Episoder
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Helen Czerski and Tom Heap discover how new technology lets us listen in to the extraordinary sounds of the planet's waterways. From the deepest ocean to the tributaries, rivers and streams, this is an exploration of the sound made under water by animals, humans, and yes even plants. From the snapping of shrimp to the bark of a John Dory, Tom and Helen ask how sound travels through water, how important it is and what is known about the purpose of these sounds. They also ask what impact human activity is having on the watery soundscapes and their inhabitants. Joining Tom and Helen are Marine Biologist Steve Simpson, Former Submariner Bob Mansergh, Principle Scientist Rosalyn Seddon and Eco-Acoustician Jack Greenhalgh.
Producer: Ellie Richold
Assistant Producer: Toby Field
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Is there any true wilderness left on our planet? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski consider the fear and fascination of the wild. They're joined by the writer Cal Flyn who has spent the last few years travelling the world in search of wilderness for her new book The Savage Landscape. Also with them are Steve Carver, professor of Rewilding and Wilderness Science at Leeds University and Sophie Grig, Research and Advocacy Director of Survival International.
The travel writer and broadcaster Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent escapes the studio to visit the largest rewilding project in Wales. Can the conservationists get local people onside and boost the area's wildlife without provoking a negative reaction from local farmers?
Produced by Alasdair Cross and Sarah Swadling
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Mangler du episoder?
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How can Britain- and the world- prepare itself for extreme heat? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski hear from the experts and from the people facing up to the hottest temperatures on the planet.
David Shukman, former BBC Science Editor asks how Britain should react to the threat in his new book, The Response, while Alex Riley, author of Super Natural guides us through the strategies used by animals that thrive in the hottest places on Earth. Tom and Helen are also joined from Bangalore by Chandni Singh of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements who shares her knowledge of the Indian response to heatwaves that can push the mercury to 48 degrees centigrade and make human life impossible to sustain.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Assistant Producer: Toby Field
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Amphibians are the most threatened type of vertebrates on the planet since the dinosaurs- and some of the most fascinating. Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are joined by a panel of amphibi-fans to celebrate the very best in frogs, toads, newts and salamanders. What can we do to reverse their rapid decline?
Jeanne Tarrant, founder of Anura Africa is an expert on the extraordinary diversity of frog life in South Africa, Jeff Streicher is Head of Zoology at National Museum Cardiff and James Herd is Director of Reserve Management at the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Helen also takes a visit to London Zoo to meet our largest and smallest amphibians and discuss captive breeding programmes with Ben Tapley, ZSL's Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles. Finally we hear from two field ecologists working to save amphibians in the highlands of Cameroon and the tea gardens of Darjeeling. Marina Kameni and Barkha Subba are two of the winners at this year's Whitley Fund for Nature awards.
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton
Assistant Producer: Toby Field
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Is the conflict in Iran, with its knock-on effect on oil supplies, accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski debate the issues with a panel of experts: Josh Gabbatiss from the environmental journalism website Carbon Brief; Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University; and Cornish farmer Stuart Oates.
Producer: Emma Campbell
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Tom and Helen explore why the evolution of flowers created the world we know today, uncover some of the fascinating ways flowers use shape, colour and scent to bewitch pollinators, and dig into how pollen can reveal the secrets of ancient crime scenes and help us restore lost landscapes. Guests will include writer David George Haskell, pollen expert Michelle Farrell and botanist Sandra Knapp, Director of Research at the Natural History Museum.
Presenters – Tom Heap and Helen CzerskiProducer – Beth Sagar-Fenton
Produced in association with the Open University
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Beneath our feet is a world wide web that keeps us all alive. Estimated to be the origin of about 97% of the calories we eat, soil is fundamental to life. But it's a whole living world of its own. A biological engine, a carbon sink, and home to an abundance of bacteria, insects and worms. Tom Heap and Helen Czerski find out how soil is made, how it's faring in a world of intensive farming and how to get it back to full health.
Joining Tom and Helen to dig into the hidden drama of soil are:
Jack Hannam, Professor of Sustainable Agriculture & Biodiversity at the University of Greenwich’s Natural Resources InstituteDuncan Farrington MBE, farmer and founder of Farrington OilsSimon Jeffery, Professor of Soil Ecology at Harper Adams UniversityDr Rachel Cassidy, lead scientist on Northern Ireland's Soil Nutrient Health Scheme.Andrew Baker, Soil Acoustics.
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton
Assistant Producers: Rebecca Rooney and Toby Field
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University.
