Things You Can't Live Without
By Rio Tinto / Listen
Phones, cars, saucepans, reading glasses… These are everyday items that we often take for granted. But how did these items come about? What goes into creating them? How did they become so vital to us? And what is the impact of living with them, now and into the future?
Hosted by material scientist Dr. Anna Ploszajski, each episode welcomes a different guest, and a selection of experts and scientists, to discuss the truths about our reliance on the earth’s resources and to look at what needs to happen to create a sustainable future for the everyday items we have come to rely on.
Things You Can’t Live Without is brought to you by Rio Tinto. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
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Latest episode
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Hod Lipson’s Graphics Processing Unit: AI, robots eating robots and the unsung material that helps power our computers
Hod Lipson - Columbia University professor and award-winning robotics researcher - shares with Dr. Anna the one item he can’t live without - his Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). The conversation reveals how much GPUs underpin our el… -
Dr. Leah Alconcel’s Lasers: Missions to Jupiter, space junk and the future of communications
Spacecraft engineer Dr. Leah Alconcel joins Dr. Anna to tell her about the one item she can’t live without - her lasersFrom sending spacecraft to Saturn to the possibility of being able to watch TikTok in outer space, Dr. Leah shares th… -
Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza’s Field Microscope: Boiling rivers, ancient Chinese water microscopes and working with communities to ensure ecosystems into the future
Chemical biologist and explorer Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza shares with Dr. Anna the one item she can’t live without - her field microscope. Dr. Rosa takes us on an expedition to the Amazon as we understand how integral her microscop… -
Buddha Lo’s Salt: Thanksgiving turkeys, open-water swimming and a material fundamental to our survival
Cooking sensation and two-time Top Chef winner Buddha Lo joins Dr. Anna to share the one item he can’t live without - salt.Buddha takes us to his kitchen in New York where he explains its critical role in food not just today, but throug… -
Alie Ward’s Insulated Flask: Nicknames, vacuums and the reality of low carbon steel
Daytime Emmy Award-winning science communicator, podcaster, TV presenter, writer and food buff Alie Ward joins Dr. Anna to share her unquenchable love for the item she can’t live without - her insulated flask. As a self-confessed i… -
Cerys Matthews’ Climbing Equipment: Everest, foie gras and our collective responsibility for the planet
Singer, songwriter, author and broadcaster Cerys Matthews joins Dr. Anna this week to share the items she can’t live without - her climbing equipment. Mark Davies, Chief Technical Officer at Rio Tinto, and climbing curator Nigel Bu… -
Shelley Roden’s Trash: Spaceships, Mrs Incredible and the power of the circular economy
Award-winning Foley artist Shelley Roden joins Dr. Anna on the podcast to explain why she can’t live without trash.As a Foley artist, Shelley spends her days using trash to make the sound effects for live action and animated films. She’… -
OJ Borg’s E-Bike: World Record attempts, Lycra mishaps and how to keep the planet charged
BBC broadcaster and cycling obsessive OJ Borg joins Dr. Anna to share the item he can’t live without - his e-bike. Alongside bike historian Tony Hadland and Rio Tinto’s General Manager of Technical Development, Jared Osborne, th… -
Rudy Garcia-Tolson’s Prosthetic Legs: Gold medals, pirates and the price of movement
Paralympic gold medallist and ambassador for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, Rudy Garcia-Tolson joins Dr. Anna to share the one item he can’t live without - his prosthetic legs.Rio Tinto’s Chief Advisor of Discovery, Marie-Pierre Pa… -
Susie Dent’s Dictionary
Demons, flatulence and the complicated future of our electronic devices
