Rare Earth

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 co...

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...

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

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 co...

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...

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 Czerski Produced by Beth Sagar-Fenton Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Rare Earth is produced in as...

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...

The modern world is built on steel but can it ever be green? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski search for the holy grail of environmentally friendly steel.

Panellists:

Ed Conway – Sky Economics & Data Editor and Author of “Material World” Will Arnold – Head of Climate Action, The Institution of Structural Engineers Dr Abi Ackerman – Imperial College London Caroline Ashley – Director, SteelWatch Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton

Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University

Efforts to reduce our carbon emissions are falling far short of what’s necessary to keep our temperature rise below 2 degrees centigrade. Is it time to seriously consider another option- using technology to cool the planet? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski explore the controversial field of geoengineering.

They're joined by Shaun Fitzgerald, Director of the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge University, Peter Brannen, author of The Story of CO2 is the Story of Everything and by Alex Davey, Deputy Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Assistant Pr...

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 Campbell

Rare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University

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...

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...

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...

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 Campbell

Rare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University

Datacentres are big business, and vast numbers of them are being built around the world. In the UK, Amazon has announced plans to invest £8bn over the next five years building new datacentres, £3bn has been spent in the UK by Amazon’s cloud computing business since 2020 and Google is spending millions on a new centre in Hertfordshire.

All this data handling is necessary because we're storing more of it and making more complex AI internet searches. The energy cost of this shift is so huge that the big tech companies are commissioning their own nuclear power stat...

In 2019 the UK made a commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Since then the political consensus has broken down and analysts doubt that current government policy has any chance of reaching the net zero goal. Tom Heap, Helen Czerski and an expert panel stress-test net zero. Is it still achievable? Is it even politically possible in a world of trade wars, Trump's anti-environment agenda and the rise of Reform?

Producer: Emma Campbell

Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University

Insects are the quiet engineers of the environment - pollinating our plants, balancing our ecosystems and clearing up our waste. Some insects can digest plastic, and they play a vital role in crop production. At the same time their populations are under threat from pesticides, habitat loss and climate change. In this programme, Helen Czerski and Tom Heap explore the largely ignored world of insects. Could they be the answer to some of the environmental problems we have created? Would eating them help lower our carbon footprint, and will the western world ever overcome its squeamishness to the idea...

From ancient Rome onwards our civilisation has been built on concrete. It's incredibly useful but emits huge quantities of carbon dioxide in its production. What are the alternatives? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski explore the issues with a panel of experts: Professor Colin Hills from Greenwich University, Smith Mordak Chief Executive of UK Green Building Council, and structural engineer Roma Agrawal, who worked on the construction of London's tallest building, the Shard.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Researcher: Harrison Jones

Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open...

The islands of the Pacific Ocean are on the frontline of climate change. Sea level rise will eventually erase some from the map and make many more uninhabitable. Tom Heap and Helen Czerski hear from the people of the region and explore its stunning wildlife both above and below the waves.

With them in the studio are Professor Tammy Horton from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton and BBC One Show naturalist, Mike Dilger. Tammy studies- and names- some of the thousands of creatures recently discovered living at depths of 4-6km in the Pacific's Clarion Clipperton...

The shipping industry is an enormous source of pollution. Ships burn dirty fuel oil that helps contribute to the industry's global carbon emissions and even in port they continue to belch out noxious fumes that pollute the air of many of our major port cities. Tom Heap and Helen Czerski search for the solutions, from a return to sailing ships to new fuels - and even the possibility of ships being more like penguins - with a panel including:

Paddy Rodgers, Director (Chief Executive) of Royal Museums Greenwich and former CEO of Euronav

Tristan Smith...

PFAS chemicals are all around us. They're used in frying pans, food packaging and waterproof coats but they have been linked to thyroid disease, liver damage and cancer. The trouble is that PFAS just doesn't go away- these 'forever chemicals' build up in our bodies and the environment.

Tom Heap and Helen Czerski look back at the invention of these miracle chemicals, their use in the Second World War and the Space Race and meet Robert Bilott, the American lawyer who held the PFAS manufacturers to account, going head to head with the enormous DuPont corporation. They're...

40 years ago a hole was discovered in the ozone layer. It provoked an international effort to ban the chemicals that were destroying our protection from the sun. Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are joined by Jonathan Shanklin, one of the team that realised that CFC chemicals used in aerosol cans and refrigerants were helping to create a 20 million square kilometre hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica. Also on the panel they speak to Alice Bell, author of ‘Our Biggest Experiment: a history of the climate crisis’ and head of policy, climate and health at Wellcome, and Bristol University's Prof...

