BBC Radio Podcasts from Digital Planet

Digital Planet

Tech Life

How is technology changing our lives? Find out in Tech Life

Digital Planet says goodbye

On our last ever show we remember Gordon Moore – the father of the transistor.

3D printed food – what’s cooking?

3D printed food – we discover what’s cooking layer by layer.

Jimmy Wales on bots and blockages

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales speaks to Gareth Mitchell.

Digital identity: Where are we now?

Who owns our data and what do they do with it?

Ukraine’s drone spotting app

Ukrainian’s are using an app to identify drone attacks more quickly and accurately.

Data in disaster zones

Data to help disaster relief; high altitude communications; electricity from human waste.

Internet shutdowns around the world

Why are there internet shutdowns in countries around the world?

What’s the future of bots on Twitter?

We explore if there’s a future for bots on Twitter and what this means for the community.

A smart glove to save babies

A smart sterile glove that detects a baby’s position during labour could save lives

What happens when the Bitcoin miners leave?

Bitcoin mining was booming in Kazakhstan, but what now after the currency’s collapse?

Self-driving cars could be a massive source of global carbon emissions

Self-driving cars could be a huge source of global carbon emissions says an MIT study.

Getting online in Ukraine’s blackouts

We hear from one of our listeners about how to stay online during a blackout in Ukraine

Agritech Special Edition

What is the role for technology in agriculture? Gareth talks to experts in the field.

The Tech of 2022

The Digital Planet team look back on their favourite tech stories of 2022.

Eight million SIMs blocked in Ghana

More than 8 million unregistered SIM cards have been blocked in Ghana

Shopee in Thailand – is it safe?

Shopee in Thailand – is the platform safe to use?

Predicting cyclones with mobiles

Scientists are using mobiles to create a virtual supercomputer to model cyclones.

Robots that can assemble almost anything.

Robots that can assemble almost anything a step closer.

Twitter – what next?

What can we expect to happen with Twitter?

The Open Internet for Africa

The Open Internet for Africa – a new plan between the EU and Africa.

Controlling protesters in Iran via phones

Authorities in Iran are intercepting messages of protestors by reducing network coverage

The Twitter takeover

Elon says he wants to make a town square on Twitter, but what does that mean?

Chip exports and US-China relations

New US export controls on AI and semiconductors threaten China’s technological future

5bn mobile phones to become waste in 2022

5.3 billion mobile phones to become waste in 2022, but only fraction disposed of properly

Internet under attack in Ukraine

Missile attacks are not the only attacks in Ukraine – the Internet is threatened too.

Pandemic pushes women online

Covid pandemic pushes women online in South East Asia and Africa

Tiny robots cure mice with deadly pneumonia

Mice cured of deadly pneumonia by tiny swimming robots

Gamification – does making things fun work?

Does making many aspects of our lives more fun with tech actually work?

Community Networks: Connecting the unconnected

Community networks can provide a lifeline for those who cannot access the internet

Happy birthday Digital Planet!

Digital Planet celebrates its 21st birthday with a live show from the BBC Radio Theatre.

Inoculation videos against misinformation

Could people be protected against misinformation online by watching videos?

India’s cyber scam scourge

A third of Indians have lost money through digital fraud. How are so many being scammed?

Misinformation on the midterms on social media

Managing misinformation on Twitter and TikTok about the midterm elections in the US.

How Nancy Pelosi’s flight was tracked

How Nancy Pelosi’s flight was tracked and watched by 2.92million people

Is disability tech delivering?

Is technology designed to help people with disabilities any good?

Grassroots data – holding the powerful to account

Verifying war crimes in Ukraine, gun crime in Brazil, eco activism in China with OS data

Self-driving cars on the horizon?

A recent UN regulation extends automated driving technology to 130 km/h

Are internet shutdowns evolving?

A new UN report warns of the real-life effects of losing connectivity

Deepfake calls to European mayors?

The fake video calls that deceived three European mayors

What’s the deal with the metaverse?

What is the metaverse and what are its implications?

Japan tackles online insults

Increased punishment for online insults in Japan

Archiving music in glass

Using ultrafast laser optics, a new technique means music data can be stored in glass.

Community Networks: Connecting the unconnected

Community networks can provide a lifeline for those who cannot access the internet

Data-driven football

Has data changed the game of football?

Detecting earthquakes with seafloor internet cables

New research suggests that subsea fibre-optic cables could be used to detect earthquakes

Reclaiming African art in digital form

Nigerian project Looty is reclaiming African art as digital NFTs.

North Korean digital control

Stringent digital control in North Korea

Electric road trip on Jersey

A repeat of our special edition on tech on the island of Jersey.

