More Frytful Scares

02/23/21 • 29 min

1 Listener

It was a dark and stormy night. A secret message arrived addressed to Rutherford & Fry from a mysterious woman called Heidi Daugh, who demanded to know: "Why do people like to be scared? For example, going on scary amusement park rides and watching horror movies that make you jump.”

What followed was an investigation, which would test our intrepid duo to their very limits. They explore the history of horror, starting with its literary origins in the Gothic fiction classic 'The Castle of Otranto'.

Adam challenges Hannah to watch a horror film without hiding behind a cushion. She quizzes horror scholar Mathias Clasen to find out why some people love the feeling of terror, whilst it leaves other cold.

Sociologist Margee Kerr and psychologist Claudia Hammond are also on hand to explore why scary movies are so powerful and popular. Then Rutherford and Fry investigate the more physical side of fear, when they delve into the history of roller coasters to investigate why we enjoy being scared.

Never ones to shy away from a challenge, the pair attempt to channel their inner adrenaline junkies with a trip on one the UK's scariest roller coasters at Thorpe Park.

David Poeppel from New York University studies the science of screaming, and we discover what makes screams uniquely terrifying. Plus, psychologist and broadcaster Claudia Hammond describes some early experiments which tested how fear affects our body.

This episode is a remake of two earlier broadcast episodes.

Producers: Fiona Roberts & Michelle Martin

Presenter: Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.

Never ones to shy away from a challenge, the pair attempt to channel their inner adrenaline junkies with a trip on one the UK's scariest roller coasters at Thorpe Park.

This episode is a remake of two earlier broadcast episodes.

Producers: Fiona Roberts & Michelle Martin

Presenter: Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.

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Back to The Sinister Hand

2 Recommendations

Why are some people left-handed, whereas the majority are right handed? Rutherford and Fry revisit The Sinister Hand episodes to further investigate handedness in humans and animals. They considered cockatoos, chimpanzees and Hannah's dog, Molly, to discover that humans are unique, with just one in ten of us being left-handed.

They ask if there is an evolutionary reason for just 10% of the human population being southpaws

Hannah talks to primatologist Prof Linda Marchant from Miami University about Neanderthal teeth and termite fishing.

Adam consults handedness expert Prof Chris McManus from University College London. He's been trying to track down the genes responsible for whether we're right or left handed.

And what about left-handed brains or eyes or molecules?

Prof Andrea Sella explains handedness, or chirality, at the molecular scale and why when we consider Thalidomide, something seemingly so trivial can be extremely important.

They also explore the left-handed brain. Some researchers point to a link between left-handedness and impairments like autism or dyslexia. Others claim that lefties are more creative and artistic.

So what's the truth? The team consults Professors Sophie Scott, Chris McManus and Dorothy Bishop to find out.

This episode is an updated version of two earlier broadcast episodes.

If you have any Curious Cases for the team to investigate please email [email protected]

Producers: Fiona Roberts & Michelle Martin

Presenter: Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry

A BBC Audio Science Unit production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 2021.