Dare to Repair: How we broke the future
Discovery
BBC
4.3 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 12 July 2021
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Materials engineer Professor Mark Miodownik looks back to the start of the electronics revolution to find out why our electronic gadgets and household goods are less durable and harder to repair now. As he attempts to fix his digital clock radio, he reveals that the drive for cheaper stuff and advances in design and manufacturing have left us with a culture of throwaway technology and mountains of electronic waste.
Image: Apron housewife at kitchen dish washer, Credit: George Marks/Getty Images
Producer: Fiona Roberts
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself. |
| 0:03.6 | My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport podcasts. |
| 0:08.4 | I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with a leading journalist, experienced |
| 0:12.2 | pundits and the biggest sport stars. |
| 0:14.3 | Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the players' |
| 0:18.5 | mouths. |
| 0:19.5 | But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sport world. |
| 0:24.9 | What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to |
| 0:28.8 | dedicated sports fans across the UK. |
| 0:31.2 | So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more. |
| 0:40.8 | I'm Mark Meadovnik and you're listening to this discovery on the BBC. |
| 0:49.2 | I'm a professor of materials engineering. |
| 0:53.6 | I'm mad, keen on fixing things. |
| 0:57.1 | Not just because I enjoy it, but because there is an urgent environmental need to make |
| 1:01.6 | our stuff last longer. |
| 1:03.2 | My favourite is broken ice cream's crack, so I can't turn it on. |
| 1:11.6 | The question we are addressing in this series is whether we dare to give up being consumers |
| 1:16.6 | and instead take up repair. |
| 1:18.8 | Dad, let me take my phone. |
| 1:22.8 | Do we dare to repair? |
| 1:26.4 | Alex, your toasts burns again. |
| 1:29.8 | The smashed screen on your phone, broken toy, discarded printer or the malfunctioning |
... |
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