Rare Earth

What can the legal system do to protect the environment? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski gather together a panel of legal and environmental experts to discuss their battles for the planet. How much protection does nature have in law at the moment, and do legal rights make any real difference in practice? They debate whether nature should be given official legal rights, like human rights. Today's panel: Paul Powlesland - barrister, campaigner, founder of Lawyers for Nature Laura Clarke - CEO of Client Earth Rosa Vásquez Espinoza - biologist, conservationist, founder of Amazon Research International Producer: Emma Campbell Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Cornish fishermen this summer have had their usual catch of lobster and crab replaced by voracious octopus. Restaurant menus have had to be wiped and rewritten across the south-west, but what else has changed? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski ask why octopus have such a hold on our imagination and the science world, why the octopus has moved north and what its journey can tell us about the changing oceans. Joining Tom and Helen are the writer Sy Montgomery, marine biologist Dr Keith Hiscock MBE and octopus neuroscientist Dr Amy Courtney of the Marine Biological Association. Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Helen Czerski and Tom Heap ask if nature is really red in tooth and claw. Is life all about survival of the fittest or are we all working together on a changing planet? They're joined by Rowan Hooper, author of Togetherness, lichen expert April Windle and Isabel Hardman, assistant editor of the Spectator magazine and author of The Natural Health Service: How Nature Can Mend Your Mind. Together they discuss the plants and insects that rely on deals with other species to keep themselves healthy, from fungus-farming ants to the Wood Wide Web that connects most living plants. April shows Helen the wondrous lichens of Hyde Park and Rowan discovers the orchids studied by Charles Darwin at his home in Kent. Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Toby Field Special thanks to English Heritage and The Royal Parks

How will the environment be changed by an Andy Burnham government? As the new parliamentary session opens, Tom Heap and Helen Czerski leaf through the government in-tray to reveal the big decisions that will need to be taken on energy, transport and nature protection. Discussing the issues from Rosebank to wildfires are Sky News Economics Editor, Ed Conway, climate scientist Corrine Le Quéré from the University of East Anglia and Michael Jacobs, former Special Advisor on the environment to Prime Minster Gordon Brown. Producers: Ed Prendeville and Beth Sagar-Fenton

Helen Czerski and Tom Heap investigate the environmental impact of volcanoes from prehistory to the present day, and find out about their cultural significance in art and literature. On today's panel: Dr Will Hutchison, volcanologist at the University of St Andrews; Hólmfríður Sigurðardóttir, who chairs the Surtsey Research Society in Iceland; and Fiona Stafford, Professor of English Language and Literature at Oxford University. Producer: Emma Campbell Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Who's the hero that will protect us from the impact of extreme heat, rain and whatever else climate change might throw at us in future? Forget someone in a cape, maybe it's the person quietly sketching buildings on a bit of paper. Architects shape the buildings we live in and rely on - can they change the way they work to make sure that our homes are smart enough to outpace the challenges of climate change? And can they lead the way in cleaning up the impact of the building industry? Or is the challenge just too great? We find out with the help of: - Isabel Allen, editor of Architecture Today - Barnabas Calder, reader in architecture at the University of Liverpool - Jay Morton, director of Bell Phillips Architects and incoming President Elect of RIBA With thanks to Jess Hrivnak, and Melissa Mean and Jasmine Tippett from WeCanMake. Presented by Tom Heap and Helen Czerski Produced by Beth Sagar-Fenton

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

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

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

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

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

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 Czerski Producer – Beth Sagar-Fenton Produced in association with the Open University

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 Institute Duncan Farrington MBE, farmer and founder of Farrington Oils Simon Jeffery, Professor of Soil Ecology at Harper Adams University Dr 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.

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.

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

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

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 Campbell Assistant Producers: Toby Field and Rebecca Rooney Rare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University

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 Cross Assistant Producers: Toby Field and Rebecca Rooney Rare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University

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 Campbell Assistant Producer: Toby Field Produced in association with the Open University

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 University Karen Lucas, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Manchester and Director of the Manchester Urban Institute Natalie Ashton. Senior Engagement Officer (North) at Transport for All Presenters: Tom Heap & Helen Czerski Producers: Beth Sagar-Fenton & Alasdair Cross Assistant Producer: Toby Field Editor: Alasdair Cross Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University.