A Geochemical History of Life on Earth: 2. When bacteria ruled the world

A Geochemical History of Life on Earth: 2. Wh...

Up next

How Belarus silenced its free press

Until the end of March this year, BBC News Russian was the only source of independent reporting in Belarus, where journalism has been suppressed. Around two dozen independent journalists are currently behind bars, with many more forced into exile by the government of Alexander Lu ...  Show more

Mapping Epstein's global connections

The personal correspondence, photographs and papers of the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein have been released to the public in stages, beginning in December 2025, after an almost unanimous vote in the US Senate. The released files run to three and a half ...  Show more

Recommended Episodes

The Origins of Homo Sapiens
The Ancients

What do we know about the earliest hominins to exist? With a story spanning one million years and counting, we're discovering more about how we came to be every day.


In this episode of The Ancients, we're on location in the Natural History Museum in London as Trista ...

  Show more

Human Origins
In Our Time: Science

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the evolution of the human species. Where did we come from - we being Homo Sapiens? Let’s not go back to the Big Bang or in search of Genesis, but sift through the evidence from biology, palaeontology, climatology and anthropology.The story of huma ...  Show more

Microbiology
In Our Time: Science

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of microbiology. We have more microbes in our bodies than we have human cells. We fear them as the cause of disease, yet are reliant on them for processes as diverse as water purification, pharmaceuticals, bread-making and brewing. In t ...  Show more

The Origins of Life on Earth
The Ancients

Today we’re going back to the beginning – no Romans, Celts, Egyptians or Macedonians in sight. We’re going much further back, covering billions of years of prehistory as we look at the emergence of life on Earth. From the rise of the earliest microscopic membranes to the arriv ...

  Show more