The wolf has mounted an extraordinary comeback. Once hunted to extinction across Western Europe, the wolf has taken advantage of the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the depopulation of the countryside to spread from east to west, reaching the suburbs of Amsterdam and Brussels. Only Britain, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus and Iceland now lack the top predator that haunts our fairytales.

Tom Heap and Helen Czerski go face to snout with the wolf to find out the secrets of its success. They're joined by writer, Adam Weymouth, who tracked the route of a pioneering wolf called Slavc...

For the Arctic, 2024 was the second-warmest year on record, with temperatures rising much faster than the global rate. The region's resources- oil, gas, iron ore, uranium, even diamonds and the rare earth metals used in electric cars- suddenly seem accessible. That's caught the attention of China, Russia and the US, with President Trump, eager to mount a hostile takeover bid for Greenland.

In the first of a new series of Rare Earth, physicist Helen Czerski and environment journalist, Tom Heap consider the impact of this sudden global interest on the people, wildlife and landscape of the far...

Could 2025 be a year of progress on climate change and the nature crisis? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski search for some tentative green shoots with former Green MP Caroline Lucas, editor in chief of Business Green James Murray, and climate comedian Stuart Goldsmith.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University

An ancient Babylonian text, Hammurabi’s Code of Laws, forbids the cutting down of street trees without permission. Nearly 4000 years later, threats to our urban trees still arouse the strongest passions. Coventry residents organised a record-breaking mass tree hug in November to save 26 trees marked for the chainsaws and the battle to save thousands of Sheffield's street trees from the council's contractors inspired folk songs and expensive legal battles.

As so many of us bring a tree home for Christmas, Tom Heap and Helen Czerski consider our feelings about street trees, the sweet hit of nature that pr...

With fans travelling halfway across the country, stars expecting first class flights and venues serving up beefburgers and drinks in plastic cups the worlds of professional sport and live music share a pretty poor reputation for environmental impact. Add in the wasteful habits of high end film and TV productions and it starts to look as though anything that's fun has a disproportionate impact on the planet.

In Liverpool, they're hoping to change all that. The United Nations has asked the city to use its reputation as a hotbed of culture to devise ways to cut the...

It's been a hard year for the Amazon rainforest. The toughest drought on record has helped spread fires that have been the worst in two decades. That combination has hit the local people. “If these fires continue, we indigenous people will die,” says Raimundinha Rodrigues Da Sousa who runs the voluntary fire service for the Caititu indigenous community in the Brazilian Amazon. Her land is supposed to be protected but outsiders come in and set fires so that they can clear the land for agriculture.

For Rare Earth, Tom Heap and Helen Czerski take a look at the...

Some of the wealthiest tech entrepreneurs share a vision of life beyond the horizon. They see a future for humankind that abandons our tired, dirty planet and creates new colonies of health and creativity on the Moon, on Mars or even further into deep space. Is this a wise precaution for all our futures or an insurance policy for the super-wealthy as they continue to trash our home planet? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are joined by British astronaut, Tim Peake to consider the big moral questions of space colonisation and the practical problems of devising ways to make...

Our love affair with plastic has grown beyond all expectations since we were first introduced to the substance in the mid 20th century, and the rate at which we're using it shows no sign of slowing. But the tidal wave of plastic pollution we've unleashed is causing serious environmental problems. In this programme, Helen Czerski and Tom Heap hear how some of our plastic waste is burnt in incinerators or sent overseas, causing pollution far from our shores. In their search for solutions, they visit the Plastic Waste Innovation Hub at University College London, where Professor Mark Miodownik shows...

Nothing beats the sight of a top predator as it hunts. In the British Isles that means looking up. Our birds of prey are bouncing back after decades of shooting, poisoning and habitat loss. Buzzard numbers are up by 80% since 1995 and Red Kite by 2000%. Peregrine Falcon are thriving in London and Marsh Harriers have returned to our wetlands.

Helen gets up close to Black Kites and an Eagle Owl at the Owl and Raptor Centre in Kent and travel writer Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent describes the extraordinary migration of tens of thousands of birds of prey through the Batumi...

How can we build new green infrastructure without wrecking the countryside? Helen Czerski and Tom Heap debate the issue with a panel of experts, and ask what the measures outlined in last week's budget will mean for planning decisions and the environment. On the panel this week: Emma Pinchbeck, new CEO of the Climate Change Committee; Roger Mortlock, chief executive of the CPRE - the Countryside Charity; and Professor Matthew Kelly, modern historian from Northumbria University.

