S8 Ep1123: Headline: The Age of Turbulence and the Race Against Nature Guest: Professor Peter Frankopan Book Title: The Earth Transformed: A

The John Batchelor Show · Jul 13, 2026 · 15m

Headline: The Age of Turbulence and the Race Against Nature Guest: Professor Peter Frankopan Book Title: The Earth Transformed: An Untold History From 1870 to 1920, the race for monetized resources like rubber and nitrates led to massive ecosystem degradation. Frankopan describes how rubber trees were transplanted from the Amazon to the Malay Peninsula, fundamentally altering local landscapes to meet global demand. New technologies like the telegraph and refrigerated shipping allowed goods to move cheaper and faster, often making it more affordable to ship grain from the US to London than…