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Episode 1

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In the late 19th century, Scotland was the world’s leading shale oil producer. When the industry gave way to the Middle East, unearthly mounds of waste littered the landscape.

Islands of Abandonment, by Cal Flyn, explores the extraordinary places where humans no longer live - or survive in tiny, precarious numbers - to give us a glimpse of what happens when mankind’s impact on nature is forced to stop.

Flyn brings together some of the most desolate, eerie, ravaged and polluted areas in the world - and shows how, against all odds, they can offer remarkable opportunities for environmental recovery.

By turns haunted and hopeful, this luminously written and wide-ranging account shines a light in the direction of some of the answers to the big questions - what happens after we’re gone, and how far can our presence be erased and the damage be undone?

Written by Cal Flyn
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Read by Morven Christie
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

14 minutes

Last on

Tue 11 Jan 2022 00:30
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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Broadcasts

  • Mon 10 Jan 2022 09:45
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 FM
  • Tue 11 Jan 2022 00:30
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4