Category: Miniseries

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Land of the Giants - Planet YouTube

When Google bought YouTube, it went from being a company that helps users search the Internet, to a company that shapes the Internet itself. With 2 billion users, YouTube generates its own gravitational pull on society and culture worldwide. And as an open platform that allows anyone to upload videos, it's a force that even Google can't quite control.

  • Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz)
  • Guest co-host: Peter Kafka (@peterkafka)
  • Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode.
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Odessa - Part 1: The School Year Begins

Odessa is a four-part audio documentary series about one West Texas high school reopening during the pandemic — and the teachers, students and nurses affected in the process.

For the past six months, The New York Times has documented students’ return to class at Odessa High School from afar through Google hangouts, audio diaries, phone calls and FaceTime tours. And as the country continues to debate how best to reopen schools, Odessa is the story of what happened in a school district that was among those that went first.

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Land of the Giants - Chrome and the Android Wars

Today, nearly all of the world's smartphones are powered by Android. Which means Google is the gatekeeper to the Internet for billions of people. The story of Android is the story of how Google became so big. And it started with an existential threat. With Google in survivalist mode.

  • Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz)
  • Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode.
  • Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.
  • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Land of the Giants - The Search Begins

Some of the core values that built Google's runaway success — innovative technology to the max, an intellectually playful and open culture, and a corporate aspiration to do good ("Don’t be evil") — set it up for the existential questions it faces today. We examine how two grad students with a plan to search the Internet launched a company that would eventually become the gateway for the Internet for the entire world.

  • Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz)
  • Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode.
  • Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.
  • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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39 Ways to Save the Planet - More Power from the Sun

Electricity from the sun is cheap and clean but the solar cells we see on our rooftops could be much more efficient. Henry Snaith of Oxford PV has developed a new material which helps solar roof panels extract more energy from the solar spectrum. Tom Heap visits Henry's lab and joins Dr Tamsin Edwards to consider the carbon-cutting potential of a new generation of solar energy.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Researcher: Sarah Goodman

Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Professor Stephen Peake from the Open University.

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39 Ways to Save the Planet - Siberian Rewilding

Trees are often thought to be the good guys when it comes to climate change. In Siberia, however, it's not always the case. The landscape was changed when humans arrived and the forest that took over from grasslands is causing problems. In Pleistocene Park, Russian scientists are carrying out a radical rewilding - removing trees and reintroducing species of grazing animals to help protect the permafrost - the deep frozen ground - from thawing and releasing methane into the atmosphere. Tom Heap and Dr Tamsin Edwards consider how this ambitious idea could help in the fight against climate change.

Producer : Anne-Marie Bullock

Researcher: Sarah Goodman

Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Professor Vincent Gauci from the University of Birmingham.

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39 Ways to Save the Planet - Phenomenal Photosynthesis

Some food crops convert just one percent of the sun's energy into edible food. If we can improve the process of photosynthesis we can grow more food on less land. Tom Heap visits a Yorkshire greenhouse to meet the team from Glaia with a cunning idea to do just that. Back in the studio, Dr Tamsin Edwards, climate scientist and fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, considers the potential impact on our global carbon emissions.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Researcher: Sarah Goodman

Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Professor Vincent Gauci from the University of Birmingham.

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39 Ways to Save the Planet - Chilling Food

Chilled lorries are the backbone of our food distribution system, keeping our pork pies and hummus safe and fresh on route to the supermarket. The problem for our air quality and carbon emissions is that many of the refrigeration units are powered by diesel engines.

Tom Heap meets a team converting these Transport Refrigeration Units from diesel to liquid nitrogen. If successful they could take a bite out of greenhouse gases in the west and, more importantly, offer a clean chilling option for farmers and food companies in the developing world. Food that spoils on the way to the consumer hurts farmers, causes hunger and increases carbon emissions. If meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables can be kept fresh for longer then everyone wins.

Dr Tamsin Edwards of King's College, London helps Tom calculate just how much carbon dioxide could be removed from the environment if we use techniques like this to slash food waste.

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock

Researcher: Sarah Goodman

Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Dr Harry Kennard from University College London.