logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
36m 11s

What makes a healthy river?

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Sep 3
The quest for dark matter
The quest for Dark Matter just got interesting. Researchers on an international project called the Lux-Zeplin (LZ) Dark Matter Experiment reported they may have discovered the signature of a bit of Dark Matter passing through an underground mine in South Dakota. Kimberly Palladin ... Show More
26m 28s
Aug 27
The day of the datacentres
Reports about the impacts of datacentres, including carbon emissions, water usage and power consumption, vary drastically and the truth can be hard to decipher. Deborah Andrews, Emeritus Professor at London South Bank University, joins us for some myth busting. Plus, science jour ... Show More
26m 28s
Aug 20
Is the era of the cancer vaccine upon us?
This week Merck (known as MSD in Europe) and Moderna announced that a personalised cancer vaccine had significantly improved the outcomes of melanoma patients. Is the era of the cancer vaccine, at last, upon us? What does that mean? Anne Willis, a cancer cell biologist at the Med ... Show More
26m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2022
CRY ME A RIVER: How to save the UK’s rivers
This week we’re giving Ed another reason to talk about his swimming, and diving into our rivers. Rivers are such an important part of our landscape, ecosystems and communities. They provide two thirds of our water supplies and support a vast array of wildlife, but are in bad shap ... Show More
47m 33s
Nov 2021
Canoeing the Cam
Britain's rivers are in crisis, with only 14% of them deemed to be in a good ecological state. Chalk streams are particularly vulnerable, as so much is taken out of them for use in our water supplies. Pollution from sewage and agricultural run-off only add to the problem. In this ... Show More
27m 55s
Feb 2023
#169 Why the US is shooting down UFOs; the science behind period cravings; saving the UK’s rivers
The UK’s rivers are in a dire state. Full of sewage, chemicals and prescription drugs, life in our rivers is suffering. New Scientist has teamed up with the i newspaper to launch the Save Britain’s Rivers campaign to raise awareness of the issue and get changes in the law. The te ... Show More
31m 14s
Aug 2024
Why is our water so dirty?
<p>Pollution has been piling up in our waters for years, damaging areas of natural beauty and even infecting drinking water in some areas of the country. Water companies like Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water have now found themselves paying millions of pounds ... Show More
39m 44s
Jul 2025
Why rivers need human rights
A council in Hampshire has passed a motion to grant ‘personhood’ to the River Test, an ancient chalk stream which runs through the county. Although largely symbolic, calls for rivers to have rights are becoming more widespread. What’s driving this burgeoning environmental movemen ... Show More
25m 7s
Jul 2025
Robert Macfarlane: "Is a River Alive?"
Robert Macfarlane of Cambridge University shares his extraordinary journey writing and researching his latest book “Is a River Alive?” and explains why a river can be viewed very much as a metaphor for life, always flowing, twisting, changing and adapting while at the same time p ... Show More
48m 34s
Aug 2023
Sick river: saving the Brent
Cities are where the battle to save planet earth will be won and lost. But it is not the urban environment that matters, but our relationship with nature within it. What can the story of one dying river, plagued by sewage and indifference, and the campaign to save it, teach us ab ... Show More
41m 31s
Oct 2021
119. Join a music festival on the River Wye and meet the folk trying to save the "Queen of Rivers"
Enjoy wonderful folk music beside the River Wye and listen to the story of campaigners "Walking with the Wye" to raise awareness of the river's sad plight due to pollution. Recorded by Maria Hodson. With thanks to the Plump Hill Band, Tracey Dixon, Rob Swannack, Dick Brice and Ro ... Show More
43m 41s
May 2024
The Kings and Queens of "the Water Prom"
The Colorado River – and the people that rely on it – are in a state of crisis. Climate change and overuse are taking a significant toll. Seven states must compromise and reach a solution to prevent the river from collapsing. In late 2023, tensions were running high between the m ... Show More
45m 18s