16. A Drop in the Ocean

An ambitious portfolio manager stumbles upon a perfect graph. It outlines eye watering profits. But something doesn't quite add up - could this graph be accurate? Or does it hide a far more sinister truth? Producer Lauren Armstrong Carter Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke

How does a small informal survey lead to shocking truths about the US justice system thirty years later? Producer Lauren Armstrong Carter Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke

In a small Italian city nestled in the Apennine mountains, a series of low level tremors are setting nerves on edge. Is this just a passing phase, or a prelude to something far more devastating? Producer: Ilan Goodman Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke

At a conference in Mexico, one scientist’s outburst launches a global quest. Hannah Fry follows a group of researchers on the hunt for a ‘golden spike’: the boundary, marking a shift into a dramatic new geological period dominated, not by volcanoes and asteroids, but the influence of humans. From plastics and concrete to nuclear fallout, the data they uncover reveals a planet profoundly changed. But can these scientists persuade their colleagues - and the world? Producer: Ilan Goodman Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke

A fisherman is stranded in the ocean late at night. Completely alone, the clock is ticking. How do you find one man lost in the open ocean? Can he be rescued in time? Producer: Lauren Armstrong Carter Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke

A PhD student with a passion for whales stumbles upon something strange. An eerie sound deep beneath the ocean waves is about to rock her world. Producer Lauren Armstrong Carter Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke

In a shabby brick hut in 1967, a young researcher spots a bizarre, pulsing signal: a cosmic whisper picked up a huge receiver she helped to build. Is it just mundane interference - or could it be alien life? Hannah Fry shares a tale of one woman’s journey through the male-dominated halls of 1960s academia, to a groundbreaking discovery that transformed our understanding of the universe. Producer: Ilan Goodman Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke

Amid the desperation of war-starved Netherlands a doctor finds a way of curing a group of gravely ill children. His finding challenges accepted medical wisdom, and provokes opposition from Catholics. But why had the rest of the world missed this miracle treatment? Producer: Ilan Goodman Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke

At a niche engineering conference, a young researcher shares some data that looks like an embarrassing mistake. Little does he know, his simple bar chart is the first pebble in an avalanche exposing a scandal of epic proportions. Producer: Ilan Goodman Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke

At thirty-one, mathematician Chris McKinlay is looking for love. But if it’s all a numbers game, his are not adding up. Could he be the problem? Or is something else getting in the way? Producer: Lauren Armstrong Carter Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke