Working 70 hours a week

Published: Nov. 9, 2023, 10 a.m.

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This week on the show with the science behind the news, we\\u2019re looking at a story that has sparked a debate in India about a 70-hour work week.

In an interview, the billionaire NR Narayana Murthy said that young people should be ready to work 70 hours a week to help the country's development, suggesting that unless productivity improved, India would not be able to compete with other countries.

But if you work twice as long, do you get twice as much done? The Unexpected Elements team on three continents look at research that sheds light on whether a 70 hour working week is actually as productive as Mr Murthy suggests.

And if you\\u2019re working all the time there\\u2019s less time for sleep \\u2013 we hear about the marine mammals that manage on 2 hours a day, and the Inuit hunters in northern Canada who follow a similar pattern.

We\\u2019re also joined by Environmental Economist Matthew Agarwala, wondering whether traditional notions of productivity ignore the issues of the climate and well-being.

Our \\u2018Under the Radar\\u2019 story this week is from Kenya, where Trachoma - a bacterial infection \\u2013 is still causing people to become blind. It\\u2019s one of a group of a diseases known as \\u2018neglected tropical diseases\\u2019, but why are they neglected, and what can we do about it?

In \\u2018Ask the Unexpected\\u2019 a listener wonders why eating makes some pregnant women sick and not others. We ask an expert for the answer, and we discover that the menopause is not as unique to humans as we used to think.

All that plus your emails and messages, including a listener who left a cult as a result of learning another language, and the mystery of the Eastern Australian Panther.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton, with Phillys Mwatee and Meral Jamal.

Produced by Ben Motley, with Alex Mansfield and Tom Bonnett.

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