Rare Earth

Latest Episodes:

Can lawyers save the planet? Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

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

Tentacular: The Wonderful World of the Octopus Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

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

All In This Together Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

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

Andy's Green In-Tray Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

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

Volcano Aug 21, 2026

Show notes

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

Drawing Our Future Homes Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

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

The Sound of Water Jun 27, 2026

Show notes

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

Into the Wild Jun 19, 2026

Show notes

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

Hotter Than Hell Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

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

Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

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