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The 2026 World Cup is expected to be the most environmentally costly yet. But are there alternative models that provide sporting thrills without the carbon cost?
Helen Czerski and Qasa Alom consider the climate impact of the biggest events and the impact of climate on sport at every level. Whether you're a hugely rich footballer sweltering in a World Cup final or a kid who can't play on a waterlogged pitch, the problem- and perhaps the solution - are the same.
Qasa and Helen are joined by Norwegian international footballer Morten Thorsby and Claire Poole of Sports Positive to discuss the upcoming World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico. Professor of Global History at Oxford University and batsmen for the Croatian national cricket team, Peter Frankopan and Indian cricketer and commentator Abhishek Jhunjhuwn consider the impact of a warming climate on players, professional and amateur, who play their sport in the full glare of the sun for up to eight hours.
Producers: Alasdair Cross and Robin Markwell
Assistant Producers: Toby Field and Rebecca Rooney
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University.
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President Trump has been very clear in his views on climate change but how much of his rhetoric will have real impacts on the environment in the US and worldwide? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are joined by an expert panel to examine the consequences for the planet's temperature and its wildlife of the second Trump administration.
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton
Assistant Producer: Toby Field
Rare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University
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Plunge into the chilly embrace of the UK's lakes and you enter troubled waters. They're a place for recreation and an inspiration for our greatest poets but they're also on the frontline in the battle against pollution. The biggest lake in the British Isles, Lough Neagh, is plagued with toxic green algae that sucks the life out of its waters, but nobody seems able to stop the relentless flow of agricultural, industrial and domestic pollution that feed it. Meanwhile, Lake Windermere, birthplace of the Romantic movement, is suffering from a record number of illegal sewage spills that make wildwater swimming a dicey business.
Tom Heap and Helen Czerski paddle through the history and legends of our lakes and lochs, search for solutions to their present day problems and celebrate the natural life that still flocks to these beautiful places.
Producer: Emma Campbell
Assistant Producers: Rebecca Rooney and Toby Field
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University
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This year London Zoological Society marks its 200th anniversary. Established in 1826, today it has around 8000 animals and claims to be "the original scientific zoo". In this programme, Helen Czerski and Tom Heap look back at the role of zoos across the centuries and ask where their future lies. From public entertainment to conservation projects, do they have a part to play in an age when technology means we can see animals virtually, up-close and in high-definition, without having to keep them in captivity? Tom and Helen visit the former site of Bristol zoo in Clifton, now awaiting development, and are joined in the studio by a panel of experts to discuss the history, future and philosophy of the zoo.
Producer: Emma CampbellAssistant Producers: Toby Field and Rebecca Rooney
Rare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University
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150 years ago the British research ship Challenger returned from a three and a half year voyage that changed the world. Plucking species from every ocean, at depths never explored before, the Challenger kick-started the science of oceanography and paved the way for a world connected by undersea communication cables.
To celebrate the Challenger's legacy, Helen Czerski and Tom Heap are at the world's biggest ocean science conference in Glasgow to ask what the next 150 years may hold. Is the age of the human explorer over, replaced by robots and DNA sampling, or is there still a space for wonder as we explore the depths of our planet's oceans?
With Tom and Helen at the AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting are three top ocean explorers- Kirsty McQuaid from Nelson Mandela University in South Africa, Murray Roberts of Edinburgh University and Sofie Spatharis of Glasgow University.
Producer: Alasdair CrossAssistant Producers: Toby Field and Rebecca Rooney
Rare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University
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What does the arrival of winter mean for plants and animals? In this programme Tom Heap and Helen Czerski find out how wildlife survives the freezing temperatures and short days of the winter months. In a time of climate change, they also ask how warmer weather patterns are affecting the natural world at this time of year. Do we have to get used to the idea of winters without snow and ice, and will winter scenes of robins on snowy branches and children sledging down hillsides only exist on Christmas cards?
Panel: Hugh Warwick, John Hammond, Val McDermid
Producer: Emma CampbellAssistant Producer: Toby Field
Produced in association with the Open University
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How we get around town has never been more political, with controversies over low traffic neighbourhoods and 15 minute cities, and rows about congestion charging and public transport breaking out all over the country. Tom and Helen are in search of the kind of consensus that makes things faster, cheaper and smoother for all of us. What works and what’s been a complete flop? Should we all stop moaning and get on our bikes? Who is the reshaping of traffic flows working - and not working - for? And could Milton Keynes have all the answers?
