The Story presents: Planet Hope - Improving sight with a smartphone
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 24 October 2025
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This is Planet Hope, a podcast from The Times and The Sunday Times in paid partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative. Each episode is hosted by The Story released as a bonus weekly series on Saturdays.
Over a billion people live with preventable vision loss. Eye surgeon and Rolex Awards Laureate Andrew Bastawrous has created a smartphone app that is transforming eyecare, facilitating sight restoration for millions and changing lives. He tells Tom Whipple, how glasses – a 700-year-old invention – have transformed his own life, and why he’s determined no one should lose their sight for lack of access.
Planet Hope is brought to you in paid partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative.
Guest: Andrew Bastawrous, eye surgeon and founder, Peek Vision.
Host: Tom Whipple, science writer, The Times.
Series Producer: Priyanka Deladia.
Sound Designer: David Crackles.
This podcast is advertiser funded.
This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's Manveen. On the story today, we're bringing you an episode from Planet Hope. It's a podcast |
| 0:06.3 | from the times about people changing the world. And today's episode is a perfect example of that. |
| 0:13.5 | Our science writer Tom Whipple meets an eye surgeon using a smartphone to bring sight to millions around the world, tackling a global problem with an accessible solution. It's a powerful reminder that small ideas can make a huge difference. I'm Planet Hope is brought to you in paid partnership with Rolex and its perpetual Planet Initiative. |
| 0:47.3 | The initiative supports scientists, conservationists, explorers and entrepreneurs around the world. |
| 0:53.3 | People who are turning bold ideas into real change |
| 0:56.3 | from the deepest oceans to the highest peaks. |
| 1:00.1 | Rolex has helped elevate these voices and projects, |
| 1:03.6 | including the one you'll hear in today's episode, |
| 1:06.0 | by providing support, visibility, |
| 1:08.2 | and a shared belief in protecting the future of the planet. |
| 1:26.2 | Music support, visibility and a shared belief in protecting the future of the planet. If you've been with us so far, we've followed penguins on Patagonian beaches and pink dolphins in the Amazon. |
| 1:34.2 | Today, our journey is much closer to home, right behind the eyes. |
| 1:40.2 | Hello, I'm Tom Whipple, science writer at The Times, and this is Planet Hope. |
| 1:47.1 | Vision sounds simple. |
| 1:49.4 | If you can't see, you get glasses. |
| 1:53.1 | Yet, more than a billion people still live with avoidable sight loss, |
| 1:58.2 | mostly because I care just never reaches them. |
| 2:01.6 | Our guest knows that story firsthand. |
| 2:05.6 | I didn't know that I couldn't see the board. |
| 2:07.6 | I just thought this is what the world looked like to everyone. |
| 2:10.6 | And so suddenly my performance at school completely changed, |
| 2:13.6 | I started doing well, and I guess my inner narrative changed |
... |
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