Unexpected Elements

Working 70 hours a week


Listen Later

This week on the show with the science behind the news, we’re looking at a story that has sparked a debate in India about a 70-hour work week.

In an interview, the billionaire NR Narayana Murthy said that young people should be ready to work 70 hours a week to help the country's development, suggesting that unless productivity improved, India would not be able to compete with other countries.

But if you work twice as long, do you get twice as much done? The Unexpected Elements team on three continents look at research that sheds light on whether a 70 hour working week is actually as productive as Mr Murthy suggests.

And if you’re working all the time there’s less time for sleep – we hear about the marine mammals that manage on 2 hours a day, and the Inuit hunters in northern Canada who follow a similar pattern.

We’re also joined by Environmental Economist Matthew Agarwala, wondering whether traditional notions of productivity ignore the issues of the climate and well-being.

Our ‘Under the Radar’ story this week is from Kenya, where Trachoma - a bacterial infection – is still causing people to become blind. It’s one of a group of a diseases known as ‘neglected tropical diseases’, but why are they neglected, and what can we do about it?

In ‘Ask the Unexpected’ a listener wonders why eating makes some pregnant women sick and not others. We ask an expert for the answer, and we discover that the menopause is not as unique to humans as we used to think.

All that plus your emails and messages, including a listener who left a cult as a result of learning another language, and the mystery of the Eastern Australian Panther.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton, with Phillys Mwatee and Meral Jamal.

Produced by Ben Motley, with Alex Mansfield and Tom Bonnett.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Unexpected ElementsBy BBC World Service

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

326 ratings


More shows like Unexpected Elements

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,400 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,851 Listeners

The Naked Scientists Podcast by The Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists Podcast

609 Listeners

Nature Podcast by Springer Nature Limited

Nature Podcast

761 Listeners

Science Magazine Podcast by Science Magazine

Science Magazine Podcast

809 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,816 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

413 Listeners

5 Live Science Podcast by BBC Radio 5 Live

5 Live Science Podcast

108 Listeners

Health Check by BBC World Service

Health Check

87 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,777 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,063 Listeners

Science In Action by BBC World Service

Science In Action

343 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

900 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

961 Listeners

Ask the Naked Scientists by Dr Chris Smith

Ask the Naked Scientists

75 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,080 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,055 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,890 Listeners

In Our Time: Science by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Science

713 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

242 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

398 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

471 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

753 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,024 Listeners

New Scientist Podcasts by New Scientist

New Scientist Podcasts

99 Listeners