RGS Presents: The Future of Exploration

Royal Geographical Society
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Hosted by Matt Pycroft, this new RGS podcast series is an inquiry into what it means to explore in a rapidly changing world. We’ll speak with leading thinkers, scientists, and explorers to examine both the practical frontiers and the philosophical questions that define modern discovery. The series asks what’s left to explore, how exploration is changing, and why it matters more now than ever before – a conversation that will challenge assumptions, broaden perspective, and help shape how we understand the unknown in the decades ahead.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    10. Amy Dickman on the future of conservation

    Can lions and people thrive together? What if protecting large carnivores means questioning some of conservation’s most deeply held beliefs?    Conservationist Professor Amy Dickman joins Matt Pycroft to examine who pays the price for keeping dangerous wildlife alive and who gets to decide what the future of conservation should look like. Drawing on more than two decades of work in Africa, she argues that lions cannot survive through distant affection, fenced reserves or international promises alone. They need social licence from the people sharing their landscapes – and achieving that is far from simple.    The conversation moves from community-run camera trapping in Tanzania to trophy hunting, mining, racism, “parachute science” and the uncomfortable economics of nature. Amy Dickman explains why conservationists must engage with governments, businesses and communities whose priorities may conflict with their own, while remaining honest about their central purpose.    This is also a candid reckoning with exploration itself, particularly in the context of wildlife conservation: who frames the questions, who owns the data and whose knowledge carries authority? The result is a compelling case for evidence, compromise and local-led conservation, built not around outsiders imposing answers but around the difficult work of creating a biodiverse future chosen by those on the ground.

    10. Amy Dickman on the future of conservation

  2. Oct 6

    9. Rachel Carr on curiosity, climate change and why exploration still matters

    What are today’s explorers really looking for? In this episode of RGS Presents: The Future of Exploration, leading glaciologist Professor Rachel Carr reflects on human curiosity, concepts of wilderness, and the role exploration plays in helping us navigate our rapidly changing world. Drawing on her research in Bhutan, where she works with government agencies to understand glacier-related flood risks, Rachel articulates how exploration can produce both personal transformation and practical impact. She discusses why wilderness is best understood as a feeling rather than a place, why successful fieldwork depends so strongly on local relationships, and why curiosity remains one of humanity's most important traits. This broad conversation ranges from childhood adventures and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award to ethical exploration, climate justice, Antarctic wilderness and even glaciers on Mars. Along the way, Rachel makes the case that exploration is not simply about where we go, but how we engage: with landscapes, communities, ideas and each other. For anyone interested in discovery through field science and the relevance of geography to the future of our planet, these are powerful words from a leading thinker and practitioner about what exploration gives us and why we should continue to pursue it.

    9. Rachel Carr on curiosity, climate change and why exploration still matters

  3. Sep 22

    8. Hazel Barton on the hidden worlds beneath us

    What if some of the most important discoveries left to make are hidden beneath our feet? In this episode of RGS Presents: The Future of Exploration, cave explorer and microbiologist Professor Hazel Barton joins host Matt Pycroft to explore the world underground.  From unexplored cave systems in Borneo and Mexico to microscopic life living in extreme environments, Hazel reveals how exploration can begin with something that doesn’t make sense. A rope that mysteriously lost its strength led to new questions about cave formation. Microbes found around mineral deposits opened up possibilities for capturing carbon and creating new materials, and ancient animal remains discovered while following the flow of air helped reveal a lost cave entrance and a different landscape from 10,000 years ago. For Hazel, this is what exploration is really about, following the clues, noticing anomalies and asking better questions.   The conversation also asks what exploration looks like in the age of AI and robotics. Can a machine map a cave more efficiently than a human? Are  curiosity, intuition and human judgement qualities that technology can ever truly reproduce? Hazel also challenges the image of the lone heroic explorer. Modern exploration is increasingly a team effort, bringing together scientists, mappers, expedition teams and local expertise to generate knowledge that can help tackle some of society’s biggest challenges.

