Radical overhaul of construction industry needed if UK to have any chance of net zero by 2050 – new research

We know how to build a truly zero carbon house. So why are we not doing it, on a massive scale?

Ljubomir Jankovic, Professor of Advanced Building Design, University of Hertfordshire • conversation
Jan. 20, 2022 ~23 min

Drugs, robots and the pursuit of pleasure – why experts are worried about AIs becoming addicts

When people think about how AI might ‘go wrong’, most probably picture malevolent computers trying to cause harm. But what if we should be more worried about them seeking pleasure?

Anders Sandberg, James Martin Research Fellow, Future of Humanity Institute & Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford • conversation
Sept. 14, 2021 ~31 min


Should we genetically edit the food we eat? We asked two experts

Catherine Price, sociologist, and Nicola Patron, synthetic plant biologist, discuss the promises, dangers and concerns around gene edited and GM crops.

Catherine Price, Postdoctoral Researcher, Change in Agriculture, University of Reading • conversation
Aug. 11, 2021 ~22 min

Flesh-eating bugs: new research shows how carrion beetles turn death into life

Carrion beetles help stabilise the biology of the soil they live in.

Tancredi Caruso, Associate Professor, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin • conversation
June 22, 2021 ~23 min

Why the concept of net zero is a dangerous trap – podcast

The audio version of an in-depth article rounding on governments worldwide for using the concept of net zero emissions to "greenwash" their lack of commitment to solving global warming.

Wolfgang Knorr, Senior Research Scientist, Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University • conversation
May 10, 2021 ~2 min

Wasps: why I love them, and why you should too

We value bees for the jobs they do for the environment and us – why is the same not true of wasps?

Seirian Sumner, Professor of Behavioural Ecology, UCL • conversation
April 29, 2021 ~25 min

Climate scientists: concept of net zero is a dangerous trap

Prominent academics, including a former IPCC chair, round on governments worldwide for using the concept of net zero emissions to 'greenwash' their lack of commitment to solving global warming.

Wolfgang Knorr, Senior Research Scientist, Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University • conversation
April 22, 2021 ~27 min

Revealed: true cost of Britain's addiction to factory-farmed chicken

A lack of policy has allowed industrial chicken farms to multiply in certain parts of the UK – with a lack of consideration of the environmental and social impacts.

Alison Caffyn, Research Affiliate, Geography and Planning, Cardiff University • conversation
April 19, 2021 ~22 min


How we discovered a hidden world of fungi inside the world’s biggest seed bank

The idea that seed banks must be full of potentially helpful microfungi inside seeds was not a stretch, and yet no one had ever looked before.

Rowena Hill, PhD Candidate, Fungi, at Kew Gardens and, Queen Mary University of London • conversation
March 22, 2021 ~21 min

Durex condoms: how their teenage immigrant inventor was forgotten by history

This is the story of Lucian Landau, the forgotten man who invented the technology that made Durex boom.

Jessica Borge, Digital Collections (Scholarship) Manager at King’s College London Archives and Research Collections; Visiting Fellow in Digital Humanities, School of Advanced Study • conversation
Feb. 11, 2021 ~25 min

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