Putting polluters in court

Putting polluters in court

Author: BBC World Service March 31, 2026 Duration: 26:29

Climate change is making devastating extreme weather more common. Tech Life's Yasmin Morgan-Griffiths explores the science that could help communities take polluters to court.

Also this week: we look at whether the boom in AI is causing a boom in electronic waste. And as astronauts head back to the Moon, we meet a veteran NASA space robot that's on a mission to return home.

Presenter: Chris Vallance Producer: Tom Quinn

(Photo: Smoke billows from a chimney at a coal-fired power station in Eastern Europe. The light of the sun is obscured by the dense dark smoke clouds. Credit: Reuters)


From the studios of the BBC World Service comes Tech Life, a global conversation about the tools reshaping our everyday existence. This isn't just a show about new gadgets; it's a deep dive into the human stories behind the silicon. Each episode takes you to the front lines of innovation, introducing the thinkers and tinkerers whose bright ideas are redefining how we work, learn, and connect. We go beyond the press release, getting hands-on with emerging products to understand their real-world impact. But Tech Life also tackles the harder questions, scrutinizing the immense power wielded by tech giants and examining who truly benefits-and who gets left behind-in this relentless transformation. The podcast serves as an essential guide to a future that is constantly being written, offering clarity and context on the forces that are actively making and remaking our world. Tune in for thoughtful, international reporting that connects the dots between a line of code and a change in your daily life.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Tech Life
Podcast Episodes
Jamming and spoofing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:29
Tech Life looks at satellite navigation and the increase in cases of signal interference. How could this affect shipping and aviation safety, and what can be done about it ?Also in this edition, what digital material of…
Living life with a mind-reading chip [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:29
What is it like to live with a computer chip in your brain ? Noland Arbaugh became the first person to receive a device from Elon Musk's neurotechnology firm, Neuralink. Noland tells the BBC about his operation to implan…
Archiving achievement [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:29
A former US Air Force engineer found articles about her were removed from the internet, on US government instructions. She tells us why she wants to archive them for the future. Then, we go inside Africa’s biggest tech m…
Surviving digital banking outages [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:29
This week on Tech Life, we ask why online banking and payment outages happen, and find out what you can do to protect your data and money.The first Saudi Arabian woman to run an international body speaks to us about her…
The doctor will see you now [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:29
Live trials are under way in Ghana of holoportation 3D telemedicine tech. It allows a patient in a remote location to connect to a doctor many miles away, and be examined. We speak to the lead engineer involved in the pr…
Could AI pick the next James Bond? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:29
With Amazon now in charge of James Bond, how will they use data to shape the franchise. We speak to a company which analyses scripts using AI and suggests actors or story changes. Plus, the computer scientist who got her…
Human life under the oceans [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:29
Planet Earth's oceans remain relatively unexplored. Now one company has a bold plan to build habitats for humans to live and work underwater for long spells of time. We hear about the tech challenges of life on the seabe…
Decoding the brain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:29
Artificial intelligence can pick out the words we're typing from analysis of our brainwaves. Could it give a voice to those who can't speak because of brain injury or illness ? We interview an expert leading the research…
China's AI world [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:29
As DeepSeek shocked the world, we speak to an AI expert who worked at a Chinese AI firm. We hear about a new battery exchange system for EVs in Addis Ababa. And imagine a world without potholes - we've got a scientist on…
Not as dead as a dodo? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:28
It sounds like a Hollywood movie - bringing extinct animals like the dodo back to life - but a company has attracted hundreds of millions of dollars of investment to do just that. We hear the arguments for and against de…