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Episode details

Radio 4,22 Sep 2025,14 mins

1. All great quests start with a map

Looking for No Man's Land

Available for over a year

Humans have spread to every corner of the globe, transforming ecosystems and reshaping landscapes. Is there anywhere left on Earth that is unaffected by humans? Anywhere we haven’t changed – at all? Presenter Caroline Steel and producer Florian Bohr set out in search of No Man’s Land... if it exists. In this first episode, we start by ruling places out. With the help of environmental scientist Erle Ellis and the head of NASA’s scientific visualisation team Mark Subbarao, we explore maps that reveal humanity’s astonishing global footprint – and wonder whether we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. Presenter: Caroline Steel Producer: Florian Bohr Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Stuart Laws

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