Wild birds in crisis

BBC Inside Science

BBC

Technology, Science

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 17 April 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Every species of wild bird in the UK is continuing to decline at a stark rate – according to the latest data.

Guest presenter Ben Garrod wants to understand why wild birds are in trouble despite government promises to halt nature decline by 2030.

Ben goes birdwatching in Norfolk to see the impact for himself and then heads back to the studio to hear about the kind of threats birds face and what is happening to tackle the problem. Also this week, after two stranded Nasa astronauts were finally brought home to Earth following a nine-month stint in space, we ask why it was such a big moment for SpaceX – and what this might mean for Nasa.

Science journalist Caroline Steel drops in with her picks of the week’s news, including dark oxygen and floating iguanas, and we find out what makes a good day according to science...

Presenter: Ben Garrod Producers: Dan Welsh, Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt Field Producer: Stephanie Tam Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth 

To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi Curios, I'm Dara Brien.
0:03.0	And I'm Hannah Frye.
0:04.0	And we are back for another series of curious cases.
0:07.0	Where we investigate the scientific mysteries sent in by you.
0:11.0	I would like to know if anything in the universe is truly invisible.
0:14.0	Why do we lie?
0:16.0	What happens to our brains when we fall in love?
0:19.0	We tackle the mysteries of the universe through audacious experiments and expert insight.
0:23.9	Curious cases.
0:24.9	Listen first on BBC Sounds.
0:29.7	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:33.8	You're listening to BBC Inside Science
0:36.0	first broadcast on the 20th of March 2025.
0:39.2	I'm Ben Garrett.
0:40.4	And in this week's deep dive into science, we'll be looking at why our UK bird populations
0:45.3	are still in decline.
0:47.1	Also this week...
0:48.4	Welcome back to planet Earth, and thanks for flying SpaceX.
0:52.3	After two NASA astronauts were finally brought home to Earth, we asked why it was SpaceX that was in the limelight and what this might mean for NASA.
1:01.5	And I'm joined by science journalist Caroline Steele, who's rounded up all the big science news of the week.
1:07.0	What have you got for us, Caroline?
1:08.2	So I've got mysterious oxygen found in the deep sea, the journey of adventurous iguanas from the Americas to Fiji, and what science tells us about how to have a good day.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 21 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.