The Compass

Latest Episodes:

Back to school Nov 03, 2021

Show notes

Does the misunderstanding of science begin in schools? Science journalist and former BBC Science correspondent, Sue Nelson visits the UK’s National Space Centre to discover how space is being used to entice children into studying science. She also speaks to teachers around the world about the challenges of ensuring the next generation better understand the scientific and technological world around them.

Presenter: Sue Nelson Producer: Richard Hollingham

(Photo: Pupils of the Ecole Vivalys elementary school, wearing spacesuits costumes for their project Mission to Mars. Credit: Stefan Wermuth/Getty Images)

The Public Misunderstanding of Science: Racist robots Oct 27, 2021

Show notes

Sometimes it’s right to be sceptical about new technologies. US tech reporter Katherine Gorman joins Sue Nelson to report on artificial intelligence and how it’s rapidly pervading our lives. Katherine reports from New York on controversial facial recognition cameras and we hear how regulators are struggling to keep up with innovation.

Image: Concept illustration of an electronic eye (Credit: ValeryBrozhinsky/Getty Creative)

Toxic debates Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

Across Europe, activists fearful of 5G technology have attacked phone masts. Science journalist and former BBC Science correspondent Sue Nelson teams up with science reporter Hidde Boersma in the Netherlands to find out how conspiracy theories take root and what can be done to combat them. She also hears how scientists can improve their communication and what they have learnt from debates around climate change.

(Photo: Protesters march against 5G technology in 2019, The Hague, Netherlands. Credit: Michel Porro/Getty Images)

Trust: What is the best way to communicate public health messages? Oct 13, 2021

Show notes

Anti-vaxxers, flat Earthers, 5G arsonists and climate change deniers – why have so many people given up on science and where are governments, scientists and the media going wrong?

As Covid-19 continues to affect us all, what is the best way to communicate public health messages, when the bottom line is saving lives? Umaru Fofana reports from Sierra Leone on the Ebola prevention and vaccine campaigns and former BBC science correspondent, Sue Nelson, speaks to public health experts and fact checkers about efforts to combat misinformation.

(Photo: Pupils look at an Ebola prevention poster during a sensibilisation campaign provided by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in Abidjan. Credit: Sia Kambou/AFP/Getty Images)

Thailand: Asia’s sugar bowl Oct 06, 2021

Show notes

Lainy Malkani looks into the story of sugar in Thailand, now the second biggest exporter of sugar in the world. We hear how farmers there are coping with climate change, what sustainable production might look like and what sugar cane can be used for once the sweet juice has been removed, from fuel to water bottles. Lainy looks at the future of sugar, talking to those experimenting with sugar to try to make it healthier, like the company Douxmatok, who are hacking sugar crystals at a structural level in an effort to help us eat less of it without compromising on taste.

Presenter: Lainy Malkani Producer: Megan Jones

USA: Plantations and plains Sep 29, 2021

Show notes

Lainy Malkani focuses on the story of sugar in the USA. From one of the oldest confectionery shops in New Orleans where the local delicacy of pecan nut pralines are made every day, to a former sugar plantation along the Mississippi river, she hears about the role of sugar in the history of Louisiana.

She speaks to Khalil Gibran Mohammed about the legacy of sugar and slavery in the region, and hears from the manager of the Whitney plantation about what remains there today. From there to the sugar beet plains of the mid-West, Lainy looks at how sugar has influenced government policy over time, and how the commodity has become central to American culture, its diet and economy today.

Getting granular Sep 22, 2021

Show notes

Humans have always been delighted by sweetness. In this three part series Lainy Malkani explores how sugar forged the modern world, from its role in the slave trade and the European colonisation of the Americas, to the consequences of our dependency on it today. For some countries, their past is built on it; for others, their futures depend on it. Across Britain, the USA and Thailand, Lainy digs into the past, present and future of sugar.

Beginning in London, Lainy samples sweet treats in Brick Lane with the food writer Ruby Tandoh, examines sugar cane in the tropical Palm House at Kew Gardens with botanist Dr Maria Vorontsova, and traces sugar’s journey from luxury to necessity centuries ago with the historian James Walvin. She visits the West India Docks on the River Thames where sugar - harvested by slaves in the Caribbean – arrived for refining in the early 1800s, and considers how sugar has shaped the city today.

(Photo: Spoonful of sugar added to coffee)

Building a state Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

A decade after the end of dictatorship, Libya is gearing up for planned elections at the end of this year that many hope will finally bring a peaceful and democratic future. The country is slightly more stable since the end of civil war two years ago. But despite a peace agreement, it is still effectively split in two, politically and militarily. Separate forces control the two halves of the country, backed by different foreign powers. And some think war will break out again.

BBC reporter Tim Whewell, travels around Libya to find out what progress is being made towards building a state. He visits a spectacular horse-racing event - a sign of increasing prosperity. Travel around Libya is easier now. Some armed groups have been integrated into official police and army structures. Tim visits a new government checkpoint. But he discovers many people are still terrified of militias that appear to have been "regularised" in name only.

Activists and journalists who voice opinions that armed groups dislike can be threatened, and even abducted - with courts often powerless to intervene. One radio station which sprang up as a lively forum for debate after the revolution no longer dares to broadcast talk shows. Tim talks to a former presenter who was jailed and tortured by a militia after taking part in a young people's protest against corruption. He also interviews former interior minister Fathi Bashagha, who hopes to lead Libya after the elections. What is his plan to achieve security and justice? And what can be done to stem the rising numbers of Libyans attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean, seeking a new life in Europe?

Presenter: Tim Whewell Producer: Bob Howard

(Photo: Traditional Libyan horseman in Misrata, Libya Credit: BBC)

The rule of the gun Sep 08, 2021

Show notes

BBC reporter Tim Whewell, who covered the 2011 uprising, returns to the country to ask why plans to integrate the militias into a unified national army came to nothing. He talks to past and present militiamen - including the young man Wadah al-Keesh, who later left his group in disgust - and Mohammed al-Durat, truck-driver turned police commander, who has reunited with a band of friends to fight in every major battle over the last ten years - and believes he will in future too. Tim talks to revolutionary politician Abdul-Rahman al-Suwayhli and famous brigade commander Salah Badi about the lead-up to civil war - and hears too about its human cost from a young woman, Rasha Akhdar, who lost her father in fighting around Tripoli. Back in Britain, he learns the inside story of the UK's failed attempt to train a new Libyan fighting force from senior military officer Hugh Blackman - and asks former foreign secretary William Hague whether foreign powers could have adopted different policies to help stabilise Libya.

Libya's Revolution: A dream of freedom Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

In February 2011, the arrest of a human rights lawyer in Libya sparked an uprising against the 42-year dictatorship of Col Muammar Gaddafi. The Revolution spread - supported by foreign airstrikes - and within eight months Gaddafi was killed, his regime overthrown. It was one of the climactic moments of the 'Arab Uprisings’. But what happened afterwards to Libya's Revolution? Ten years on, it is still unfinished. It has brought thousands of deaths, civil war, a strategically vital and oil-rich country still effectively divided in two. BBC reporter Tim Whewell, who covered the 2011 uprising, returns to Libya to find out what went wrong.

Tim meets the lawyer Fathi Terbil - the "spark of the revolution", and Iman Bugaighis, spokesperson of the rebel government. Former British foreign secretary William Hague discusses the calculations that led to foreign intervention. Does he still believe the West was right to get involved?

(Photo: Libyan rebels and Benghazi residents celebrate the passing of a UN resolution on 18 March, 2011 in Bengazi, Libya.Credit: Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images)

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected