Plastic Bertrand - The History of Plastic

You can argue that plastics were invented to save nature from human depredation…that plan backfired a bit!

Early plastics were designed as substitutes for scarce natural products like ivory and shellac or the shells of endangered snails. But it didn’t take long for things to get out of hand.

In this episode we trace the story of plastic past, present and future by way of three inventions.

1. The invention of plastics
2. The dawn of disposable plastic culture
3. The possibly new creatures that will emerge in response to the vast amounts of plastic littering the earth

Our guest today is Heather Davis, professor of media and culture and the New School in New York. She’s pondered these questions for a long time and her book, Plastic Matter, looks at how plastics change our way of life.

Produced by Freddy Chick, edited by Thomas Ntinas, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long