Uncharted with Hannah Fry

By BBC Radio 4

What's Uncharted with Hannah Fry about?

Behind every line on a graph, there lies an extraordinary human story. Mathematician Hannah Fry is here to tell us ten of them.

Uncharted with Hannah Fry will lead us through ten captivating mysteries to reveal the power of numbers behind each one. Along the way we discover the remarkable people who followed the data and unearthed something extraordinary.

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Uncharted with Hannah Fry episodes:

10.02.2023
10. Devil in the Detail
Thomas Herndon was happily studying economics at the University of Massachusetts, when one day is punctured by a discovery. It appears to be an anomaly which, if true, will shake the intellectual foundations of a global movement, and could undermine...
10.02.2023
9. Access Denied
A young researcher gains access to a secretive data set and discovers something shocking. What happens when a system designed to help people harms them instead? Hannah Fry tells a tale about the mysterious realm of artificial intelligence. Presenter: Hannah...
10.02.2023
8. In the Habit
What is the secret to ageing well? Humankind has been in search of an answer for millions of years. But one man believes he may have found the beginnings of an answer, and it’s hiding in a convent. Hannah...
10.02.2023
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...
10.02.2023
6. The Happiness Curve
Life has its ups and downs, its sudden successes and unexpected obstacles. But amongst all the unpredictable variation, two economists believe they have identified a deep and powerful influence on our happiness: age. Happiness, it turns out, is U shaped....
09.25.2023
5. The Choice
How well do you make decisions? It’s never easy, but today John Carter is faced with an agonising choice and has just 60 minutes to make the right call. One path could lead to glory, while the other might...
09.25.2023
4. This Train Has Been Delayed
Singapore, 2016. A high-tech driverless train system starts glitching in wild and unpredictable ways. The train company, the government, even the military are at a loss: no-one can figure out what is causing the problem. Until Jason Bay and his...
09.25.2023
3. The Doctor Will See You Now
It’s a hot summer’s day in 1998. Two couples stand side by side in a small courtyard. Brought together by chance, they may never have met if not for one thing. A tatty piece of paper, the contents of which...
09.25.2023
2. The Hockey Stick
In 1998, the climate scientist Michael Mann published a simple graph shaped like an ice hockey stick: a long straight line which curves suddenly upward at the end. It was based on decades of intrepid work by scientists around...
09.25.2023
1. The Returning Soldier
It’s 1973 and the UK is in crisis: runaway inflation, industrial strike action and political turmoil. Unnoticed at the time - in hospitals and front rooms around the country - something odd is happening with the country’s newborns. A...
09.18.2023
Introducing Uncharted - with Hannah Fry
Behind every line on a graph, there lies an extraordinary human story. Mathematician Hannah Fry is here to tell us ten of them. Uncharted with Hannah Fry will lead us through ten captivating mysteries to reveal the power of...

What's Uncharted with Hannah Fry about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Uncharted with Hannah Fry episodes:

10. Devil in the Detail

9. Access Denied

8. In the Habit

7. The Gossip Mill

6. The Happiness Curve

5. The Choice

4. This Train Has Been Delayed

3. The Doctor Will See You Now

2. The Hockey Stick

1. The Returning Soldier

Introducing Uncharted - with Hannah Fry