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Uncharted: The golden spike
Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery.
At a conference in Mexico, one scientist’s outburst sparks a global quest to find a ‘golden spike’ - the boundary marking the shift into a new geological period dominated by humans, not volcanoes or asteroids. From plastics and concrete to nuclear fallout, the data they uncover reveals a planet profoundly altered. But can they convince their colleagues and the world of the extent of this transformation? Meanwhile, in a small Italian city nestled in the Apennine mountains, a series of low-level tremors raise the question: Is this just a passing phase, or a warning of something much more devastating?
Last on
Mon 10 Feb 202501:32GMT
BBC World Service except Americas and the Caribbean
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- Mon 3 Feb 202521:32GMTBBC World Service except Online, Americas and the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East & UK DAB/Freeview
- Tue 4 Feb 202505:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia, Americas and the Caribbean, South Asia & East Asia only
- Tue 4 Feb 202513:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa only
- Mon 10 Feb 202501:32GMTBBC World Service except Americas and the Caribbean
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