Radio
The BBC is launching a year long season of science and technology programming under the banner of Tomorrow’s World.
Published: 2 May 2017
Leo Johnson and Timandra Harkness (pictured above) examine implications - social, political, cultural and economic, of the big ideas that are set to transform the way society functions in FutureProofing. In the next series they will explore the future of the future (3 May), space colonisation (10 May), healthcare (17 May), wealth (24 May), sin (31 May) and miniaturisation (7 June).
FutureProofing (Wednesday 3 May - Wednesday 7 June, 8-8.30pm) is a returning series produced by Jonathan Brunert for BBC Radio 4.
The Digital Human
In BBC Radio 4’s The Digital Human, Aleks Krotoski explores the impact digital technology is having on the way we live.
The Digital Human (Monday’s at 4.30pm until 15 May) is a returning series produced by Caitlin Smith in Scotland for BBC Radio 4.
All In The Mind
Space And The Universe
The Toughest Job In The Universe (w/t)
The Toughest Job In The Universe (w/t) will see 12 men and women from all over the UK take on elements of the most extreme and demanding selection programme, normally reserved for real-life astronaut candidates.
Former astronaut and Commander of the International Space Station Chris Hadfield, alongside Kevin Fong and Dr Iya Whitely will lead the selection programme based on the space agencies’ application criteria. The first Canadian to walk in space, Chris will share the lessons he learnt that helped him succeed during three space missions and 166 days in space.
The Toughest Job in the Universe (w/t), a 6x60’ for BBC Two, is made by BBC Studios. The Executive Producer is Helen Thomas and the BBC Commissioning Editor, Natural History and Specialist Factual, is Craig Hunter.
Expedition New Earth
Professor Stephen Hawking thinks the human species will have to populate a new planet within 100 years if it is to survive. With climate change, overdue asteroid strikes, epidemics and population growth, our own planet is increasingly precarious.
In this landmark series, Expedition New Earth, he enlists engineering expert Prof Danielle George and his own former student, Christophe Galfard, to find out if and how humans can reach for the stars and move to different planets.
Taking in the latest advances in astronomy, biology and rocket technology, they travel the world in search of answers. From the Atacama desert to the wilds of the North Pole, from plasma rockets to human hibernation, they discover a whole world of cutting edge research. The journey shows that Prof Hawking’s ambition isn’t as fantastical as it sounds – that science fact is closer to science fiction than we ever thought.
Expedition New Earth a 2x60' for BBC Two is a Brook Lapping production, in partnership with The Open University. The Series Producer is Lucy Haken and the Executive Producer is Greg Sanderson. The BBC Commissioning Editor, Science, is Diene Petterle.
In All In The Mind, produced in partnership with The Open University Claudia Hammond looks at ground-breaking ideas in mental health, neuroscience and psychology about the way we think, the way we feel, and the way we behave. In the next series returning this autumn, a special episode will ask, when we look back on mental health care in fifty years’ time what we will think about the way we considered the mind? Claudia Hammond explores how cutting edge research is transforming out understanding of the brain and what might happen in the future.
All In The Mind (Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC Radio 4 from 31 October) is a returning ten-part series edited in London by Deborah Cohen for BBC Radio 4.
The Innovators
In this new four-part series, The Innovators, Sarah Montague (pictured above) interviews people who have delivered remarkable breakthroughs in their chosen field. Following on from their two successful series of The Educators, Joel Moors and Sarah Montague produce a series of in depth interviews with a variety of truly remarkable thinkers who are changing the world and, in some cases, the way we think about the world. Interviews will be drawn from a range of specialist areas such as health, technology, science and environment. Those featured will be voices rarely heard on radio.
The Innovators will be produced by Joel Moors in Salford for BBC Radio 4.
Mars
As part of a commitment to exploring new ideas and science, in March BBC Radio 4 broadcast a week of programming about Mars from the latest science to science fiction and our imaginative relationship with the Red Planet, which is available to listen to online.
The Rise Of The Robots
And in February Adam Rutherford, charted the rise of the robots in a three-part series exploring how they already are transforming our lives, what they will do in the future, and why we should think carefully. The Rise of the Robots produced by Deborah Cohen is available online.
