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Sep 2024
15m 52s

17. The Golden Spike

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

At a conference in Mexico, one scientist’s outburst launches a global quest.

Hannah Fry follows a group of researchers on the hunt for a ‘golden spike’: the boundary, marking a shift into a dramatic new geological period dominated, not by volcanoes and asteroids, but the influence of humans.

From plastics and concrete to nuclear fallout, the data they uncover reveals a planet profoundly changed. But can these scientists persuade their colleagues - and the world?

Producer: Ilan Goodman Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls Story Editor: John Yorke

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