World Service

This week, the Unexpected Elements team have been glued to a story about a $126 million fraud caused by fake US postage labels. That inspires a show filled with lies, cheats and deception. We meet the flower that catfishes its way to reproductive success by intimating a female fly and learn if humans are more or less honest when money is involved as part of an experiment that required 17,000 lost wallets. We meet Nicholas Eastaugh, the physicist turned art fraud investigator, who shares the tools of his trade and explains how science helped bust a notorious art forger and we hunt for the imposter in the world of science journalism, writing real articles for real money, albeit while trading off the reputations of established authors. Plus, we celebrate the retraction watch awards – CTLR Z gives recognition if you own your mistakes in science. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber with Sophie Ormiston and Lucy Davies