Unearthed - The need for seeds, with Cate Blanchett

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 ‘traditional’ garden should take, to accessing education, careers, and green spaces themselves, our

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 tackling the illegal trade of wood He’ll also hear their different opinions on whether or not

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 was able to help, and Professor Richard Ellis from the University of Reading discusses the risks and

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 episode. James meets mycologists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to hear about the amazing collections and

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, (found in your G&T), had throughout colonialism through to the world wars. What is yet to be

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 medical toxicologist shares the real challenges doctors face from plant toxins. Subscribe to Unearthed:

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 the little-appreciated fight to protect plants from extinction, exploitation, and smugglers hiding on the

James Wong introduces "Unearthed", launching August 5th 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.