Can we predict Twitter’s future?

Can we predict Twitter’s future if Elon Musk takes over?

Audio beats - the new digital drugs?

New research shows that audio beats are used as digital drugs

Africa’s first cyber-security declaration

Twenty-nine nations sign Africa’s first cybersecurity declaration

Robot boat to survey Tonga volcano

Robot boat to survey Tonga’s underwater volcano

Facial recognition identifies dead Russian soldiers

Ukraine is claiming to use facial recognition to identify dead Russian soldiers.

Splinternet Risks

Are fears of breakaway internets and global incompatibilities well-founded?

Calls for facial recognition tech ban on Brazilian metro

Civil rights groups file a lawsuit to suspend use of facial recognition in the metro

Tracking Russian disinformation and propaganda sites

Tracking Russian disinformation and propaganda sites by NewsGuard

Ukraine’s massive global tech presence

Ukraine; a country rich in gas, oil, precious metals, wheat, corn, sunflowers and tech.

The bionic eye that’s obsolete

The bionic eye that no longer works and has left hundreds without sight.

India to launch digital rupee

India to launch digital rupee and plans to tax digital assets at 30%.

Tonga internet satellite kit deployed

Tonga internet satellite kit from TSF is out of quarantine and ready to be deployed. )

First-ever unassisted robotic surgery

First-ever unassisted robotic surgery; repairing pig intestines.

Internet connectivity still patchy in Tonga

Internet connectivity is still patchy in Tonga following the underwater volcanic eruption.

Twitter returns to Nigeria

Twitter returns to Nigeria after an absence on seven months

Robots under the Thwaites Glacier

Robots under the Thwaites Glacier collect data on Climate Change

Afrofuturism and tech innovation

What is Afrofuturism and how can it influence tech innovation?

A tech review of 2021

We look back at some of the tech stories of 2021

The Internet Archive is 25!

The Internet Archive is 25 and continues to grow.

Brazil: Where is all the Covid data?

A cyber-attack on the Ministry of Health in Brazil means Covid data has disappeared

Mobile phones not always beneficial to displaced people

A new study shows that mobile phones are not as beneficial to displaced people as thought.

PIX instant payment limits to reduce kidnappings

PIX instant payment limits introduced to reduce kidnappings in Brazil.

Smart speakers used in gaslighting

IoT devices like smart speakers being used in gaslighting domestic violence victims.

Distress of TikTok fake school accounts

After US school TikTok challenge, UK schools are dealing with fake accounts.

Blockchain’s e-waste a growing problem

Cryptocurrency miners change their mining kit every six months creating masses of e-waste

How green is our data?

Is our data and our use of the internet adding to climate change?

Online safety laws

Can the law make social media safer?

Women's safety online

The nightmare of unchecked trolling and misogyny

Economic cost of the digital gender gap

Women are left offline and it’s costing governments billions, says the Web foundation.

Census goes digital in India

Census goes digital in India, but who will be excluded?

Spyware threatening independent media

Unchecked growth of spyware is becoming an escalating threat to independent media

Can AI predict Arctic ice loss?

A new AI that can predict Arctic sea loss.

Tech on the island of Jersey

A special edition looking at tech on the island of Jersey.

The Children’s Code protecting kids online

The Children’s Code has just come into force in the UK aiming to protect children online.

Digital us

How has the tech in your life changed over the past 20 years?

Why the Taliban love social media

The significance of their online presence in the psychological war

Uganda, too much surveillance?

Is a plan to track every vehicle a step too far?

Brazil’s Data Protection Law comes into force

Brazil’s Data Protection Law comes into force with potential fines of $10m

How Jersey is leading tech development

We visit Jersey to find out how’s it’s at the forefront of tech development

IoT saves driver after kidnapping in Mexico

Combining Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things to save a kidnapped driver

Internet shutdowns in Latin America

Cuban authorities have been shutting down the internet in their attempt to stop protests

Fighting for the right to repair

Joe Biden to be the first president to sign national legislation on the right to repair

Big tech platforms to protect women online

For the first time four of the Big tech platforms are committing to protect women online

YouTube’s rules silencing human rights activists

YouTube’s rules are silencing human rights activists

Bias in AI – what next?

A special programme about the bias in AI – can this ever be fixed?

Bitcoin’s environmental cost

Mining Bitcoin uses more energy than many countries produce.

NFT? That’ll do nicely

The rise of ‘non-fungible tokens’

WhatsApp v Indian government

India wants to break WhatsApp’s encryption

The first African voice assistant

The first African voice assistant is being developed for Kiswahili

WhatsAppening with pandemic misinformation?

