The Science Inside

This week’s show looked at the science inside the 2014 FIFA Soccer World Cup. The players, the stadiums, the health and injuries of this incredible event. We’ll take you back to our own world cup experience in 2010 and explore some of the technologies that will be used for the first time in this year’s world cup, in Brazil. What does it take to build a stadium and why is mexican beef bad for footballers?

We’ve also got a bit of a shocking story about a TB clinic in Jo’burg.

For today's show we're going to The Karoo in The Eastern Cape to involve farmers, journalists and scientists on the issue of fracking.

Mohair farmers are worried about their drinking water being destroyed. Shell (and the government) are seeing massive cash potential. And the scientists are staying typically non-committal. We dig it all up, chuck it at the wall and see what sticks.

How much do you hate e-tolls?

In January this year two incidents of envelopes that contained a white powder – that was thought to be anthrax, a deadly biological weapon – were sent to SANRAL, the people involved with e-tolls.

Do you hate e-tolls enough to be a terrorist? In this episode we get into that infamous powder: we look at the hysteria, how a lab tests for anthrax (mostly the powder is just talcum powder) and the previous South African government's crazy history with anthrax as a way to kill.

We'll also touch on anthrax as a wild bacterium in nature and how there – on the fur of a donkey – it’s more likely to kill you than finding a powder in the mail…

The alternative, more formal, title for this show was "Failed Toilets and Water Service Delivery", but the emotional heart is the poo flinging protests in the Western Cape that represented how upset South Africans are with the failure of service delivery with regards to water.

In this show we get into to why services fail, how water infrastructure works and how it’s purified (and why a little chlorine won't kill you).

There is also the issue of Alexander Township's giant rats...

Today we look at the science of the elections: from predicting results with maths and stats to the computer power involved. Also: how much tech do you need to run an election centre and is it really worth it?

In this episode we look at South Africa's steady relationship with astronomy.

We ask what has studying the universe ever done for us! We talk to Sarah Wild, Science Editor at the M&G, about the status of the SKA telescope. Astronomers pop in to explore with us the history of the Big Bang. We'll look at the music stars can make and if your next holiday will be in space.

Today we will ask experts if science and available research really supports Uganda’s decision to outlaw homosexuality. How did science get twisted and used for harm? And we'll look at some of the reasons why anti-gay legislation seems to be a growing trend in Africa.

On this show we examine the science of weed smoking. We start by looking at the prospects of weed being made legal in South Africa. And then move on to the medicinal benefits of weed, its impact on mental illness and how addiction works in the brain.

What is the state of South Africa's science education? This week we went on a trip to SciFest Africa in Grahamstown (a science event geared toward inspiring school children with science) to answer this question.

And along the way we’ll bring you our favourite stories from the festival, including one about robots, another on the future of hydrogen and rocket-powered cars, idols for scientists, and a couple of marine biologists who work with fishing communities to make sure they can keep their businesses afloat.

On the 5th of December 2013 the father of our nation, Nelson Mandela, died at his home. When the world heard - they mourned. And in South Africa for ten days his body was kept preserved so we could say our goodbyes to his body in person until he was buried on the 15th.

In this episode we look at how science influenced this 10 day stretch that every South African will remember - first, what is the psychology of human grief, then how have our burial practices evolved since mummification and what is the chemistry behind keeping a body preserved for ten days in the South African summer heat?