Unexpected Elements Defuse and diffuse
Available for over a year
World War II bombs were defused in Cologne, Germany, which has inspired us to explore the science of diffusion and defusing!
First, we hear how new, artificially intelligent video generators are modelled on diffusion. We also hear about the health impacts of home aroma diffusers and candles.
We're joined by conflict-mediator Gabrielle Rifkind of the Oxford Process, to discuss the psychological stakes behind defusing conflict in wars and at home.
We also taste-test the difference between raw and cooked broccoli, learn about in-insect synthesis, and explore an anechoic chamber.
All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Tristan Ahtone and Edd Gent
Producer: Imaan Moin, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Minnie Harrop and Debbie Kilbride
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
‘Misshapes, mistakes, misfits': Pulp's signature secondhand style has stood test of time
Thirty years ago this month Pulp played the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury and took their reputation to another level. If part of this was due to a storming set taking in their new hit Common People, debuts for their future hits Mis-Shapes and Disco 2000, and the star power of singer Jarvis Cocker, it was also down to their look. There was Steve Mackay, bass guitarist, in a fitted shirt and kipper tie, Russell Senior on violin in a blue safari shirt, keyboardist Candida Doyle in sequins and – of course – Cocker, in his now signature secondhand 70s tailoring. Fast forward to 2025 and Pulp have their first album in 24 years, More, and a tour taking in the UK, Europe and the US. It is a moment that will put their music and their style back in the public eye. While the bucket hats, parkas and round specs of Oasis, the other Britpop band on tour this summer, are likely to dominate what young men are wearing, Pulp's look is an alternative one that celebrates the secondhand. As Cocker writes in his book Good Pop, Bad Pop, his first jumble-sale buy, a garish 70s shirt, was 'the real beginning of the Pulp aesthetic'. Its pomp can be seen in videos such as for 1993's Babies – with Cocker topless in a flared suit, Mackay in another garish print and Doyle in mod-ish stripes. The influence of Pulp's look in the 90s was partly about the sugar high of its eclectic, graphic take on nostalgia but also its accessibility. '[Other bands] had a secondhand look, but Pulp made it a little bit more colourful, not quite kitsch, but on the edge of kitsch,' says Miranda Sawyer, the author of the Britpop history Uncommon People. Doyle says: 'They obviously looked stylish but you did think, 'OK I can get that stuff'. We were skint for a lot of the first 10 years being in Pulp. I used to find some amazing things [in charity shops].' Three decades later, and secondhand shopping once again dominates the way young people dress. Peter Bevan, 30, a stylist and contributing editor of the Rakish Gent, says: 'Everyone I know who's my age or younger shops in charity shops, in vintage shops, Depop, Vinted. I don't know many people that buy loads of new things any more.' A survey in 2023 found that 64% of gen Z will look for an item secondhand before buying it new. While part of this is likely down to cost and environmental concerns, the haphazard nature of secondhand shopping is championed as a way to express yourself through clothing. 'Everyone who looks cool [now] is doing them rather than trying to do something else,' adds Bevan, who says this is why Pulp appeal. 'Although obviously [Pulp] all made very considered choices that work together you can tell that they're [each] dressing for them[selves] as well.' James Millar, a 22-year-old guitarist in the band the Sukis, regularly shares videos of his Cocker-like looks to the band's 103.4k TikTok followers, and watched Pulp perform in Dublin this week. '[Cocker] is heavily influenced by 70s fashion … but he's not doing 70s cosplay. When I see pictures of him, and what he wears, it just looks like him,' he says. While Doyle bristles at being classed as a Britpop band – 'we don't associate with [it] because of the union jack,' she says – they will inevitably be compared with Oasis, with both bands touring this summer. Style-wise, Bevan says Pulp come out on top. 'I like the Oasis look but [they were originally about a] counter-culture fashion moment. Now it feels like they're meant to look like they're not trying hard in a fashion way but in reality they are trying really hard to look cool. Pulp all have their own personal sense of style that goes way beyond throwing on a Stone Island windbreaker and a pair of jeans.' Sign up to Fashion Statement Style, with substance: what's really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved after newsletter promotion The fact that success eluded Pulp for a decade helped. 