With contributions from:
Chris Boardman, Commissioner of Active Travel England.Stephen Potter, Emeritus Professor of Transport Strategy at the Open UniversityKaren Lucas, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Manchester and Director of the Manchester Urban InstituteNatalie Ashton. Senior Engagement Officer (North) at Transport for All
Presenters: Tom Heap & Helen Czerski Producers: Beth Sagar-Fenton & Alasdair CrossAssistant Producer: Toby FieldEditor: Alasdair Cross
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University.
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We tend to think of wildlife as something which exists in the countryside or in nature reserves, but in fact there are plenty of plants and animals which thrive in an urban environment. In this programme Tom Heap and Helen Czerski explore the species that live alongside us in our towns and cities - finding out what makes a good habitat for them, asking why they're important, and discovering what advantages they bring to the human population. They're joined by a panel of experts: Professor Dawn Scott from Nottingham Trent University, writer Chris Fitch, and founder of Rewild My Street Siân Moxon, who's also Associate Professor Sustainable Architecture at London Metropolitan University.
Producer: Emma CampbellAssistant Producer: Toby Field
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University
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190 years ago Charles Darwin stepped ashore in Falmouth at the end of a five year voyage that would transform the way in which we all think about nature. But how does his work and that of his fellow evolutionary theorist, Alfred Russel Wallace stand up in a world of climate change and habitat destruction?
To find out, Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are joined by Sandra Knapp of the Natural History Museum, naturalist and broadcaster Mike Dilger and by Armand Marie Leroi, professor of evolutionary developmental biology at Imperial College, London.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Assistant Producer: Toby Field
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University
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Whether you love to express yourself through fashion, or find getting dressed a chore, clothing isn’t optional - and every choice has an impact. So how do our fashion choices affect the environment? Who's paying the price? And - most importantly - how can we do things differently? Can individuals and business rethink how we see clothes to prioritise the planet?
Tom Heap and Helen Czerski get beneath the surface on this huge subject with Patrick Grant, presenter of The Great British Sewing Bee, hugely influential professor and author Kate Fletcher, and Simon Platts, a sustainability consultant with decades of industry experience.
After you listen to this you might never see your clothes the same way again.
Featuring:Patrick Grant - Presenter and entrepreneur Kate Fletcher - Professor of Sustainability, Design and Fashion Systems in the Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan UniversitySimon Platts – Sustainability consultant
Skye Pennant Julian Ellis-Brown & Finlay Duncan
Presented by Tom Heap & Helen CzerskiProduced by Beth Sagar-Fenton & Toby FieldMixed by Ilse LademannEditor: Alasdair Cross
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For thirty years world leaders have been gathering to negotiate the planet's route away from climate disaster. For thirty years carbon emissions have been rising and hopes have been fading. Is it time to admit defeat and search for a new strategy to persuade corporations and individuals to cut their pollution and save the planet?
As the COP30 summit begins in Brazil, Helen Czerski and Tom Heap will be joined by an expert panel eager to come up with fresh solutions that could accelerate climate action and bring a unified, international response to the existential crisis of our time.
With them are Nigel Topping, Chair of the UK Climate Change Committee, Corinne Le Quéré, professor of climate change science at the University of East Anglia, Anna Åberg from the Chatham House think tank and Georgina Rannard, BBC Climate and Science correspondent.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Assistant Producer: Toby Field
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University
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It's 200 years since the first passenger rail journey saw George Stephenson’s Locomotion No.1 travel 26 miles between Shildon, Darlington and Stockton. Environmentalists love trains - making a journey by rail can be up to 80% greener than doing it by car - and there are exciting new inventions hoping to make train travel even greener. But can we pin part of the blame for global warming on the invention of the railways in the first place?
Presented by Tom Heap and Helen CzerskiProduced by Beth Sagar-FentonAssistant Producer: Toby Field
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University
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New technology gives fresh insights into the great animal migrations. Tom Heap and Helen Czerski discuss the great spectacles of the bird, mammal and insect worlds and consider how they're changing in an era of climate change and habitat destruction.
They're joined by insect migration expert, Will Hawkes, David Barrie, author of Incredible Journeys and the leader of the ICARUS satellite monitoring project, Martin Wikelski from the University of Konstanz. Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent reports from the dangerous songbird migration route over Cyprus while ecologist and concept developer Mark van Heukelm reveals the secrets of the extraordinary fish doorbell and Martha Kearney visits Britain's migration hotspot, Fair Isle.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Assistant Producers: Toby Field and Georgia Christie
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University
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