RGS Presents: The Future of Exploration

In this episode of RGS Presents: The Future of Exploration , urban exploration pioneer Max Leonard challenges our ideas about where exploration happens, who gets to do it, and what discovery can mean in a world that has already been mapped and photographed from almost every angle. From forgotten railway tunnels and abandoned power stations to hidden infrastructure beneath our cities, Max reveals the extraordinary worlds that exist in places we pass every day. He argues that exploration doesn’t mean travelling further or climbing higher, it simply means looking differently. The conversation also raises difficult questions. Who owns these spaces? Who has the right to explore them? Can trespassing ever create public value? And when does documenting a hidden place help preserve it or put it at risk? For Max, urban exploration is ultimately about curiosity and imagination, seeing familiar places in new ways and asking what remains hidden in a world that can seem completely known. At a time when so much of our planet is mapped, monitored and documented, this episode asks whether exploration is really running out of places to go, or whether we simply need to learn how to look more closely.

What happens when exploration is no longer about discovering new places, but about understanding them? In this episode of The Future of Exploration , journalist and author Sophy Roberts explores storytelling as a powerful form of exploration, driven by curiosity, empathy and the desire to connect. Drawing on her research-led journeys from Siberia to the Congo, Sophy reflects on slow travel, oral history, memory and wonder. She shares how storytelling can reveal deeper truths about people and place – allowing space for complexity, ambiguity and questions without easy answers. In contrast to the search for definitive conclusions, Sophy makes the case for a different kind of exploration, one that begins with a feeling or question. She challenges the idea that discovery must always lead to clarity and shows uswhystorytelling remains essential for understanding the world and staying connected to each other within it.

What happens when exploration moves beyond Earth? In this live episode of The Future of Exploration , bestselling author and journalist Tim Marshall joins host Matt Pycroft to consider the forces shaping humanity’s future in space, from geopolitics and economics to technology, ambition and the enduring human desire to discover. Drawing on lessons from centuries of exploration, Tim asks whether humanity is repeating familiar patterns of competition, resource extraction and territorial ambition , or if space offers a chance to do things differently. From the lunar south pole and the search for water to the challenges of governing beyond Earth and the impact of space exploration on Earth itself, this conversation unpacks .the opportunities and tensions of becoming a spacefaring civilisation.

How much of our own planet have we truly explored? In this episode of The Future of Exploration , ocean explorer and Nekton Mission Director Oliver Steeds challenges one of our biggest assumptions that the final frontier lies in space. Instead, he argues that the greatest unknown is much closer to home, in the vast, largely unexplored depths of our oceans. Oliver reveals why we have mapped only a fraction of the seabed, why most marine species remain undiscovered, and how these hidden ecosystems play a critical role in regulating the Earth’s climate and sustaining global food systems. From extraordinary deep-sea discoveries to AI-powered species identification, he explores how new technologies and global collaboration are transforming our ability to understand life beneath the waves. If we have discovered less than 10% of ocean life, what might still be out there, and can we find it before it disappears?

What does it mean to explore a world that already feels mapped? In this conversation, Tom Allen, explorer, author, and the Society’s current Expeditions and Fieldwork Manager, frames the future of exploration as curiosity in action – the ongoing practice of looking closer, asking better questions, and sharing what we find. Drawing on years of slow travel, expeditions, fieldwork, and translating these experiences into books, films, even actual trails to follow, Tom argues that the future of exploration lies less in going further and more in going deeper: into places, into cultures, and through that into our understanding of the world today. From citizen science apps to mapping ancient footpaths, he explores how digital technology and global collaboration are reshaping who gets to explore and what effect it has on the world. The episode takes on the legacy of exploration head-on, highlighting the problematic nature of its historic ties to privilege, extraction and individual heroism and the attention still given to this narrative. Tom envisages a more inclusive, participatory future where anyone can contribute to knowledge and where efforts are judged by their value to society. Set against a backdrop of global change, this is a timely rethink of exploration as a shared, purposeful practice, and an invitation to see yourself as part of it.

In this live recording, explorer, broadcaster and author Bruce Parry challenges one of the most enduring ideas in exploration: that its purpose is to discover what’s ‘out there’. Instead, he argues, the real frontiers of exploration lie in rediscovering what we as a species have forgotten about ourselves. Best known for the multiple BBC series that documented his time living with Indigenous communities around the world, Bruce reflects on his personal journey beyond the screen as his motivations evolved from ego-driven adventure to a deeper responsibility to listen, learn, and bring insights home. He discusses the radically different ways of being human that he experienced first-hand: societies built on connection, equality, and an intimate relationship with the natural world. These insights, he argues, are not romantic relics but working models of how humans might once again live sustainably and meaningfully. At a time of ecological crisis and social fragmentation, Bruce makes a compelling and heartfelt case that the priorities for today’s explorers lie as much in personal and social transformation as in the gathering of scientific data. In incorporating these goals into our explorations and our daily lives, he says, we might more effectively challenge and remould our assumptions about progress, power, and what it means to live well. Recorded live on stage in the Society’s Ondaatje Theatre with an in-person audience, this is a conversation about humility, responsibility, and the urgent need to reimagine exploration as a force for cultural and planetary repair.

How is exploration changing? Why does it matter now more than ever before? Our new podcast series asks what it means to explore in a rapidly changing world. Across 10 episodes, host Matt Pycroft interviews a leading thinker, scientist or explorer to examine the practical and the philosophical questions that define modern discovery. Episodes are released every two weeks starting Tuesday 30 June 2026 . Get early access by heading to our YouTube channel and be the first to watch. RGS Presents: The Future of Exploration is available in both audio and video formats on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Find out more on our website at www.rgs.org/podcasts .