People vilify plastic. they should use it bet...

Promising trade talks imploded after a literal 11th-hour change from the American side. We examine the new trade barriers being erected, and the complex calculation for Prime Minister Mark Carney. In Japan Gen X workers are even still bearing the costs of an economic bubble-burst ...  Show more

The rise of generative AI has put new urgency into ancient questions. What is consciousness, and can machines ever have it? We dive into the data that reveal a surge in sexually transmitted infections in Europe. And our obituaries editor considers the life of Mary de Rachewiltz, ...  Show more

Many people view plastic as an environmental disaster that blights landscapes and chokes marine life. Our correspondent argues that instead we need to better understand this miracle material. To make prison work, governments need to have better strategies for managing inmates’ re ...  Show more

A closer look at the UK’s single-use plastic problemWe dive into the UK’s use of single-use plastics. Where’s it coming from? Where’s it ending up? And what needs to change? We speak to our Science Editor, David Shukman and TV presenter Julia Bradbury, who wants us to dump the pl ...  Show more

For many, recycling feels like a tangible way to personally combat climate change and to positively affect the environment. But after a years long investigation, NPR correspondent Laura Sullivan finds that reality is generally the opposite: Only a small fraction of plastic is ult ...  Show more

Guardian Seascapes reporter Karen McVeigh tells Madeleine Finlay about a recent trip to the Galápagos Islands, where mounds of plastic waste are washing up and causing problems for endemic species. Tackling this kind of waste and the overproduction of plastic were the topics on t ...  Show more