More than a 100million people worldwide have shared Covid-19 misinformation online

Urgent calls for mandatory recycling of e-waste

A new report calls for mandatory and sustainable e-waste management

Tech does not impact teenage mental health

Little association between tech use and mental health problems in teenagers

Indians tweeting for oxygen

Indians are sourcing medical supplies on social media during the latest wave of Covid19

Malware on mobiles

16% of mobile phones in emerging markets are infected with malware says a new report

Overcoming internet shutdowns in Myanmar

VPN, dark web, Bluetooth - some of the ways used to overcome internet shutdowns in Myanmar

Phones sending data every 4.5 minutes

Phones sending data every 4.5 minutes even if they are just idling in our pockets.

China’s online restrictions increase

China’s restrictions online increase during COVID19 says new research

AI chatbot takes witness statements

AI chatbot takes witness statements more efficiently than humans

Is Bitcoin energy use unsustainable?

Is Bitcoin energy use out of control as its price continues to rise?

The cost of bias in AI fintech

Bias in AI fintech is affecting money lending.

Will algorithms always be biased?

Is it possible to remove bias and discrimination from data and algorithms?

Facebook reverses ban on news in Australia

Facebook announces that it will restore and pay for news content in Australia

Comparing the landscape of Mars to Earth

A new perspective: comparing corresponding locations on Earth and the Red Planet

Wikipedia’s new universal code of conduct

Will Wikipedia’s new universal code of conduct undermine the site’s grassroots?

Internet shutdowns in Myanmar and India

Myanmar internet connectivity returning but shutdown continues in India.

Loon Balloon internet deflated

Google’s Loon Balloon internet connectivity project has been dropped.

Online manipulation on a global scale

Social media manipulation is now an industrial scale problem worldwide, says a new report.

Has tech been compromised in the US Capitol?

Has tech been compromised during the storming of the US Capitol?

Blindness in the digital age

Technological and digital news from around the world.

The best tech stories of 2020

The best tech of 2020 including Kivuwatt, internet shutdowns and digital death.

Solar grid brings power to Yemen

A solar grid, run by women, brings power to Yemen

Dispelling COVID-19 vaccine myths online

Dispelling COVID-19 vaccine myths online – should social media platforms be doing more?

Is the internet affordable where you live?

Is the internet affordable where you live – prices fall by half in 5 years, says report.

Almost two-thirds of the world’s population now online

Almost two-thirds of the world’s population is online according to a new report.

Increase in stalkerware installations

Stalkerware use - software that tracks a user’s device without their consent - is rising.

Video games can be good for you

Playing video games is positively linked with wellbeing according to new research.

Voyager 2 contacted after seven months

The Voyager 2 spacecraft has been contacted after seven months of radio silence.

Who is most susceptible to fake news?

Study into fake Covid-19 news shows Twitter is a fertile platform for conspiracy believers

Why do we vote with paper in the age of the smart phone?

Most voting in elections worldwide is done with paper ballots, and for good reason.

Go Viral! online game

Spreading misinformation in the game Go Viral!

Predicting US elections results every hour

A new model predicts the US election result every hour using betting data

Can AI predict criminal behaviour?

Could AI algorithms really identify offenders? A number of schemes are scrapped in the US

Mapping Covid-19 to your phone

Google Maps has launched a new Covid-19 layer – but is it as accurate as it could be?

Keeping the structure of the internet safe

How do lockdowns and restrictions on the internet impact it’s stability globally?

AI captain to sail the Atlantic

A crewless ship is due to set sail across the Atlantic with an AI captain on board

Scammers scamming the scammers

How leaked conversations from online forums show credit card thieves conning each other.

Algorithm apocalypse

Analysing the UK government’s flawed formula used to predict children’s exam grades

A year without internet in Kashmir

Government restrictions mean a year of web restrictions for 15 million people in Kashmir

Why India can’t work from home

What the challenges of home-working mean during and after the pandemic in India.

Tracking the trolls

Machine learning can now spot online trolls, and help defend voters in future elections.

Covid 19: Mapping changing sentiment in tweets

From fear to anger and hope, millions of tweets reveal changing views on the pandemic

Ethiopia’s continuing online censorship

The internet shutdown in Ethiopia is entering its 3rd week.

Can we make the web a better space?

A special programme on Web Science and why it matters

Exploring digital death

Digital death; how COVID-19 has forced us to update death rituals, moving grieving online

Nigerian internet land rights costs fall

Nigerian land rights costs fall by 96% in one state reducing internet costs significantly

Is this the end of facial recognition tech?

Facial recognition – what’s the future for the technology?

Algorithm activism – a new type of protest

Algorithm activism is becoming increasingly popular, we find out how it’s being done.

Digital exclusion in Brazil

The digital divide in Brazil leaves its poorest citizens without access to health advice.

Hacking internet-enabled cars

Internet enabled cars could be vulnerable to hackers taking full control

Testing EdTech

EdTech is transforming learning across the globe. How do you choose which tools to use?

Spain’s many COVID-19 apps

Spain currently has nine different COVID-19 tracing apps. Which type of app is preferable?

Chinese mobile data predicts Covid-19 Spread

Using mobile phone data, researchers can predict the spread of Covid-19 through China

Privacy concerns over contact tracing apps

Can coronavirus contact tracing apps be made without revealing our personal data?

Could fitness trackers track COVID-19?

Could data from wearable fitness trackers track COVID-19?

Supercomputers seeking solutions for Covid-19

The world’s most powerful supercomputers are seeking solutions for Covid-19

Internet and journalist reporting freedom curtailed

A new online map is recording where journalists are restricted in reporting on COVID-19.

Covid-19 cyber attacks rise

Cyber attacks relating to the coronavirus pandemic are increasing around the world

A digital tracker that monitors new surveillance

A digital tracker to monitor surveillance implemented by governments to curb COVID-19.

Coronovirus tech handbook online

The coronavirus tech handbook continues to grow online.

Covid-19 makes tech events go virtual

An increasing number of tech events are going virtual to reduce transmission of COVID-19

Will digital sobriety help reduce energy use?

Will digital sobriety and keeping our handsets longer help reduce energy use?

Ethiopia’s new law banning online hate speech

Ethiopia has introduced a new law aimed at curbing hate speech and disinformation online.

Feminist chatbots

Countering bias, sexism and trolling online

Repairing Voyager 2

NASA scientists have repaired Voyager 2 which is currently 18bn km away from Earth

Drones dealing with locust swarms

Drones are collecting real time data on the massive locust swarms in Africa and India

Internet partially restored in Kashmir

Following a court ruling in India the internet has been partially restored in Kashmir.

Internet shutdowns cost $8bn in 2019

A new report estimates that internet shutdowns cost $8bn in 2019

Tech tracking Australian fires

An app that tracks bush fires in Australia is proving vital in staying safe

South Africa power cuts

Power cuts in South Africa are plunging the country into darkness and possible recession.

Why is AI so far from perfect?

Why is AI so far from perfect and what can be done to improve it?

Digital Planet’s 18th Birthday Show

We return to our special 18th birthday show from the BBC Radio Theatre.

Improving crop yields with mobile phones

Mobile phones are improving lives and yields for millions of farmers around the world.

New Phone in China? Scan your face…

China makes face recognition compulsory for cell phone users

Humanitarian drone corridor in Africa

The first humanitarian drone corridor has opened in West Arica.

Google bug bounty hunters

Google is offering up to $1.5m to anyone who can identify bugs in its new chip

Iran internet shutdown continues

The shutdown of the internet in Iran continues as do the protests against fuel price rises

The digital gender divide

The UN's ITU reports a widening gap in the number of women and men who are online.

Facebook Live on crime tech

We discuss digital forensics and facial recognition on our Facebook Live

BBC News on the ‘dark web’

BBC’s international news is now available through the privacy-focused browser Tor

Health of the Internet report

Mozilla’s solutions to improve the health of the internet.

First all African smartphone factory

The first smartphone factory opens in Rwanda building smartphones from scratch.

Iraq shuts down internet

The Iraq government continues its shutdown of the internet.

Mobile data costs falling globally

Mobile data costs are falling in low and middle income countries according to new data

Investigating marine accidents – sea tech latest

The latest on sea tech from the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch

The latest in disability tech

Technology is changing disabled people’s lives but is it being used as much as it could?

Brain implant regulation calls

The UK’s Royal Society on the future of the ethics and applications of brain implants

Digital Planet’s 18th birthday show

A special show from the BBC Radio Theatre to celebrate Digital Planet’s 18th birthday

Brazilian fire monitoring in real time

How Brazilian space scientists are monitoring the Amazonian fires in space in real time

Harnessing tech during conflict

Harnessing tech during conflict; why accounts have been removed by Twitter and Facebook.

Millions of Instagram users’ activity tracked

Millions of Instagram users’ activity tracked by marketing firm

Jakarta power cut - millions without electricity

Jakarta power cut - millions without electricity but why could the grid not cope?

Chandrayaan-2: India’s moon landing

India has sent a rover and orbiter to the moon. We look at the tech driving it.

Chinese surveillance app analysed by researchers

Travellers to China forced to install a surveillance app. Researchers have broken into it

Tax on connectivity in Africa

Online access down as some African countries impose connectivity tax