Rare Earth

Latest Episodes:

Hiding in Plain Sight Dec 05, 2025

Show notes

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 Street Siân Moxon, who's also Associate Professor Sustainable Architecture at London Metropolitan University.

Producer: Emma Campbell Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University

The Evolution of Evolution Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

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

Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University

Fashioning the Future Nov 21, 2025

Show notes

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 consultant with decades of industry experience.

After you listen to this you might never see your clothes the same way again.

Featuring: Patrick Grant - Presenter and entrepreneur Kate Fletcher - Professor of Sustainability, Design and Fashion Systems in the Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University Simon Platts – Sustainability consultant

Skye Pennant Julian Ellis-Brown & Finlay Duncan

Presented by Tom Heap & Helen Czerski Produced by Beth Sagar-Fenton & Toby Field Mixed by Ilse Lademann Editor: Alasdair Cross

COP30: A New Hope? Nov 14, 2025

Show notes

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 our time.

With them are Nigel Topping, Chair of the UK Climate Change Committee, Corinne Le Quéré, professor of climate change science at the University of East Anglia, Anna Åberg from the Chatham House think tank and Georgina Rannard, BBC Climate and Science correspondent.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University

Trains on Trial Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

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 association with the Open University

Great Migrations Sep 19, 2025

Show notes

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 and Martha Kearney visits Britain's migration hotspot, Fair Isle.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Assistant Producers: Toby Field and Georgia Christie

Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University

World of Steel Sep 12, 2025

Show notes

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

Engineering the Planet Sep 05, 2025

Show notes

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 Producer: Toby Field

Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University

Creatures of the Night Aug 29, 2025

Show notes

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

The Risk Takers Aug 22, 2025

Show notes

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 role of the insurance industry in the climate crisis. Why can new homes in floodplains be insured? Are the rest of us subsidising risky behaviour with our own premiums? And are those in the industry trying to take revolutionary steps to prevent further climate damage?

Contributors include: - Dr Lisa Dale, Senior Lecturer at Columbia University’s Climate School - Dr Franziska Arnold-Dwyer, Associate Professor of Law at UCL and author of 'Insurance, Climate Change and the Law’ - Lee Harris, insurance correspondent at the Financial Times - Lindsay Keenan, environmental campaigner

Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton

Rare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University

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