Rare Earth

The 2026 World Cup is expected to be the most environmentally costly yet. But are there alternative models that provide sporting thrills without the carbon cost?
Helen Czerski and Qasa Alom consider the climate impact of the biggest events and the impact of climate on sport at every level. Whether you're a hugely rich footballer sweltering in a World Cup final or a kid who can't play on a waterlogged pitch, the problem- and perhaps the solution- are the same.
Producers: Alasdair Cross and Robin Markwell
Assistant Producer: Toby Field
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University

President Trump has been very clear in his views on climate change but how much of his rhetoric will have real impacts on the environment in the US and worldwide? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are joined by an expert panel to examine the consequences for the planet's temperature and its wildlife of the second Trump administration.
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton
Assistant Producer: Toby Field
Rare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University

Plunge into the chilly embrace of the UK's lakes and you enter troubled waters. They're a place for recreation and an inspiration for our greatest poets but they're also on the frontline in the battle against pollution. The biggest lake in the British Isles, Lough Neagh, is plagued with toxic green algae that sucks the life out of its waters, but nobody seems able to stop the relentless flow of agricultural, industrial and domestic pollution that feed it. Meanwhile, Lake Windermere, birthplace of the Romantic movement, is suffering from a record number of illegal sewage spills that make wildwater swimming a dicey business.
Tom Heap and Helen Czerski paddle through the history and legends of our lakes and lochs, search for solutions to their present day problems and celebrate the natural life that still flocks to these beautiful places.
Producer: Emma Campbell
Assistant Producers: Rebecca Rooney and Toby Field
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University

This year London Zoological Society marks its 200th anniversary. Established in 1826, today it has around 8000 animals and claims to be "the original scientific zoo". In this programme, Helen Czerski and Tom Heap look back at the role of zoos across the centuries and ask where their future lies. From public entertainment to conservation projects, do they have a part to play in an age when technology means we can see animals virtually, up-close and in high-definition, without having to keep them in captivity? Tom and Helen visit the former site of Bristol zoo in Clifton, now awaiting development, and are joined in the studio by a panel of experts to discuss the history, future and philosophy of the zoo.
Producer: Emma Campbell
Assistant Producers: Toby Field and Rebecca Rooney
Rare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University

150 years ago the British research ship Challenger returned from a three and a half year voyage that changed the world. Plucking species from every ocean, at depths never explored before, the Challenger kick-started the science of oceanography and paved the way for a world connected by undersea communication cables.
To celebrate the Challenger's legacy, Helen Czerski and Tom Heap are at the world's biggest ocean science conference in Glasgow to ask what the next 150 years may hold. Is the age of the human explorer over, replaced by robots and DNA sampling, or is there still a space for wonder as we explore the depths of our planet's oceans?
With Tom and Helen at the AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting are three top ocean explorers- Kirsty McQuaid from Nelson Mandela University in South Africa, Murray Roberts of Edinburgh University and Sofie Spatharis of Glasgow University.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Assistant Producers: Toby Field and Rebecca Rooney
Rare Earth is produced in collaboration with the Open University