Feb 2024

Mission 2: Meet the engineers quietly fixing noise pollution

INCOMING TRANSMISSION Agents - our sensors have detected that noise pollution is the second most harmful environmental health issue, contributing to thousands of serious illnesses and premature deaths. To discover how responsible engineering can help us combat noise pollution, Ag ... Show More

39m 14s

Feb 2024

Mission 3: Decoding the internet of skills

INCOMING TRANSMISSION Agents - the bods in ‘D’ Branch believe the recent advances in networks, robotics, VR and haptics mean we could transcend our physical boundaries…so is it time we stopped talking about the internet of things and started talking about the internet of skills? ... Show More

37m 30s

Feb 2024

Mission 4: Working smart and living sustainably in the cities of the future

INCOMING TRANSMISSION Agents - according to our sources, over half the world’s population live in a city - a figure expected to reach 7 BILLION by 2050. What’s more, cities account for 80% of global GDP and over 70% of global CO2 emissions! To investigate how responsible engineer ... Show More

38m 36s

Jul 2021

Dare to repair: Fixing the future

Mark Miodownik, explores the environmental consequences of the throwaway society we have become and reveals that recycling electronic waste comes second to repairing broken electronics. He asks what we can learn from repair cultures around the world , he looks at manufacturers wh ... Show More

27m 15s

Nov 2023

Tackling e-waste around the world

Shiona McCallum reports from Kenya on ways people there are tackling e-waste and helping to recycle electronic products. It is one of the fastest growing streams of waste, with an estimated 50 million tonnes produced globally every year. Also in this episode Alasdair Keane has be ... Show More

27m 22s

Jul 2021

Dare to Repair: How we broke the future

Materials engineer Professor Mark Miodownik looks back to the start of the electronics revolution to find out why our electronic gadgets and household goods are less durable and harder to repair now. As he attempts to fix his digital clock radio, he reveals that the drive for che ... Show More

27m 15s

Apr 2024

Space junk

This week on Tech Life we are looking at the problem of space junk, the man-made debris hurtling around our planet. Could it threaten some of the everyday tech we all rely on?Also this week, don't you just hate it when stuff doesn't work? Are internet and social media outages bec ... Show More

26m 29s

Mar 2022

Function

Aleks Krotoski explores who owns the function of the devices we use, and why we need the right to repair and hack the things we consume.

29m 14s

May 2023

What's the deal with chips?

Tech Life explores the chips found in everyday tech, and why governments are competing to make them. We hear how scientists in New Zealand are turning underground broadband cables into a source of earthquake detection. Also in this programme how simulation tech is helping a South ... Show More

27m 45s

Jan 2024

Rescue Tech

Sonar and AI have been brought together in a hand-held device that can find humans underwater. We speak to its inventor and an underwater search team leader. Chris Vallance examines voice cloning and has a telephone conversation with artificial intelligence. Shiona McCallum repor ... Show More

27m 32s

Jan 2023

Repair, Repurpose, Reimagine (2022)

Original broadcast date: Friday, May 20, 2022. "Reduce, reuse, recycle." We've heard that for decades - but does it work? This hour, TED speakers reimagine the well-known slogan and reconsider how we think about what we consume and throw away. Guests include right-to-repair advoc ... Show More

50m 8s

Mission 1: Is it time to stop buying and...