Living Planet

Once, storms sparked witch hunts. Today, conspiracy theorists blame secret government plots for extreme weather. Why do we search for hidden enemies when disaster strikes, and how can we break the spell?

To many on Germany’s Hallig Islands, the thought of relocating is scarier than facing dangerous flood events. A closer look at why the German government is investing big money into preserving their unique way of life.

As the world races to adapt to sea level rise, in Germany, nature itself is part of the solution. A visit to its islands, the vital coastal defenders protecting the mainland from the very threats they face themselves.

Dave McGann had never experienced a serious asthma attack. Then a storm rolled in and he couldn't breathe - neither could thousands of others. What turned the air deadly that night?

As a teen, Lobsang Yangtso left her home in Tibet. It took two decades to return, and what she found shocked her. China's clean energy revolution is bringing major gains, but also difficult trade-offs.

Cycling changed Aisling's life for the better. So why did she begin to wonder whether it was worth it? Her story reveals the hidden barriers keeping many women off two wheels, and why overcoming them benefits everyone.

Anasuya Basil lives in a virtual tinder box in California. After surviving blazes big and small, she winced at the smell of smoke. Then everything changed. Now she sets fires on purpose.

Katie Hodgetts wanted to do everything right for the planet. She stopped flying, changed how she lived, and threw herself into climate activism. But when doing more became too much, she learned an important lesson.

In 2022, a catastrophic flood tore through Australia's Northern Rivers region. By the time it receded, life for one couple had changed forever. Surviving the flood was one thing, figuring out what came next was another.

Syria’s bee population was once considered the largest in the Middle East, but then came the civil war in 2011, plunging the country into years of violent conflict. Only a fraction of its bee colonies survived. A traveling beekeeper recounts his own personal fight to bring back the bees, and with them, the farming sector.

What if the places we think of as empty and unmarred are anything but? What if wilderness is as much an idea as a place? A conversation with Cal Flyn, who, in her new book, travels to some of the world's most remote, awe-inspiring places to trace the changing meaning of wilderness, and to explore how one of conservation's most cherished ideals has come at a human cost.

If you want to escape to the profound stillness of the Himalayan foothills, a good place to start is by reading Indian writer Anuradha Roy’s latest book, Called by the Hills. A conversation about living with wild animals on her doorstep and her roof, cultivating a deep connection to nature and how the Himalayas are changing.

If you've ever wondered whether humanity can adapt to a changing climate, the fossil record offers surprising reasons for hope. Paleontologist Evan Jevnikar, author of Surviving Climate and Chaos explores how dinosaurs endured millions of years of environmental upheaval, and what their story can teach us about shaping our own future.

Standing atop a 1.7-billion-year-old rock in Wisconsin, geologist Marcia Bjornerud points out the many challenges our planet has weathered, and that its long memory might hold the key to facing climate change today. A conversation about the power of awe, resilience, and "timefulness," this summer read will help put things in perspective.

Where does the cloud actually live? We go behind the high-security fences of a German data center to find out. Inside lies the physical infrastructure that powers our expanding digital universe. And a growing debate about energy, climate and the kind of future we're building.

The internet's invisible backbone is becoming impossible to ignore. As data centers multiply, so do questions about the land, power and communities they depend on – and who decides where they go. In part one, we visit a quiet town in Europe's biggest data center hub to explore how the race to build our digital future is playing out on the ground.

Five years after catastrophic floods tore through Germany's Ahr Valley, Living Planet host Neil King reflects on the devastation he witnessed firsthand, while reporter Jonas Mayer returns to see what's changed. Can communities really build back better - or is the next disaster only a matter of time?

The cloud is supposed to be invisible. Limitless. Until it isn't. Coming soon, Living Planet goes in search of the hidden infrastructure being built to power our digital futures.

Dust storms around the world are getting worse and for people like Michelle, living with chronic asthma near a drying lake in California, the results are life-threatening. Elsewhere, seeds of change are being planted in the form of native vegetation. Can eco science help fill a dust bowl like the Coachella Valley with hope for fresh air?

What happens after carbon is captured? In this special collaboration with How We Survive, Living Planet follows CO₂ from a cement factory to its final resting place more than a mile beneath the seabed. We investigate the promise, pitfalls and politics of a technology that could help tackle climate change - or prolong the fossil fuel era.