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Episodes
Join Dr Sam Illingworth as he provides insight into new scientific research via the medium of poetry.
Episodes
Monday Aug 19, 2019
Monday Aug 19, 2019
Methane is the second most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, accounting for about 20% of global emissions. Over the last decade there has been a significant increase in the amount of methane emitted into our atmosphere, and new research suggests that fracking is likely to be partly responsible for this increase. In this episode I explore this research and what it means for our environment.
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Read this episode’s science poem here.
Read the scientific study that inspired it here.
Read ‘Fracking, North Dakota’ by David Olsen here.
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Music by Rufus Beckett.
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Follow Sam on social media and send in any questions or comments for the podcast:
Email: sam.illingworth@gmail.com
Twitter: @samillingworth
Monday Aug 12, 2019
Monday Aug 12, 2019
Between 2002 and 2017, 1,558 people across 50 countries were killed for defending their environments and lands; this is more than double the number of United Kingdom and Australian armed service people killed on active duty in war zones over the same period. In this episode I explore some of the research which aims to understand where this is happening and how it can be stopped.
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Read this episode’s science poem here.
Read the scientific study that inspired it here.
Read ‘Extinction’ by Jackie Kay here.
Find out more about Global Witness here.
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Music by Rufus Beckett.
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Follow Sam on social media and send in any questions or comments for the podcast:
Email: sam.illingworth@gmail.com
Twitter: @samillingworth
Monday Aug 05, 2019
Monday Aug 05, 2019
Trees and plants use carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, removing it from the atmosphere. In this episode of the podcast I investigate how forest elephants help to make this process more efficient, and how their extinction will have negative effects on global warming.
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Read this episode’s science poem here.
Read the scientific study that inspired it here.
Read ‘The Elephant Graveyard’ by Roy Marz here.
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Music by Rufus Beckett.
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Follow Sam on social media and send in any questions or comments for the podcast:
Email: sam.illingworth@gmail.com
Twitter: @samillingworth
Monday Jul 29, 2019
Monday Jul 29, 2019
Recent research has shown that global warming might be responsible for an increase in fungal infections amongst humans. In this episode of the podcast I investigate the research behind these claims, and what it means for future climates.
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Read this episode’s science poem here.
Read the scientific study that inspired it here.
Read ‘The Book of the Dead Man (Fungi)’ by Marvin Bell here.
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Music by Rufus Beckett.
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Follow Sam on social media and send in any questions or comments for the podcast:
Email: sam.illingworth@gmail.com
Twitter: @samillingworth
Monday Jul 22, 2019
Monday Jul 22, 2019
Recent scientific research has found that radiation levels in parts of the central Pacific Ocean, where the United States conducted nuclear tests during the Cold War, are up to 1,000 times higher than in samples from areas affected by the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters. This episode explores what this means for the islanders.
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Read this episode’s science poem here.
Read the scientific study that inspired it here.
Read ‘Tell Them’ by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner here.
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Music by Rufus Beckett.
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Follow Sam on social media and send in any questions or comments for the podcast:
Email: sam.illingworth@gmail.com
Twitter: @samillingworth