A tech review of 2021

A tech review of 2021

Author: BBC World Service December 29, 2021 Duration: 49:16

We look back on some of the stories we covered in 2021 – from age appropriate design to protect children, through internet shutdowns, a remote air traffic control tower and a WhatsApp school in Zimbabwe to a virtual reality opera.

The podcast has even more stories: comparing Mars locations to Earth locations, a smart phone test to detect malaria, how technology can help prep for a date at home if you’re blind and controlling our devices with a muscle in our ear! Available on BBC Sounds.

The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Angelica Mari, Bill Thompson and Ghislaine Boddington.

Image: Man using mobile phone Credit: Chaiwat Chaythawin/EyeEm/Getty Images

Studio Manager: Donald MacDonald Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz


Every week, the team at Digital Planet from the BBC World Service takes you beyond the headlines to explore how technology is reshaping lives, cultures, and economies across the globe. This isn't just a rundown of gadget releases or corporate earnings; it's a grounded conversation about the real-world impact of our digital choices. You'll hear from engineers in Nairobi, policymakers in Brussels, and coders in São Paulo, offering a genuinely international perspective that challenges the usual Silicon Valley narrative. Each episode digs into the human stories behind the innovations, examining both the promise and the peril of our connected age. We tackle questions about ethics, accessibility, and the unintended consequences of progress, making sense of complex issues with clear, thoughtful reporting. Tune in for a nuanced and curious exploration of our technological moment, where the focus is always on the people designing, using, and living with these tools every day. This podcast provides the context you need to understand not just what's new, but what it actually means.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Digital Planet
Podcast Episodes
Audio beats - the new digital drugs? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:57
Could audio files be the new digital drugs? New research shows that binaural beats - illusionary tones created by the brain when the brain hears two different tones in each ear – can change someone’s emotional state. The…
Africa’s first cyber-security declaration [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:45
As African connectivity improves, so does the spread of cybercrime across the continent. The first ever African cybersecurity conference was held in Togo recently and resulted in twenty nine nations signing the Lomé decl…
Robot boat to survey Tonga volcano [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:10
A robot boat is to gather data following Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai’s eruption to try and help scientists what may have caused one of the fiercest volcanic eruptions in more than a century. The 12m long robot boat, called…
Facial recognition identifies dead Russian soldiers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:26
It’s been reported that Ukraine is receiving help to identify Russian infiltrators or ID dead soldiers. A facial recognition company called Clearview AI is offering access to its database of billions of facial images. We…
Splinternet Risks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:21
The shifting geopolitical economics following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to the reappearance of the word “Splinternet”. In recent years some countries have created the physical infrastructure to potentially run…
Calls for facial recognition tech ban on Brazilian metro [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:37
A number of Brazilian civil rights organisations have filed a civil lawsuit against a company operating the São Paulo metro and their use of facial recognition technology. They are calling for an immediate suspension of…
Tracking Russian disinformation and propaganda sites [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:55
NewsGuard – tracking Russian disinformation and propaganda sites False claims and misinformation about Ukraine and its allies have been rife online for months. Now a new tracking centre, which monitors Russian-Ukraine di…
Ukraine’s massive global tech presence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:39
Did you know that the tech behind your door bell was likely to have been designed in the Ukraine? Or that Grammarly’s founders are Ukrainian. It’s probably easier to list the tech that we all use that has Ukrainian roots…
The bionic eye that’s obsolete [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:07
Imagine receiving the latest medical implant that can partially restore your vision, now imagine the technology behind your implant no longer being produced or supported. That’s what happened to about 350 patients around…
India to launch digital rupee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:24
India has announced a digital budget with plans to create its own cryptocurrency – the digital rupee. It also plans a 30% digital asset tax. Bhaskar Chakravorti, Dean at the Fletcher School at Tufts University explains t…