Producer: Emma Campbell

It's four metres long, the weight of two grizzly bears and dangerously delicious. The Bluefin Tuna is back in British waters so Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are here to celebrate the role of the tuna in food, culture and nature.

Unseen since the 1960s, these enormous fish have surprised surfers and anglers by leaping clear out of the waters of South-West England. Rare Earth takes a deep dive with the tuna to examine their unusual biology and their cultural importance to people all around the world. They can live up to 60 years, dive up to 1km...

US elections always have an outsized impact on the planet. As the world's second largest polluter and one of the primary sources of green technology and finance, America's lead on environmental issues is a vital part of our battle against climate change.

Tom Heap and Helen Czerski analyse the efforts of the Biden regime and examine the rival policies of Harris and Trump. Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act is said to have helped channel half a trillion dollars into clean technology and renewable energy. Has all that money brought down emissions or funded fresh answers to the...

The environment and wildlife show returns with a celebration of the humble microbe. Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are joined by a ‘microbe explorer’ who travels to some of the Earth’s most hostile environments in search of microbes with a huge appetite for carbon dioxide. They also be visit the crop trial field station of Imperial College London where researchers are studying changes to bacteria in soil that could help agriculture and the environment.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Rare Earth is made by BBC Audio Wales and West in associ...

Seabirds face many challenges - avian flu, plastic pollution, overfishing and climate change have all had an impact - but despite all of this, these resilient birds are surviving and in some cases, thriving. Tom Heap and Helen Czerski explore all things seabird, from the urban kittiwakes of Tyneside to the sea cliffs of Shetland.

They're joined by Adam Nicolson, the author of The Seabird's Cry. He's determined to recover the reputation of the puffin from the cute star of seaside mugs and tea towels to its rightful place as a brave and powerful navigator of the...

Tom Heap and Helen Czerski meet the people with fresh ideas to combat rising sea levels, from Enfield to Indonesia.

Average sea levels across the world are rising fast. That puts 570 cities with a combined population of 800 million people at significant threat of inundation. Add in the impact of extreme rainfall events and you have a huge slice of our urban planet that needs protection from flooding. Tom and Helen are joined by Professor Richard Dawson of Newcastle University who considers the engineering solutions available, from huge chunks of concrete and steel to the clever use of...

Over the centuries, bottom-trawling activities have transformed our coastal seas both ecologically and physically, mostly for the worse. As the habitat has declined, so has the success of fisheries. Is it time we said goodbye to bottom trawling? Or can we manage our coastal seas more effectively to protect nature and provide seafood and jobs?

Tom Heap and Helen Czerski discuss the issues with a panel of experts.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Assistant Producer: Toby Field and Christina Sinclair

Rare Earth is a BBC Audio Wales and West production in conjunction with...

Is the rise in global wild fires unstoppable? Helen Czerski and Tom Heap discuss the terrifying march of the flames and search for fresh answers. They're joined by John Vaillant, author of the award-wining exploration of Canada's Fort McMurray disaster, 'Fire Weather' and by Dr Stacey New from the Met Office.

Tom and Helen take a look at the ways in which indigenous knowledge is being applied to fire prevention in California and visit the Blodgett Research Forest where experts study the best ways to make America's threatened forests more resilient.

They're also joined by...

Can meat ever be environmentally friendly, or do we need better substitutes? Helen Czerski and Tom Heap discuss the cutting edge technology being developed to reduce the carbon cost of our diet.

Producer: Emma Campbell

Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Rare Earth is a BBC Audio Wales and West production in conjunction with the Open University

What should we do with our old oil rigs? Can the relics of the fossil fuel age be good for wildlife? Helen Czerski and Tom Heap investigate the future for the steel and concrete that's fuelled the modern age.

Helen visits a highly specialist scrapyard on Teeside which dismantles oil rigs bought ashore at the end of their lives. Tom and Helen discuss whether the rules on what happens to old oil and gas installations in the North Sea should be relaxed to allow some to be turned into artificial reefs. They hear from Professor Matt Frost...

With the general election now two weeks away, Helen Czerski and Tom Heap take a look at how the environment is featuring on the political agenda. They are joined by a panel of guests: energy and climate commentator Sepi Golzari-Munro; senior policy editor at the independent climate news website Carbon Brief, Simon Evans; Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trusts, Craig Bennett; and environment correspondent for BBC News, Matt McGrath.

Together they take a look through the manifestos of the main political parties, exploring their policies and pledges when it comes to the environment and wildlife. They ask...

