The Infinite Monkey Cage - Technofossils - Sarah Gabbott, Mark Miodownik and Aurie Styla

Download Technofossils - Sarah Gabbott, Mark Miodownik and Aurie Styla

Brian Cox and Robin Ince dig deep into the strata of an imagined human history to unearth the curious concept of technofossils. Joined by paleobiologist Sarah Gabbott, material scientist Mark Miodownik and comedian and tech enthusiast Aurie Styla the panel unearth how the everyday objects that we throw away today compare to fossils of the past.
Together, the panel investigates how these modern artifacts could degrade over time to become the fossils of the future. From old smartphones buried in bedside drawers to sprawling landfill sites, they imagine how these remnants of the Anthropocene might puzzle future archaeologists—and speculate on what these researchers might infer about our technology, customs, and way of life.

Series Producer: Melanie Brown
Assistant Producer: Olivia Jani
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

BBC Studios Audio Production

Published on Wednesday, 6th August 2025.

Available Podcasts from The Infinite Monkey Cage

Subscribe to The Infinite Monkey Cage

We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the The Infinite Monkey Cage webpage.