Episode description

If there’s one type of discharge you really want to avoid, it’s lightning, but what happens when it hits you?

We hear from lightning survivor Kerry Evans, and discover that the best place to shelter – if you ever find yourself in a similarly charged storm – is in a car, or low to the ground. And why this is never a good time to take a selfie.

Dr Dan Mitchard from Cardiff University’s excitingly-named Lightning Lab explains why there's no lightning at the poles, and the presenters lament that polar bears and penguins are missing out.

We all know about the gods of lightning, but the mysticism doesn't stop there. Above cloud level there are many other types of unusually-named phenomena, reaching to the edge of space, including sprites, trolls and even pixies.

And Professor Karen Aplin reveals that lightning has even been discovered on other planets, in a science story that could affect our plans to colonise Mars.

Contributors:

Dr Daniel Mitchard, Lightning Laboratory, Cardiff University Professor Karen Aplin, University of Bristol

Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production