The Documentary Podcast Folgen

Justin looks at the period since the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, which had seen a steadily cooling climate - until we humans turned up. What can the last 66 million years teach us about the likely consequences of climate change? And can our species make the next big evolutionary leap needed to tackle it? Adrian Lister of the Natural History Museum gives Justin a fossilised tour of how the Earth's fauna adapted to this changing climate.

When Aids began to emerge in the USA and Europe in the 1980s, South Africa was a fractured country, divided by Apartheid. During this time, the ruling National Party seemed disinterested in preventing a disease which was mainly affecting black people and gay men. The fall of Apartheid and the inauguration of President Nelson Mandela didn't improve the situation - the country's first black president was overwhelmed with rebuilding a fragile nation, and the problem of HIV-Aids was pushed down the list of government priorities. But perhaps the most malignant factor shaping South Africa's response to the Aids crisis, was the influence of President Thabo Mbeki, who bought into conspiracies and misinformation, propagated by a fervent Aids denialism movement.

As world leaders, scientists and activists prepare for the UN climate change conference in Scotland, host Nuala McGovern hears how sea level rise is affecting islands in the Caribbean Sea, the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. People from the Bahamas, the US Florida Keys and a beach restaurant owner in Jamaica share their experiences of disappearing landscapes and their concerns for the future.