Podcast Episodes

Helping animals cross the road and other obstacles

Irrigation pipes have been designed to double as mid-air walkways to help slow lorises cross open farmland in Indonesia; and a footbridge has been bu…

5 years, 4 months ago

Watching out for Gran with help from her toaster

As many countries contemplate the best way to care for an ageing population, a common question is how to support the elderly to continue living in th…

5 years, 4 months ago

How to reuse a demolished building

Is it possible to construct a new building, just by reusing materials from homes and offices that have been knocked down? That’s the dream of a pi…

5 years, 4 months ago

Using satellite photos to help distribute cash

Togo has found a high-tech way to identify people who need financial help in the pandemic and send them emergency cash, using satellite photos and mo…

5 years, 4 months ago

The magic greenhouse

A greenhouse cooled and humidified by seawater and the wind is transforming arid land. In Somaliland, vegetables have been grown in a spot previously…

5 years, 5 months ago

The secret to making your stuff last longer

The world generates more than two billion tonnes of rubbish every year. So we’re visiting companies in Sweden that want to make it easier to mend thi…

5 years, 5 months ago

Tackling sport’s concussion problem

Head injuries in sport can have a devastating effect on the brain, which is often only noticed later in life. So lots of people are investigating way…

5 years, 5 months ago

Beating superbugs

A small team of Indian scientists think they’ve found a new way to kill superbugs. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are killing hundreds of thousands of…

5 years, 5 months ago

How to store power in soil and salt

Giant towers of building blocks rising into the sky and huge vats packed with volcanic rock or molten salt are being used as massive batteries. Th…

5 years, 6 months ago

The breath of life

A clever invention is saving the lives of hundreds of children.

Pneumonia kills about 1.4 million children under five every year. Treatment with conce…

5 years, 6 months ago