Rare Earth

Dec 27 2024 28 ep. 51 mins 432
Rare Earth Podcast artwork

New science documentary series for BBC Radio 4

  Science
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Reasons To Be Cheerful

Dec 27 2024 53 mins  
Could 2025 be a year of progress on climate change and the nature crisis? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski search for some tentative green shoots with former Green MP Caroline Lucas, editor in chief of Business Green James Murray, and climate comedian Stuart Goldsmith.Producer: Emma CampbellAssistant Producer: Toby FieldRare Earth is produced in association with the Open University

Christmas Trees

Dec 20 2024 53 mins  
An ancient Babylonian text, Hammurabi’s Code of Laws, forbids the cutting down of street trees without permission. Nearly 4000 years later, threats to our urban trees still arouse the strongest passions. Coventry residents organised a record-breaking mass tree hug in November to save 26 trees marked for the chainsaws and the battle to save thousands of Sheffield's street trees fr

Good Clean Fun

Dec 13 2024 52 mins  
With fans travelling halfway across the country, stars expecting first class flights and venues serving up beefburgers and drinks in plastic cups the worlds of professional sport and live music share a pretty poor reputation for environmental impact. Add in the wasteful habits of high end film and TV productions and it starts to look as though anything that's fun has a disproportio

Amazon Future

Dec 06 2024 52 mins  
It's been a hard year for the Amazon rainforest. The toughest drought on record has helped spread fires that have been the worst in two decades. That combination has hit the local people. “If these fires continue, we indigenous people will die,” says Raimundinha Rodrigues Da Sousa who runs the voluntary fire service for the Caititu indigenous community in the Brazilian Amazon.

The Final Frontier

Nov 29 2024 53 mins  
Some of the wealthiest tech entrepreneurs share a vision of life beyond the horizon. They see a future for humankind that abandons our tired, dirty planet and creates new colonies of health and creativity on the Moon, on Mars or even further into deep space. Is this a wise precaution for all our futures or an insurance policy for the super-wealthy as they continue to trash our home

Who's in charge: us or plastic?

Nov 22 2024 53 mins  
Our love affair with plastic has grown beyond all expectations since we were first introduced to the substance in the mid 20th century, and the rate at which we're using it shows no sign of slowing. But the tidal wave of plastic pollution we've unleashed is causing serious environmental problems. In this programme, Helen Czerski and Tom Heap hear how some of our plastic waste is bu

Beak and Talon

Nov 15 2024 53 mins  
Nothing beats the sight of a top predator as it hunts. In the British Isles that means looking up. Our birds of prey are bouncing back after decades of shooting, poisoning and habitat loss. Buzzard numbers are up by 80% since 1995 and Red Kite by 2000%. Peregrine Falcon are thriving in London and Marsh Harriers have returned to our wetlands. Helen gets up close to Black Kites and a

Clean energy or green fields?

Nov 08 2024 52 mins  
How can we build new green infrastructure without wrecking the countryside? Helen Czerski and Tom Heap debate the issue with a panel of experts, and ask what the measures outlined in last week's budget will mean for planning decisions and the environment. On the panel this week: Emma Pinchbeck, new CEO of the Climate Change Committee; Roger Mortlock, chief executive of the CPRE - t

Rise of the Tuna

Nov 01 2024 53 mins  
It's four metres long, the weight of two grizzly bears and dangerously delicious. The Bluefin Tuna is back in British waters so Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are here to celebrate the role of the tuna in food, culture and nature. Unseen since the 1960s, these enormous fish have surprised surfers and anglers by leaping clear out of the waters of South-West England. Rare Earth takes a d

Battle for the Planet

Oct 25 2024 53 mins  
US elections always have an outsized impact on the planet. As the world's second largest polluter and one of the primary sources of green technology and finance, America's lead on environmental issues is a vital part of our battle against climate change.Tom Heap and Helen Czerski analyse the efforts of the Biden regime and examine the rival policies of Harris and Trump. Joe Biden's