Rare Earth

The shadowy world of wildlife crime is estimated to be one of the four biggest illegal trades in the world. It runs the gamut from the international smuggling of ivory and exotic pets to hare coursing and badger baiting. The impacts of wildlife crime vary - in some cases it means a threat to endangered species, in others it takes the form of cruelty to individual animals. Could the unregulated world of social media make it easier than ever for wildlife criminals to evade the authorities? Or will advances in tech - including exciting forensic breakthroughs - be enough to stop them in their tracks? With panellists:- Fiona Howie, wildlife veterinary pathologist at Scotland's Rural College - Neil D’Cruze, UK Director of international animal welfare organisation Four Paws - Christian Plowman, Program Manager - Wildlife Cybercrime at the International Fund for Animal Welfare Presented by Tom Heap & Helen CzerskiProducer - Beth Sagar-Fenton Assistant Producer - Georgia Graham Editor - Alasdair Cross

What can the legal system do to protect the environment? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski gather together a panel of legal and environmental experts to discuss their battles for the planet. How much protection does nature have in law at the moment, and do legal rights make any real difference in practice? They debate whether nature should be given official legal rights, like human rights.Today's panel: Paul Powlesland - barrister, campaigner, founder of Lawyers for Nature Laura Clarke - CEO of Client Earth Rosa Vásquez Espinoza - biologist, conservationist, founder of Amazon Research InternationalProducer: Emma CampbellAssistant Producer: Toby Field

Cornish fishermen this summer have had their usual catch of lobster and crab replaced by voracious octopus. Restaurant menus have had to be wiped and rewritten across the south-west, but what else has changed? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski ask why octopus have such a hold on our imagination and the science world, why the octopus has moved north and what its journey can tell us about the changing oceans.Joining Tom and Helen are the writer Sy Montgomery, marine biologist Dr Keith Hiscock MBE and octopus neuroscientist Dr Amy Courtney of the Marine Biological Association.Producer: Beth Sagar-FentonAssistant Producer: Toby Field

Helen Czerski and Tom Heap ask if nature is really red in tooth and claw. Is life all about survival of the fittest or are we all working together on a changing planet? They're joined by Rowan Hooper, author of Togetherness, lichen expert April Windle and Isabel Hardman, assistant editor of the Spectator magazine and author of The Natural Health Service: How Nature Can Mend Your Mind. Together they discuss the plants and insects that rely on deals with other species to keep themselves healthy, from fungus-farming ants to the Wood Wide Web that connects most living plants. April shows Helen the wondrous lichens of Hyde Park and Rowan discovers the orchids studied by Charles Darwin at his home in Kent. Producer: Ed PrendevilleAssistant Producer: Toby FieldSpecial thanks to English Heritage and The Royal Parks

How will the environment be changed by an Andy Burnham government? As the new parliamentary session opens, Tom Heap and Helen Czerski leaf through the government in-tray to reveal the big decisions that will need to be taken on energy, transport and nature protection.Discussing the issues from Rosebank to wildfires are Sky News Economics Editor, Ed Conway, climate scientist Corrine Le Quéré from the University of East Anglia and Michael Jacobs, former Special Advisor on the environment to Prime Minster Gordon Brown.Producers: Ed Prendeville and Beth Sagar-Fenton

Helen Czerski and Tom Heap investigate the environmental impact of volcanoes from prehistory to the present day, and find out about their cultural significance in art and literature. On today's panel: Dr Will Hutchison, volcanologist at the University of St Andrews; Hólmfríður Sigurðardóttir, who chairs the Surtsey Research Society in Iceland; and Fiona Stafford, Professor of English Language and Literature at Oxford University. Producer: Emma CampbellAssistant Producer: Toby Field

Who's the hero that will protect us from the impact of extreme heat, rain and whatever else climate change might throw at us in future? Forget someone in a cape, maybe it's the person quietly sketching buildings on a bit of paper. Architects shape the buildings we live in and rely on - can they change the way they work to make sure that our homes are smart enough to outpace the challenges of climate change? And can they lead the way in cleaning up the impact of the building industry? Or is the challenge just too great? We find out with the help of: - Isabel Allen, editor of Architecture Today - Barnabas Calder, reader in architecture at the University of Liverpool - Jay Morton, director of Bell Phillips Architects and incoming President Elect of RIBAWith thanks to Jess Hrivnak, and Melissa Mean and Jasmine Tippett from WeCanMake. Presented by Tom Heap and Helen CzerskiProduced by Beth Sagar-Fenton

Helen Czerski and Tom Heap discover how new technology lets us listen in to the extraordinary sounds of the planet's waterways. From the deepest ocean to the tributaries, rivers and streams, this is an exploration of the sound made under water by animals, humans, and yes even plants. From the snapping of shrimp to the bark of a John Dory, Tom and Helen ask how sound travels through water, how important it is and what is known about the purpose of these sounds. They also ask what impact human activity is having on the watery soundscapes and their inhabitants. Joining Tom and Helen are Marine Biologist Steve Simpson, Former Submariner Bob Mansergh, Principle Scientist Rosalyn Seddon and Eco-Acoustician Jack Greenhalgh.Producer: Ellie RicholdAssistant Producer: Toby Field

Is there any true wilderness left on our planet? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski consider the fear and fascination of the wild. They're joined by the writer Cal Flyn who has spent the last few years travelling the world in search of wilderness for her new book The Savage Landscape. Also with them are Steve Carver, professor of Rewilding and Wilderness Science at Leeds University and Sophie Grig, Research and Advocacy Director of Survival International. The travel writer and broadcaster Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent escapes the studio to visit the largest rewilding project in Wales. Can the conservationists get local people onside and boost the area's wildlife without provoking a negative reaction from local farmers? Produced by Alasdair Cross and Sarah Swadling

How can Britain- and the world- prepare itself for extreme heat? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski hear from the experts and from the people facing up to the hottest temperatures on the planet.David Shukman, former BBC Science Editor asks how Britain should react to the threat in his new book, The Response, while Alex Riley, author of Super Natural guides us through the strategies used by animals that thrive in the hottest places on Earth. Tom and Helen are also joined from Bangalore by Chandni Singh of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements who shares her knowledge of the Indian response to heatwaves that can push the mercury to 48 degrees centigrade and make human life impossible to sustain.Producer: Alasdair CrossAssistant Producer: Toby Field