
Tech Life
Tech Life discovers and explains the ways technology is changing our lives, wherever we are in the world. We meet the people with bright ideas for rethinking the way we work, learn and play, and get hands-on with the products they dream up. We hold tech giants to account for their huge power to affect our lives, and ask who wins, and who loses, in the technology transformation. Tech Life is your guide to a future being made, and remade, at lightning speed in front of our eyes.
Latest episodes

May 7, 2024 • 26min
The mammoth ivory problem
Experts discuss using lasers to differentiate elephant and mammoth ivory for anti-poaching efforts. Chatbots are preferred over real medics for health discussions. A tech solution addresses e-waste issues. Detecting crumbling concrete in buildings with technology is explored.

Apr 30, 2024 • 26min
TikTok world
This week we're taking a global look at TikTok, and some of the problems the video sharing platform has been facing. Also on Tech Life, you want to keep in touch with your child, but is there an alternative to giving them a smartphone ? We hear from video gamers in South Africa. And a female tech boss from Brazil shares advice on how others can follow her success.Presenter: Shiona McCallum
Producer: Tom Quinn(Photo: The TikTok logo on a mobile phone screen. Credit: Chesnot/Getty Images)

Apr 23, 2024 • 26min
Humanoid robots
Exploring the practicality and future development of humanoid robots. Discussion on electric plug-in points for cruise ships and Bitcoin halving. Tech innovation aiding farmers in Ghana to increase crop yields.

Apr 16, 2024 • 26min
Fixing undersea cables
Discover the challenges of fixing undersea cables, a film with countless AI-generated versions, the tech behind coffee roasters, and enriching the tech lives of lemurs and parrots with interactive devices.

Apr 9, 2024 • 26min
Space junk
This week on Tech Life we are looking at the problem of space junk, the man-made debris hurtling around our planet. Could it threaten some of the everyday tech we all rely on?Also this week, don't you just hate it when stuff doesn't work? Are internet and social media outages becoming more frequent ?
A doctor in Argentina has created a video game to help calm the nerves of children facing a hospital operation.
And what weighs three tonnes and is the size of a mini-van ? It's the world's largest digital camera.Presenter: Chris Vallance
Producer: Tom Quinn(Photo: A NASA illustration of space debris around Earth. Credit: Nasa/Getty)

5 snips
Apr 2, 2024 • 26min
Predicting the future of tech
The internet plays an important role in most of our lives today. What will it, and other tech, look like in the future ? We take a long view with a veteran of the tech industry. Also on Tech Life this week, some of the biggest social media platforms have been accused of obstructing information on abortion and reproductive healthcare in developing countries. And health tech helps to combat child malnutrition in Africa.Presenter: Shiona McCallum
Producer: Tom Quinn(Photo: A photo of a computer taken in 1982. Credit: BBC)

Mar 26, 2024 • 27min
Charging electric bikes and scooters
Electric bikes and scooters are popular. But charging them can be inconvenient, and occasionally risky. We look at various approaches to charging batteries around the world. Also this week, our reporter Marc Cieslak meets schoolchildren involved in a project to introduce them to artificial intelligence and programming through skills acquired playing chess. And we try out the next generation of Bluetooth connectivity.Presenter: Zoe Kleinman
Producers: Alasdair Keane and Tom Quinn(Photo: Charging an electric bike. Credit: Henglein and Steets/Getty Images)

Mar 19, 2024 • 26min
Tech Life meets Spot the robot
There are hundreds of former nuclear reactors around the world, which are harmful for those trying to decommission them. That's where a four legged robot called Spot comes in and Tech Life have been to meet it. Also in this episode; the impact of auto-correct constantly misspelling names and how scientists are using AI and tourist boats to learn more about whales.Presenter: Shiona McCallum
Producer: Alasdair Keane(Picture: Spot the robot at a decommissioned nuclear plant /BBC)

Mar 12, 2024 • 27min
Mobile phones
What do you look for when buying a mobile phone? And what do you do with your old phone? Have you thought about trading it in and recycling? Your needs might vary, depending upon where in the world you live. We explore the options. Also this week, find out about the digital repatriation of historical artefacts.(Photo: A pile of mobile phones. Credit: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

Mar 5, 2024 • 27min
Exploring space
Zoe Kleinman visits a satellite earth station from the era of the first moon landings, and a spaceport developing horizontal rocket launches. Find out how tech is being used to communicate deep into space, and launch rockets from jet planes. Also on Tech Life, cyborg jellyfish could soon be swimming the ocean depths, providing valuable data to scientists. And an AI-generated internet radio station keeps you up to date with non-news.PHOTO: Zoe Kleinman at Goonhilly Earth Station. Credit: BBC.
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