Single-Handedly Reforesting India

A mine collapse left 33 miners trapped a half-mile below the surface in an underground shelter. It would take an international team of rescuers 69 days to save them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 

Doctors said Fauja Singh may never walk. So they’d be pretty surprised to learn that he became the first 100-year-old to run a marathon, and the oldest known person to run a marathon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 

Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Give Tarrare lizards, snakes, and a squirming eel, he’ll eat those too… along with rocks, bandages, and trash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 

Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel's visionary work transformed the landscapes of India. From humble beginnings in Germany to an apprenticeship at Kew Gardens, Krumbiegel’s journey led him to Baroda, where he became the trusted landscape architect of the Maharaja. Designing the iconic Bri ... Show More

How did plants power imperialism? Gardening may be a quintessentially British hobby, but many of the familiar plants in our lives have a global – and colonial – history. From “fern-mania” leading wealthy Victorians to decimate environments around the world collecting ferns for t ... Show More

Our glaciers are melting, our forests are on fire, our harvests are increasingly decimated by either floods and drought. We are in a climate emergency that threatens our very survival, and it is, frankly, incredibly depressing. But this episode, we’ve got the story of one of the ... Show More

Tristan Hughes goes on an exploration of Hawaii's earliest settlers, guided by the insights of Dr. Patrick Kirch, a leading expert on Hawaiian archeology. From the arrival of Polynesians around AD 1000, using sophisticated double-hull canoes, to their unique agricultural practice ... Show More

Kew Gardens near London is one of the most famous botanical gardens in the world, welcoming countless visitors every year. But what many visitors may not know is that the history of Kew and that of the British Empire are intimately intertwined… At the height of the empire, Queen ... Show More

In as early as 5000 BC the vast and spectacular city of Uruk - replete with towering walls, glistening temples and complex irrigation systems - lay sprawled across the face of Southern Mesopotamia. Not only is Uruk the oldest city in the world, but it is arguably one of the most ... Show More

Against all odds, Babur defeats Sultan Lodi and captures Delhi. But despite the wealth that India can provide him, Babur hates his new home. He complains of the heat, the lack of his favourite fruits, and the culture. Yet he is a masterful tactical ruler, and begins to shape a Mu ... Show More

People love to fill their homes with beautiful plants, but this is not a new phenomenon. The trade in wild plants and seeds has a complex history that stretches back into the past and across the world. Ahead of the Gardeners’ World Autumn Plant Fair at Audley End, Amy Matthews is ... Show More

<p>2000 years ago, in the year 9 AD, a Roman Army walked into a trap deep in wilds of Germania. Over 15,000 men were massacred at Teutoburg Forest, making it one of the bloodiest ambushes in history. But what happened next?&nbsp;</p><br><p>Today's episode of the Ancients continue ... Show More

A young woman must decide her future: planting seeds and forging civilization on Mars, or caretaking for future generations on Earth. This story originally appeared in Cast of Wonders. Find more from the author at annazumbro.com.Content advisory: climate change and ecological col ... Show More