A celebration of the wildlife that works while we sleep. Tom Heap and Helen Czerski explore the world of animals that provoke fear and wonder in equal measure.Producer: Emma CampbellRare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University
--------
53:13
--------
53:13
The Risk Takers
Can the insurance industry save the planet? With the nod from insurance companies a must for everything from coal mines to new homes, is the industry ready and willing to wield its power? When huge swathes of Los Angeles were destroyed by wildfire in 2025 the spotlight shone on the insurance industry. Would insurers pay out billions of dollars to rebuild in exactly the same way, in exactly the same place, in a region in which the risk of wildfire is only going to increase?Tom Heap and Helen Czerski take a deep dive into the role of the insurance industry in the climate crisis. Why can new homes in floodplains be insured? Are the rest of us subsidising risky behaviour with our own premiums? And are those in the industry trying to take revolutionary steps to prevent further climate damage? Contributors include:
- Dr Lisa Dale, Senior Lecturer at Columbia University’s Climate School
- Dr Franziska Arnold-Dwyer, Associate Professor of Law at UCL and author of 'Insurance, Climate Change and the Law’
- Lee Harris, insurance correspondent at the Financial Times
- Lindsay Keenan, environmental campaignerProducer: Beth Sagar-FentonRare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University
--------
52:23
--------
52:23
After the Bomb
80 years since the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Tom Heap and Helen Czerski ask how our relationship with nuclear power has evolved.At 8.15 on the morning of the 6th of August 1945 a new era began for this planet. For the first time humankind had the power not just to exploit or damage nature, but to destroy it utterly.Tom and Helen are joined by Mark Lynas, author of Six Minutes to Winter: Nuclear War and How to Avoid It and by Professor Timothy Mousseau of the University of South Carolina, a biologist who has studied the environmental impact of the nuclear disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima. Also in the studio is Dr Fiona Rayment, President of the Nuclear Institute.Producer: Alasdair CrossAssistant Producer: Toby FieldSpecial thanks to Archie McWatt of the University of the West of EnglandRare Earth is produced in association with the Open University
--------
53:20
--------
53:20
A Whale's Life
A ban on commercial hunting for whales came into force 40 years ago. Tom Heap and Helen Czerski look back on the whaling industry with one of the last of Shetland's whalers and ask if our largest mammals have bounced back from the extinction that so many species were close to reaching.They're joined by Jayne Pierce of the South Georgia Heritage Trust, the marine biologist and author of Eat, Poop, Die, Joe Roman and by linguist Inbal Arnon. Joe talks about his latest study for Whale and Dolphin Conservation which reveals the importance of whales in moving nutrients around the ocean while Inbal talks about her work comparing how whales and human babies learn to communicate. Jayne discusses this weekend's festival in Dundee which commemorates Scotland's role in the whaling industry and marks the launch of the Whaler's Memory Bank, a project to capture the voices of the last of the men who spent the British winter in the Antarctic capturing and processing the whales that found their way into our margarines and military hardware until the 1960s. Special thanks to Gibbie Fraser, Helen Balfour and baby Idris.Producer: Alasdair CrossRare Earth is produced in association with the Open University
--------
53:36
--------
53:36
Metals and Minerals
The transition to an economy based on renewable energy and electric cars needs huge quantities of materials like copper and rare earth metals. Sourcing them can be a problem. Mining damages the surrounding landscape and many of the materials come from unstable regions with poor records on child labour and environmental regulation. Are there alternative materials or do we simply need to consume less? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski investigate.Producer: Emma CampbellRare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University
Environmental journalist Tom Heap and physicist Helen Czerski tackle major stories about our environment and wildlife, celebrate the wonder of nature and meet the people determined to keep it wonderful.
France