'Me and Jarvis were in our 30s by the time we got big, we'd had a long life of knowing what we liked to wear,' says Doyle. While other bands might have had stylists as standard, this was avoided in favour of wearing their own clothes, a principle that remains today. 'I still have a very strong sense of what I like and what I really don't like,' says Doyle. 'I make sure I wear something as bright as possible. I've got a new [outfit] that's white, there are some sequins on it, and there are some tassels. It's good with tassels, because when you move, it comes with you.' She says clothes were even part of what helped form Pulp in the first place. 'We all grew up in Sheffield, and if you dressed a bit strangely, you stood out. So we'd all congregate at the same venues,' she says, adding insight that sounds like a lost lyric from revenge of the nerds anthem, Mis-Shapes: 'There'd be townies and weirdos, squares and students.' Perhaps the enduring appeal of Pulp's style is once again about the triumph of Mis-Shapes, with its lyrics of 'misshapes, mistakes, misfits', and how expressing your personality through the lucky dip of secondhand clothing is a win. 'Jarvis understands his appeal,' says Sawyer. 'He's accentuating all the things that people have picked on him for. He's saying, 'I'm a tall weed or whatever you wanted to call me. This is who I am and, actually, I look great'.'
Times
4 hours ago
- Times
Why Rosie O'Donnell fled to Dublin after Trump feud
'No one ever invited me to a sex party. Not that they're sitting home going, 'Well, my choice for the sex party is Rosie O'Donnell.'' O'Donnell, 63, is settling into her new life in Ireland. The actress, stand-up comedian and former talk show host has bought a house in Dublin and is waiting for her Irish citizenship to be approved. The star tells The Sunday Times how she once lived next door in Florida to Sean 'Diddy' Combs, the rap mogul on trial in the US over charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. The trial has pushed the music mogul's infamous 'freak-off' parties into the spotlight, with witnesses divulging graphic details of the alleged sex and drug-fuelled parties.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz snap a smiling selfie during museum visit after reuniting for their fourth movie
Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz enjoyed time together at a museum this week while filming on set in Spain. The two actors, who frequently collaborated together on major blockbuster movies in the past, visited the Museo Reina Sofía while filming their fourth movie together in Madrid. On Friday, the museum and Depp shared a joint Instagram post with photos of the acting duo enjoying the artwork. The stylish pair posed for a smiling selfie together and also wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders as they stood in front of a black-and-white mural. The caption read: 'Thanks for joining us @johnnydepp and @penelopecruzoficial, until next time!' Depp and Cruz's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise costar Orlando Bloom left a comment to show his support as he left two red heart emojis on the post — just shortly after he teased the possibility of 'getting the band together' for a new movie. Depp, 62, and Cruz, 51, are currently filming Day Drinker, their upcoming action thriller. The forthcoming film marks their fourth collaboration after they worked together on Blow in 2001, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in 2011 and Murder on the Orient Express in 2017. Depp and Cruz's forthcoming movie Day Drinker is directed by Marc Webb and written by Zach Dean. The upcoming film follows an enigmatic stranger forms an unlikely bond with a grieving bartender who lost her lover, their lives intertwining in unexpected ways. Depp plays the 'mysterious' guest on board a private yacht who crosses paths with the bartender, who is played by Madelyn Cline. The synopsis reads as follows: 'They soon find themselves entangled with a criminal figure (Cruz) and connected in ways no one saw coming.' The cast also includes Manu Ríos, Arón Piper, Juan Diego Botto, Anika Boyle and many more. The film marks Depp's return to Hollywood as it's his first role in film from a major distributor since he starred in 2018's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Ever since the end of his highly publicized, 2022 defamation trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard, who currently lives in Madrid, he has made a slow return to the film industry. He starred in the French film Jeanne du Barry that opened the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and directed the movie Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness. At the movie's premiere last September at the San Sebastian FIlm Festival, Cruz reunited with Depp. She previously defended him and even submitted declarations in court on behalf of Depp during his trial. 'Many years have passed and I have not only made three movies with him, but I also count on him as a great friend,' she wrote about her longtime collaborator.
