Streams of medicines: what’s hiding in the UK’s waterways?

Science Weekly

The Guardian

Science

4.2 • 938 Ratings

🗓️ 8 April 2025

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The UK is known for its national parks: areas of outstanding natural beauty with rolling hills and crystal-clear streams and lakes. But research has shown that England’s most protected rivers are full of pharmaceuticals. In episode one of a two-part series, biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston tells Madeleine Finlay about the problem of chemical pollution in our waterways, and how it could be contributing to what the World Health Organization has described as ‘the silent pandemic’ – antimicrobial resistance.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is The Guardian.
0:11.1	The Brit School is natural in the next generation of breakthrough talent.
0:15.0	Like me, 2024 graduate, rapper and stillpan player, Ramaya.
0:19.6	My sound is old school hip-hop with a new twist.
0:22.3	I write lyrics that explore tough life experiences
0:24.4	with melodies from my Caribbean culture.
0:27.1	Thanks to the Britschool and MasterCard,
0:28.7	I'm turning dreams of becoming an artist into my future.
0:32.0	To find out more about MasterCard's work with the Britschew,
0:34.6	visit mastercard.com.uk slash Brits.
0:37.3	This message was paid for by MasterCard.
0:43.7	Is a healthier diet, a more sustainable diet?
0:47.1	The healthier we, the healthier we are, generally the healthier it is for the planet.
0:51.8	We've done lots of different initiatives like healthy swaps.
0:54.5	We've also got our Betterbaskets campaign,
0:56.2	which is a dedicated area in store and also online
0:59.0	where people know that what they're buying
1:00.5	under that Better Basket's banner is healthier for them,
1:03.3	better for the planet.
1:04.4	To find out more, visit Theguardian.com forward slash Tesco sustainability.
1:09.5	This message was paid for by Tesco Sustainability. This message was paid for by Tesco.
1:20.2	It was a gorgeous autumnal day, really blue skies,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Guardian, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Guardian and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.