Unearthed - The need for seeds, with Cate Blanchett
From the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Unearthed returns — celebrating 25 years of the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst, the most biodiverse place on our planet. Hosted by Cate Blanchett, Kew’s ambassador for Wakehurst, this series explores the story of the world’s largest wild seed bank — a vault and living laboratory where science and conservation meet. From restoring habitats to protecting biodiversity, these seeds hold the promise of our planet’s future. This is no distant insurance policy. It’s one we’re already relying on — and one that will only grow in importance as our climate changes and biodiversity is lost.
Episodes
Trailer
James Wong introduces "Unearthed", launching August 5th 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Uncovering a multi-million pound smuggling trade
One wintery morning in 2014, somebody stole a tiny and extremely rare waterlily from the collection at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was never seen again, and they were never caught. James Wong begins his journey into the mysterious world of plants and fungi by looking at the criminal underworld of plant trafficking. Speaking to Border Force, Kew scientists and advisors, James learns about th
The curry killer: How Kew helped bring a murderer to justice
Plants have the power to cure – and also kill. In this episode we hear how a spurned woman murdered her lover with just a mysterious plant substance. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew was instrumental in the race to identify the material, and how it was used, so to bring the killer to justice. James Wong hears how specialist plant knowledge uncovered the mystery from forensic samples, and a med
Curious cures and mysterious medicines
Deep in some of the world’s most hard-to-reach places lies a wealth of plant knowledge that could offer the next life-saving cure. In this episode, James Wong explores how Kew scientists works alongside remote communities on the ground to understand plants’ medicinal properties. And there’s a history lesson in it too, as James learns of the enormous impact that humble quinine, (f
Zombies, tripping and the everyday normality of fantastic fungi
In this episode James Wong learns how there’s nothing weirder and more wonderful than the everyday. Hear about the depression trials that have seen sufferers tripping on magic mushrooms, and the zombie fungus that causes ants to explode. Fungi may get a bad press for growing on your shower curtain or fridge, but there’s so much more to this amazing kingdom, so we gave it a whole episod
Harm or Harmony: How safe are we from the foods we eat?
4 years ago, 15 year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse lost her life to a severe sesame allergy. In this episode, James Wong speaks to Natasha’s parents Tania and Nadim, who worked with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to confirm the plant substance that caused their daughter’s death and on their fight to change the law. We hear from the experts: Professor Monique Simmonds OBE explains how Kew
The Disappearing Forests: Is ecocide a crime?
Time is running out for the world’s forests, ecosystems and the life they support. The consequences for human life and climate could be catastrophic – unless we take action now. In this episode James Wong speaks to scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to understand how forest loss and timber trafficking presents massive problems for future generations – and how they are
Dirt on our hands: Overcoming botany’s hidden legacy of inequality
Dirt on our hands: Overcoming botany’s hidden legacy of inequality In this special episode of Unearthed, professional plant geek, author, and broadcaster James Wong explores the histories of inequality and personal experiences that lie behind a seemingly democratic and wholesome world of plants. From the colonial history of plant collections and our perceptions of what form a &ls
Unearthed: Journeys Into The Future Of Food, From The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Coming on Thursday 6th October 2022
The way we produce and consume food is having a devastating impact on our natural world. How can we avoid disaster, and feed the world well? Unearthed: Journeys into the future of food, from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, explores our contemporary relationship with food: what are we eating? What is it doing to our health and the health of the planet? And how are livelihoods and agriculture changi
We have a problem
The food we eat connects us to the wider world; to global history, cultures and traditions. But the practises we’ve ended up with today mean that our systems are failing and many of our favourite foods and farming practises are heading towards extinction. In this first episode, Advolly Richmond explores the history of our relationship with food and how it’s led us to harmful modern-day production
Supermarkets, supply and waste
James Wong takes a look at what you can do at home, versus what big business and supermarket giants are doing to make sure our food choices are transparent and production is fair and sustainable. He speaks with the Former Director at Sainsbury’s and Kew Trustee Judith Batchelar, as well as Anna Taylor of the Food Foundation. Our food habits are exposing wild inequalities in our world: whilst more
“The Red List”: Biodiversity loss and food
Advolly Richmond is exploring how food production methods and climate change today are exacerbating issues of biodiversity loss. As conditions change and human activity intervenes with environments, entire ecosystems are thrown out of balance, and the consequences for species are dire. We could be losing plants and species science hasn’t even named, all due to harmful agricultural practises and ac
Agriculture and Livelihoods
This time, Poppy Okocha’s looking at our relationship with growing and producing foods around the world. She meets up with Jeremy Torz, one of the founders of Union Hand Roasted Coffee, to find out how one coffee brand is protecting producers and delicate environments in Ethiopia. Many livelihoods and traditions are being threatened by changing climatic conditions, yet many of these age-old practi
Foods of the Future
With so many of our favourite foods facing extinction, including bananas, chocolate and coffee, what will be on our kitchen tables in the future? In this episode, James Wong looks at what actions we need to take today, to secure nutritious and disease-resilient food in the future. Hear from artists and designers Sharp and Sour on how they create installations to shock the public into the realities
How Should We Be Growing Food?
