We humans depend on the Earth’s natural resources for our very existence so it’s vital that we take as good care of them as we can. However, it’s abundantly clear that the environment isn’t in great shape at the moment. In this special six-part series we explore the different factors affecting the sustainability of our natural resources, investigate what their current state is and discuss what we could be doing to take better care of them. Thanks to its ease of manufacture, versatility and durability plastic can be used for making everything from packaging and building materials to children’s toys and clothing. But the material’s great success comes with an equally big downside – how do we dispose of it once we are finishing using it? In this episode we catch up with Dr Costas Vellis, a lecturer in resource efficiency systems at the University of Leeds. He tells us how widespread plastic pollution is, how we have reached this point and what we can do to solve the problem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Like it or not, food plays a central role in all of our lives. It’s so important that whole societies and economies have formed around it, wars are fought over it, and, now, the way we consume it is having profound impacts on the planet. So just how stable are the food systems on which most of us depend? In this episode, Prof Tim Benton, research director at Chatham House, joins the podcast to talk about food security. Tim has been working on issues in food, ecology, biodiversity, sustainability for 30 years. We humans depend on the Earth’s natural resources for our very existence, so it’s vital that we take as good care of them as we can. However, it’s abundantly clear that the environment isn’t in great shape at the moment. In this special six-part series we explore the different factors affecting the sustainability of our natural resources, investigate what their current state is, and discuss what we could be doing to take better care of them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most of us are aware that an asteroid strike led to the extinction of the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago. But fewer are aware that this was just one of several mass extinction events to have occurred throughout the Earth’s history. In this episode we catch up Prof Michael Benton, a palaeontologist based at the University of Bristol and author of the new book Extinctions: How Life Survives, Adapts and Evolves. He tells us all about the previous extinctions that have changed the balance of life on Earth, how they happened and what we can learn about the future of the planet by studying them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What’s beyond our Universe? Will time travel ever be possible? And what might aliens look like? All huge questions that today we’re asking a special guest, Neil DeGrasse Tyson – astrophysicist and author of the new book To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery.  In a wide-ranging conversation, DeGrasse Tyson unpacks the biggest scientific mysteries of our Universe, from whether space is really empty, to if humans are actually smart enough to make sense of the cosmos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why is it that cats sleep so much? Can they be taught any tricks? And are dogs actually smarter than cats? These are just some of the questions you might have wondered about our feline friends, questions we’re putting to Dr Zazie Todd. Todd is a dog and cat behaviour expert and is the author of Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy. In this episode, she unpacks the most misunderstood cat body language, the science behind making a cat like you, and the simple things you can do to upgrade a cat’s life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices