Dan and Ciaran open an archive case: Are dragons real?

Why do stories of fire-breathing, winged beasts appear in cultures across the world – and can science explain their origins?

We're on the quest for answers; from Viking myths to Chinese legends, dinosaur fossils, and even the lair of real-life Komodo dragons. Legendary author Cressida Cowell, dino-expert Nick Crumpton, and Chester Zoo’s own Komodo dragon keeper, Matthew Cook help unpick which mysteries are real and which ones are rubbish.

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This special episode is packed with real experts answering the burning questions sent in by you, our curious listeners! Get ready as we finally crack the age-old debate: what came first, the chicken or the egg?

Along the way, we explore mind-bending concepts like wormholes, discover the surprising origins and purpose of your fingerprints, and even uncover how koalas could be master criminals (sort of)

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In this monster-sized episode, Dan and Ciaran lace up their hiking boots to probe one of North America’s most legendary mysteries: Bigfoot.

Is this giant, hairy, mysterious figure a real creature stomping through the forests, or is it just a brilliant tale best told around the campfire? We begin by tracking the legend back a thousand years to Indigenous cave art to modern-day giant footprints and strange noises in the woods...

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Can you believe everything you see and hear online?

Dan and Michael navigate the fascinating and unsettling world of deepfakes: images, videos, and audio so realistic you might not know they’re fake. With help from tech experts and researchers, they reveal how deepfakes are made, why they’re getting better and harder to spot and challenge you to outsmart the fakes yourself.

Along the way, find out how deepfake tech brings movie characters back to life and why we all need to sharpen our digital detective skills for the future.

Test your skills, learn the science behind AI trickery, and discover how to stay savvy in a world where seeing (or hearing) isn’t always believing...

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Dan and Michael don their detective hats and head into the Nevada desert to investigate one of the biggest mysteries on Earth: Area 51.

Some say it’s just a top-secret US military base for testing new aircraft. Others believe it’s the hiding place for crashed UFOs and even extraterrestrial visitors...

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Hosts Dan and Michael investigate the curious lives of octopuses: a creature with three hearts, colour-changing skin, and arms that almost think for themselves... Why are octopuses such masters of disguise? Just how smart are they? And what secrets lurk within bodies?

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Over the past few decades, our ideas about what dinosaurs looked like have changed. Dinos were once thought of as scaly creatures, closely related to reptiles. Now, they are thought to have come in a beautiful array of colours, some with flashy feathers. The Science+Nature team, along with expert guests, unpack this mystery as we ask: what did dinosaurs look like?

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Clever machines have appeared in countless films and are making headlines all the time, but what exactly does it mean? How does it actually work? And could computers ever become so intelligent that they end up doing everything for us?

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