If you have a window box, veg patch or allotment, how does the way you are growing food change your relationship with it? In this episode of Unearthed, grower and forager Poppy Okocha hears how communities and farmers are producing food around the world, with the environment and changing climates in mind. Food educator, agriculturalist and cook Dee Woods joins Dr Caroline Cornish to discuss how
Food, Health and Wellbeing in Daily Life
To round off this series, we’re heading into our own kitchens and examining how our food choices can make for better health and a better world. Advolly Richmond is joined by plant scientists and top chefs to ask how the food industry can help challenge inequality and imbalances in our food systems, and how we can all make a difference, starting in our own kitchens. Plant medicine expert Dr Melan
Unearthed Returns: Nature needs us
Wildlife is becoming extinct at an alarming rate and habitats are under strain. What can nature itself teach us about how to heal our planet and support biodiversity? In Unearthed, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew invites you to explore how plant and fungal knowledge can be harnessed to change our world for the better. “Unearthed: Nature needs us”, takes us on a journey from soil to sky, scaling the
What is the biodiversity crisis?
Nature needs us! In series 3 of Unearthed, Dr Mya-Rose Craig begins the journey into what biodiversity loss means and why it matters to protect what we have left. We find out what might happen if we continue to ignore the impacts of climate change and habitat destruction in terms of its impacts on our lives, along with future life on the planet. We also explore how human action has brought us to t
Why does soil matter?
There is still so much to learn about the mysterious realm of soil. From the microscopic organisms essential to life on Earth, to the complex and wonderful associations between plants and fungi, the ground beneath your feet is teeming with life. Dr Mya-Rose Craig explores soil in this episode of Unearthed: Nature needs us from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Find out how our world’s health is impa
Why do we save seeds?
Seeds are the beginnings of life. From the food we can grow today, to the wondrous habitats they can create. They offer us a chance to capture, store and even design the landscapes of the future. In this episode of Unearthed: Nature needs us from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew find out how scientists around the globe are working against the clock to protect species on the brink of extinction. From
How can we protect pollinators?
As well as our beloved bees, pollinators include wasps, moths, hoverflies, butterflies, beetles, bats and birds. There are about 1,500 different insect species helping plants reproduce in the UK alone, and without them our world would be less colourful, less nutritious and less diverse. In this episode of Unearthed: Nature needs us from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew hear how pollinator health su
How can we regenerate nature successfully?
In this episode of Unearthed: Nature needs us from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew we ask what it means to regenerate and restore degraded forests and landscapes, and why so many tree-planting projects in the past have failed. Mya-Rose Craig (AKA “Birdgirl”) hears from Kew’s scientists including Dr James Borrell, and Dr Kate Hardwick, who are leading the conversation and collaborating with other or
How does nature network?
How do nature’s wonderful systems all fit together? And how can science help us understand these for better conservation and restoration of species? In the final episode of Unearthed: Nature needs us from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Mya-Rose Craig (AKA “Birdgirl”) takes a tour of mountain systems, weather and climate, migration, cloud forests and coastlines. Find out how Kew are learning from
Unearthed returns - The need for seeds, with Cate Blanchett
From the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Unearthed returns — celebrating 25 years of the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst, the most biodiverse place on our planet. Hosted by Cate Blanchett, Kew’s ambassador for Wakehurst, this series explores the story of the world’s largest wild seed bank — a vault and living laboratory where science and conservation meet. From restoring habi
Special episode: With His Majesty the King
The new series of Unearthed: The need for seeds from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew launches with a very special conversation. A long-time champion of nature, His Majesty King Charles III has shown lifelong commitment to conservation and sustainability. As Kew’s Patron, he officially opened the Millennium Seed Bank in 2000 and has taken an active interest in its work ever since. His Majesty
The Past: The vision that got us here
The Millennium Seed Bank started life as a modest chest freezer housed in an English chapel. It’s now a multi-layered vault housing over 2.5 billion wild seeds, with partnerships all over the world. A living insurance policy for our world’s plants. In this first episode of Unearthed: The need for seeds, Wakehurst ambassador Cate Blanchett dives into the rich history of Kew’s Mill
The Present: Inside the world’s largest seed bank
The Millennium Seed Bank holds over 2.5 billion seeds – but where do they all come from, and how do they end up in those deep underground vaults? In this episode of Unearthed: The need for seeds, Cate Blanchett joins UK Seed Conservation Coordinator Ted Chapman and UK Conservation Projects Officer Isabel Negri on a seed-collecting mission in the South of England. Searching for yellow rattle,
The Future: Future-proofing seeds
In this final episode of Unearthed: The need for seeds, Cate Blanchett looks ahead to the next 25 years of the Millennium Seed Bank – and beyond. First stop: space. Dr Anne Visscher is a Research Fellow in the seed and stress biology team. She shares her pioneering work sending seeds to the International Space Station, revealing how experiments in orbit are helping scientists understand how
