Curious Cases

If there’s one type of discharge you really want to avoid, it’s lightning, but what happens when it hits you?We hear from lightning survivor Kerry Evans, and discover that the best place to shelter – if you ever find yourself in a similarly charged storm – is in a car, or low to the ground. And why this is never a good time to take a selfie.Dr Dan Mitchard from Cardiff University’s excitingly-named Lightning Lab explains why there's no lightning at the poles, and the presenters lament that polar bears and penguins are missing out.We all know about the gods of lightning, but the mysticism doesn't stop there. Above cloud level there are many other types of unusually-named phenomena, reaching to the edge of space, including sprites, trolls and even pixies. And Professor Karen Aplin reveals that lightning has even been discovered on other planets, in a science story that could affect our plans to colonise Mars. Contributors:Dr Daniel Mitchard, Lightning Laboratory, Cardiff University Professor Karen Aplin, University of BristolProducer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

11 year old Esther visualises days of the week in a kind of 3D structure. It’s something called ‘synaesthesia’ and she wants to know why it happens - and why other people don’t experience things the way she does. Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain explore the vibrant and varied ways different people experience the world, from the man who tastes individual words - including all the stops of the tube - to the composer who sees music in shapes and colours. And along the way, they figure out why Mozart is white wine while Beethoven is red. Contributors:Professor Julia Simner: Professor of Psychology,University of Sussex Professor Jamie Ward: Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Sussex James Wannerton, President of UK Synaesthesia Association CoriAnder: electronic music producer Producer: Ilan Goodman Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

It’s sometimes said that timing is everything and this week the pair investigate the mystery of rhythm, discovering why some of us might be better at staying in tempo.From the daily cycle of dawn and dusk to sea tides and circadian clocks, rhythm governs many aspects of our lives, and cognitive psychologist Dr Maria Witek says it makes sense we also place great importance on its presence in music. She specialises in ‘groove’, or the feeling of pleasure associated with moving to a beat – and it’s not just something the dancers among us enjoy; groove has even been used to treat patients with Parkinson’s Disease.Neuroscientist Professor Nina Kraus has studied drummers’ brains and found their neurons fire with more precision. She explains that teaching kids rhythm can improve their language and social skills. But no need to take her word for it, because Skunk Anansie’s drummer Mark Richardson is in the studio to put Hannah to the test. Can she handle a high hat at the same time as a snare?Contributors: Dr Maria Witek, University of Birmingham Professor Nina Kraus, Northwestern University Mark Richardson, drummer with Skunk Anansie Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production

9 year old listener Koby sends Hannah and Dara on a mission to find the shiniest thing in the world. And so they enter a world of mirrors… The journey takes them into the subatomic goings on of shiny metal surfaces, where electrons waggle and dance and send light waves back at *just* the right angle. Our curious duo play with an astonishingly reflective plastic film that can be found hidden in devices we all use. And they probe the mysterious power of refraction, harnessed to make the $2 million mirrors which reflect the lasers at the huge LIGO experiment. And everyone ponders the surprisingly reflective properties of a pint in space. Contributors:Dr Felix Flicker: University of Bristol, author of The Magick of Matter Professor Stuart Reid: University of Strathclyde Quinn Sanford: optical engineer from 3M GariLynn Billingsley: Optical Sciences Group Leader at LIGOProducer: Ilan Goodman Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production