What’s on (22 – 28 September 2012)

Fancy watching (or listening to) something new? Here’s our pick of the week’s science on TV and radio…

Sun 23 September

Planet Earth Live: a Lion’s Tale
BBC1, 5.35-6.35pm

The star of this week’s show is Gremlin, a nine-week-old baby toque macaque in Sri Lanka. She lives in an idyllic location, but life is going to be tough for this little monkey. Her biggest threat to survival is a rival gang of monkeys led by the ominously-named Bad-Eye…

Tues 25 September

The Life Scientific
BBC Radio 4, 9.00-9.30am

Jim Al-Khalili meets Sunetra Gupta, professor of theoretical epidemiology at Oxford University by day; novelist by night.

Saving Species
BBC Radio 4, 11.00-11.30am

This week’s episode looks at man’s impact on marine environments. In Gambia, oyster overfishing is having a devastating effect on coastal mangrove swamps, whilst in Florida climate change is posing a threat to loggerhead turtles. Brett Westwood asks how we can keep our marine environments healthy under the growing influence of humans.

Weds 26 September

Costing the Earth
BBC Radio 4, 9.00-9.30pm

During the Vietnam War, the tiny nation of Laos was ravaged by American bombs. Ever since, the Laos people have lived in fear of treading on one of the unexploded bombs that litter the countryside. As the country develops, though, bomb clearance is being stepped up. Tom Heap and Georgina Catt look at how the work of the bomb clearance teams is altering the Laos landscape.

Drugs: The Ecstasy Trial
Channel 4, 10.00-11.05pm

Jon Snow and Christian Jessen present a controversial two-part study into the Class A drug’s effects on the human brain. Volunteers including actor Keith Allen and ex-Lib Dem MP Evan Harris take MDMA – the pure form of ecstasy – whilst scientists explain the drug’s effects using MRI scans. Concludes on Thursday 27 September at 10.00pm.

Thurs 27 September

Material World
BBC Radio 4 (FM only), 4.30-5.00pm

Quentin Cooper visits the Gravity Fields festival in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

Stephen Hawking’s Grand Design
Discovery Channel, 9.00-10.00pm

Hawking isn’t one to back down from the big questions. Having tackled the meaning of life last week, this episode sees the theoretical physicist pondering whether God created the universe. His personal take on this age-old question is sure to be a must-see…