This week, the pod squad - that's Alok Jha, Ian Sample, Bobbie Johnson, and Nell Boase - are joined by Dr. Susan Mossman, the head curator at the Science Museum's plastics exhibition. We discuss a hundred years of fantastic plastics, from bakelite to biodegradable cars, and even plastic blood. Do you think it's the most important material on earth?
We also speak with Jim Edwards, the executive director of the new Encyclopedia of Life project, which is aiming to catalogue all the species in the biosphere and present the information on an ever-evolving website. We didn't have time to discuss Carolus Linneus, but we do want to know what creatures you'd name after yourself -- or, if you fancy, what you think an Alokus Jhaus (or even a Nella Boasa) would be. There's not much on the EOL website yet, but give it a few years -- they have at least 1.8 million species to get through.
Finally, we go further than any podcast has gone before and speak with mountaineer Conrad Anker who's leading a team to the peak of Everest...wearing 1920s climbing clothes. Why? To try and discover more about the final journey of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine, the two pioneering British climbers who died on Everest in 1924. By reconstructing the route, Conrad is also hoping to understand more about the physical and neurological conditions experienced by the pair.
By the way, if you know the scene from the Graduate we're alluding to in the intro to the plastics interview - no, not that one! - have a gold star. Producer Ben will be feeling very pleased with his work if it at least one of you got it.
