigon.org/world/Fractals

3. William Shockley http://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/shockley/shockley3.html

4. Strangford Lough http://www.visitstrangfordlough.co.uk

5. Kottke.org https://kottke.org/

6. Super 8 http://www.straight8.net/

This week, Jonny Forbes talks to Ivan Wise about six things which he thinks should be better known.

1. Extreme heavy metal of the past thirty years – an overview of death metal, thrash metal and other key developments: www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.338…2015.00272/full

2. Benefits to mental health of juggling – throwing balls in the air is good for you in lots of ways: www.jugglingworld.biz/more-juggling-…circus-skills/

3. Slovenia as tourist destination – Ljubljana is just the tip of the iceberg: www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinat…ia-attractions/

4. Medical benefits of psychedelic drugs – David Nutt and the research into how drugs can help those with depression: sapiensoup.com/medical-benefits-…psychedelic-drugs

5. I’m a Cyborg but that’s OK – South Korean romantic comedy film from the director of the Vengeance trilogy: www.denofgeek.com/movies/6572/eiff…-thats-ok-review

6. British invasion in comics – Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and how superheroes became flawed: www.gizmodo.co.uk/2016/03/how-the-…world-of-comics/

This week, Gregory Platten discusses with Ivan Wise six things which he thinks should be better known.

1. Harris Gin: http://www.harrisdistillery.com/harris-gin

2. Still Game: Scottish sitcom – http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a810193/still-game-returns-after-9-years-on-friday-and-its-the-best-sitcom-youve-never-watched-unless-youre-from-scotland/

3. Life as a vicar: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/3297407/High-pressure-long-hours-and-low-pay-the-life-of-a-vicar-is-no-longer-a-tea-party.html

4. Chequers: Oxford pub – http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/food/reviews/10813297.REVIEW__The_Chequers__Oxford__Chequered_history_/

5. Nicholas Berdyaev: Russian philosopher – http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Sui-Generis/Berdyaev/essays/index.htm

6. Berwick upon Tweed: most northerly town in England – http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/berwick/berwickupontweed/index.html

Ivan Wise talks to Edward Cook, Jonny Forbes, Will Ward, Alexis Meech, Rachel Slade, Duncan Baldwin, Katie Kitney, Ezekiel Jacob, Colin Cliff and Rick Miles about one thing which they think should be better known about Christmas.

New Zealand Christmas http://media.newzealand.com/en/story-ideas/kirihimete-new-zealand-christmas-experience/
Krampus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus
St Nicholas http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/fatherchristmas.shtml
Wassailing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Wassail
Cornish Christmas http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-19th-century-taming-of-the-christmas-carol-from-st-erth-to-truro
Operation Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHWt_EWWfx0
Elf on a shelf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elf_on_the_Shelf
Mithras https://jerome23.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/the-myth-of-the-pagan-christmas-or-why-stephen-fry-was-wrong-on-mythmas/
Christmas roast https://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i40/Maillard-Reaction-Turns-100.html
Operation Christmas Child http://www.samaritans-purse.org.uk/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/

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This week, Andy Smith discusses with Ivan Wise six things which he thinks should be better known.

Spikeball: a sport with a trampoline-like net.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spikeball

Directors Commentary: a comedy series with Rob Brydon as fictional director Peter de Lane. www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Df03uATMM

Speed running: the curious art of completing games very quickly and thus removing all enjoyment. https://kotaku.com/how-to-start-speedrunning-video-games-1796984207

Pandemic Legacy: a board game in which players attempt to save the world. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/161936/pandemic-legacy-season-1

Marmite porridge: Andy Smith’s breakfast. https://madebyluci.co.uk/marmite-porridge/

Marilyn vos Savant: the Monty Hall problem discussed https://priceonomics.com/the-time-everyone-corrected-the-worlds-smartest/