7. The Gossip Mill

2008, Hungary: a researcher stands on a factory floor quizzing a bemused employee. The tile manufacturing company is in trouble, and the researcher is there to help. But his questions seem silly: Who do you go to for advice? Who do you chat to? What use is the science of networks to a company producing floor tiles? Hannah Fry tells a tale about the precarious power of networks. Episode Producer: Ilan Goodman

Sound Design: Jon Nicholls

Story Editor: John Yorke A series for Radio 4 by BBC Science in Cardiff.