People Fixing the World

Nov 18 2024 407 ep. 23 mins 23.3k
People Fixing the World Podcast artwork

Brilliant solutions to the world’s problems. We meet people with ideas to make the world a better place and investigate whether they work.

  Health & Fitness  News
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Sorting extreme waste

Nov 18 2024 22 mins  
We rely on space for our communications, weather monitoring and security. Yet rising levels of space junk increase the risk of collisions, putting these things at risk.This week we are heading to a space lab in the UK to meet the scientists building a special waste collector that will clean up defunct satellites. We’ll also be heading to the Himalayas to see how an innovative pro

A wheelchair that learns

Nov 11 2024 23 mins  
Powered chairs offer people with limited mobility the chance to be independent, since they can be controlled with an array of switches and pads. For some people though, unpredictable muscle spasms mean that driving can be time-consuming, stressful or dangerous. We try out a new device from Belgium that uses artificial intelligence to quickly learn a user’s profile, filtering out

The race to save Madagascar's biodiversity

Nov 04 2024 22 mins  
Madagascar is the second-largest island nation in the world, similar in size to France or Texas. Lying off the coast of southern Africa, it’s home to nearly 30 million people and is a real biodiversity hotspot. Nearly 90 percent of its plants and animal species are endemic, meaning they can’t be found anywhere else in the world. But much of the habitat they depend on is being d

The jails where they do things differently

Oct 28 2024 22 mins  
In 2019 a group of prison officers from Philadelphia in the US spent three weeks working in jails across Scandinavia - in order to see whether their more humane approach to custody could work back at home.Five years on we visit SCI Chester’s ‘Little Scandinavia' to see whether the ‘homely’ environment - where prisoners can order groceries, cook their own meals and socialise

Fixing elections - for the better

Oct 21 2024 22 mins  
2024 has been called a record breaking year for elections, with billions of people eligible to take part in all types of votes. But how can we make sure people can vote safely and securely?We visit Australia's Northern Territory to see how voting takes place in incredibly remote communities. We also find out how a group of eminent women in Uganda is combating violence and intimidat

The pioneering TV news service

Oct 14 2024 23 mins  
TV BRA in Norway is a unique media organisation. Their fortnightly national news show is presented by reporters who have learning disabilities or are autistic. Through interviews with politicians and other authority figures the station aims to hold the powerful to account, while also changing the way that people with learning disabilities are seen.We join them in their flashy new s

Keeping men healthy

Oct 07 2024 22 mins  
How can people get much needed health services as they go about their daily lives? We’re back in Kenya where we visit a barbers shop that offers mental health advice and support alongside the trim and shave. And we check out a truck stop just outside Nairobi where long distance drivers can not only grab some food but also get access to medical care they wouldn’t otherwise have

Saving Britain's sea life

Sep 30 2024 22 mins  
The health of shorelines around the world is under threat like never before. We look at efforts being made in the UK to tackle some of the challenges posed by overfishing and climate change. We travel to Yorkshire in northern England to meet the scientists and fishing communities trying to work out how to protect local lobster stocks. And in Devon in south west England we hear how

The power of native knowledge

Sep 23 2024 23 mins  
The Awajun people have lived in the Amazon rainforest for thousands of years but their way of life and environment is under threat from deforestation and unsustainable farming. Now Awajun women farmers have begun mixing old traditions with new technology to make a material which offers an alternative to leather made from animals. The women are working with a fashion company which h

Hopping aboard the hospital train

Sep 16 2024 23 mins  
Half of the world's population don't have access to essential healthcare, according to the World Health Organisation. And even in highly developed countries many still lose out. This week on People Fixing The World we hear about some ideas that aim to change that. We jump on board a hospital train that travels around South Africa providing affordable treatments to remote communitie