Unexpected Elements - Chicken, with a side order of science

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Over the Christmas season, it is estimated that some 3.6 million families in Japan will tuck into KFC over Christmas (other fried chicken is available), which inspired the Unexpected Elements team to chew over all things chicken!

First, we discover that chicken may never have become domesticated if it wasn’t for rice farming. We also ponder whether the chicken or the egg came first. Next, we find out that humans are surprisingly smart at translating chicken chatter.

We are by Dr Jingmai O’Connor, associate curator of fossil reptiles at the Field Museum of Natural History, who reveals more about the links between dinosaurs and birds.

Plus, how Brazil became a poultry superpower, and what happens to chickens in tornadoes.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Camilla Mota and Godfred Boafo
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber and Robbie Wojciechowski

Published on Friday, 12th December 2025.

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