Nature-writing is going through a renaissance. What started largely with TV tie-ins has evolved into a genre encompassing books about climate change, the countryside, walking, and off-grid living. For Radio 4's new landmark environment and nature series, Rare Earth, presenters Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are joined on-stage at the Hay Festival by Mark Cocker, Philippa Forrester and Chris Thorogood to discuss the purpose of nature-writing, why it's important, and how nature-writing can help shape our understanding of the natural world. Produced by Emma Campbell for BBC Audio Wales and West in conjunction with the Open University Assistant producer...

In the first edition of a new series of Rare Earth Tom Heap and Helen Czerski reveal a new phenomenon- 'Greenhushing'. Big corporations that once trumpeted their green credentials are now staying very quiet about the environment. From the left they've been attacked by green zealots eager to expose greenwashing, when their claims don't stand up to scrutiny. Meanwhile from the right any hint of environmental action is condemned as 'woke'. Better, some business advisors believe, to keep quiet about the issue and avoid offending any of their potential customers or falling foul of new regulations.

Tom...

With river pollution more in the news than ever before, and sewage now a hot topic, Helen Czerski and Tom Heap investigate how we can restore the health of our rivers. They talk to the Rivers Trust, which this week released its latest ‘State of our Rivers’ report, and ask whether water quality has got better or worse since the last survey three years ago.

They delve into the history of our water system – from the creation of the Victorian sewer network after the “Great Stink” of 1858, to the 21st century Thames Tideway Tunnel, London’s super-sewer currently un...

The world's oceans have absorbed huge quantities of carbon dioxide, protecting us from the worst effects of climate change, but how much longer can they defend us? Join Helen Czerski in New Orleans at the world's biggest conference of marine science to meet the experts working to keep the ocean working for us.

Tom and Helen's guests from the American Geophysical Union conference include Jeremy Werdell of NASA and Jaime Palter of Rhode Island University.

With special thanks to the team at the AGU and David Mann of Loggerhead Instruments.

Produced by Alasdair...

Why do politicians have such trouble sticking to their environmental promises? Why are they happy to hug a husky one minute, desperate to ditch the 'green crap' the next?

As Labour ditch their £28bn commitment to green the economy, Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are joined by a panel of insiders to analyse the electoral gains and costs of environmental policies and consider the best strategies to maintain the focus of those in power on the greatest challenge to the planet.

Sophie Howe was the Future Generations Commissioner of Wales, charged with ensuring that government p...

Should we celebrate the arrival of new species to the UK or drive them out? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski investigate the role of alien invasive species in the British countryside and beyond. Tom and Helen hear about non native earthworms invading North America, posing a threat to forests by changing the soil. They discuss whether it's now time to be less judgmental about alien invasive species with Professor Chris Thomas, an expert in Anthropocene Biodiversity at the University of York. Rare Earth meets conservationists 'holding the line' against Grey Squirrels on Tayside, to give Red Squirrels a chance...

From the emotional balm of a walk in the woods to the first wooden skyscrapers, Tom Heap and Helen Czerski ask if we can replace a world of concrete and steel with a wooden utopia. Will the Wood Age be healthier for us and for the planet?

Michael Ramage of Cambridge University explains how the development of Cross-Laminated Timber makes it possible to build pretty much any building with wood while Tim Searchinger of Princeton University argues that turning forests into construction material has a high carbon cost for the planet.

Produced by Alasdair Cross...

Rare Earth is a new weekly podcast and radio show from BBC Radio Four which digs deeper into the biggest issues for our planet. Each week, environmental journalist Tom Heap and physicist Helen Czerski will tackle a major story about our environment and wildlife, work out how we got here and meet the brave and clever people with fresh ideas to help us- and nature- thrive.

Helen and Tom won’t shy away from the big stuff- temperatures rising while wildlife declines- but this won’t be a weekly dose of doom laden predictions and tortured hand-wringing. Rare...

Rare Earth is a new weekly podcast and radio show from BBC Radio Four which digs deeper into the biggest issues for our planet. Each week, environmental journalist Tom Heap and physicist Helen Czerski will tackle a major story about our environment and wildlife, work out how we got here and meet the brave and clever people with fresh ideas to help us- and nature- thrive.

Helen and Tom won’t shy away from the big stuff- temperatures rising while wildlife declines- but this won’t be a weekly dose of doom laden predictions and tortured hand-wringing. Rare...

Journalist Tom Heap and physicist Helen Czerski unpack a burning environmental issue each week, discovering fresh ideas and new ways to approach our relationship with nature.