logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2020
18m 28s

Holding back the floods

Financial Times
About this episode

Global warming is set to cause a significant rise in sea levels as the world's polar ice melts. The Netherlands is the best-protected delta in the world, with centuries of experience in holding back the floods. As climate change takes its toll, can Dutch expertise help save the world’s cities that are most at risk? Simon Kuper looked into this question for the FT's weekend magazine and he tells Esther Bintliff what he discovered. Read Simon's magazine article here


Contributors: Simon Kuper, FT columnist, and Esther Bintliff, FT Weekend Magazine deputy editor. Producer: Fiona Symon


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Mar 2020
Introducing: The Rachman Review
Life in Europe's coronavirus hotspots: Foreign affairs columnist Gideon Rachman discusses how the coronavirus epidemic has been handled in Italy and Spain with the local FT correspondents, Miles Johnson in Rome and Daniel Dombey in Madrid. How are citizens reacting to the lockdow ... Show More
17m 59s
Mar 2020
Republican $1tn plan, Paul Tucker on damage limits
The FT News Briefing is a rundown of the global business stories you need to know for the coming day, from the newsroom of the Financial Times. If you enjoy it, subscribe to the FT News Briefing wherever you get your podcasts, or listen at FT.com/newsbriefing.Friday, March 20Repu ... Show More
10m 56s
Mar 2020
Rana Foroohar on the trillion dollar fightback, Biden sweep
The FT News Briefing is a rundown of the global business stories you need to know for the coming day, from the newsroom of the Financial Times. If you enjoy it, subscribe to the FT News Briefing wherever you get your podcasts, or listen at FT.com/newsbriefing. Western governments ... Show More
7m 56s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2025
Floods, mangroves and rampaging tractors
This week, floods have hit the global headlines. First up, we delve into the various reasons why floods form. After learning about the causes of floods, we discover a nature-based solution in the form of mangrove forests. Laura Michie from the Mangrove Action Project tells us why ... Show More
49m 30s
Dec 2021
The global risk of flooding — and how to turn the tide | Virginia Smith
From village to metropolis, global flooding is on the rise, and traditional approaches to managing the swells won't cut it, says water resource engineer Virginia Smith. Giving an overview of the dynamic shift needed to stymie the flow of future storm waters, she explains how each ... Show More
11m 37s
Apr 2023
The Race To Protect Millions Of People From Melting Glaciers
Melting glaciers are leaving behind large, unstable lakes that can cause dangerous flash floods. Millions of people downstream are threatened. In today's episode, NPR Climate Desk reporter Rebecca Hersher and producer Ryan Kellman take Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong to a communit ... Show More
14m 33s
Sep 2021
To a Lesser Degree: Trailer
Rising global temperatures have already increased the frequency of floods, wildfires, droughts, and heatwaves around the world. If humanity does not change course rapidly, the effects of climate change will become more extreme.What can be done to avoid this outcome?Vijay Vaithees ... Show More
1m 31s
Jun 2023
Give Rivers Space: The Simple Flood Risk Fix
With much of California's massive snowpack yet to melt, downstream communities remain on high alert for flooding. Hundreds of homes were destroyed or damaged during the record-breaking winter, which tested the state's aging flood infrastructure. To prevent flooding, communities o ... Show More
10m 25s