    8. Hazel Barton on the hidden worlds beneath us

  4. Sep 8

    7. Prem Gill on how technology is redefining exploration

    Could you discover something nobody else on Earth has ever seen without leaving your laptop?  In this episode of RGS Presents: The Future of Exploration, host Matt Pycroft speaks with Dr Prem Gill, a researcher at the University of Cambridge and the British Antarctic Survey, who studies Antarctic seals using satellite imagery and cutting-edgetechnology. By spotting seal colonies from space and using AI to analyse vast amounts of data, Prem is helping scientists understand how Antarctica is changing, and what those changes mean for the Southern Ocean, climate and the wider planet.  But this is also a conversation about what it means to be an explorer today. Prem sees exploration as something much more universal based in curiosity, asking questions, discovering something new and finding ways to share what we learn. The conversation explores how satellites, remote sensing and AI are transforming scientific discovery, while showing why boots-on-the-ground fieldwork still matters. Prem also reflects on diversity in polar science, the history of Antarctic exploration, and how new technologies could open up opportunities for people who might never think of themselves as explorers.

    7. Prem Gill on how technology is redefining exploration

  5. Aug 25

    6. Max Leonard on the secret geography of cities

    In this episode of RGS Presents: The Future of Exploration, urban exploration pioneer Max Leonard challenges our ideas about where exploration happens, who gets to do it, and what discovery can mean in a world that has already been mapped and photographed from almost every angle. From forgotten railway tunnels and abandoned power stations to hidden infrastructure beneath our cities, Max reveals the extraordinary worlds that exist in places we pass every day. He argues that exploration doesn’t mean travelling further or climbing higher, it simply means looking differently. The conversation  also raises difficult questions. Who owns these spaces? Who has the right to explore them? Can trespassing ever create public value? And when does documenting a hidden place help preserve it or put it at risk? For Max, urban exploration is ultimately about curiosity and imagination, seeing familiar places in new ways and asking what remains hidden in a world that can seem completely known. At a time when so much of our planet is mapped, monitored and documented, this episode asks whether exploration is really running out of places to go, or whether we simply need to learn how to look more closely.

    6. Max Leonard on the secret geography of cities

  6. Aug 11

    5. Sophy Roberts on why stories matter more than ever

    What happens when exploration is no longer about discovering new places, but about understanding them?  In this episode of The Future of Exploration, journalist and author Sophy Roberts explores storytelling as a powerful form of exploration, driven by curiosity, empathy and the desire to connect.  Drawing on her research-led journeys from Siberia to the Congo, Sophy reflects on slow travel, oral history, memory and wonder. She shares how storytelling can reveal deeper truths about people and place – allowing space for complexity, ambiguity and questions without easy answers.  In contrast to the search for definitive conclusions, Sophy makes the case for a different kind of exploration, one that begins with a feeling or  question. She challenges the idea that discovery must always lead to clarity and shows uswhystorytelling remains essential for understanding the world and staying connected to each other within it.

    5. Sophy Roberts on why stories matter more than ever

  7. Jul 30

    4. Tim Marshall on the new space race: exploration, power and possibility 

    What happens when exploration moves beyond Earth?  In this live episode of The Future of Exploration, bestselling author and journalist Tim Marshall joins host Matt Pycroft to consider the forces shaping humanity’s future in space, from geopolitics and economics to technology, ambition and the enduring human desire to discover.  Drawing on lessons from centuries of exploration, Tim asks whether humanity is repeating familiar patterns of competition, resource extraction and territorial ambition , or if space offers a chance to do things differently.   From the lunar south pole and the search for water to the challenges of governing beyond Earth and the impact of space exploration on Earth itself,  this conversation unpacks .the opportunities and tensions of becoming a spacefaring civilisation.

  8. Jul 14

    3. Oliver Steeds reveals how much we really know about our oceans

    How much of our own planet have we truly explored? In this episode of The Future of Exploration, ocean explorer and Nekton Mission Director Oliver Steeds challenges one of our biggest assumptions that the final frontier lies in space. Instead, he argues that the greatest unknown is much closer to home, in the vast, largely unexplored depths of our oceans. Oliver reveals why we have mapped only a fraction of the seabed, why most marine species remain undiscovered, and how these hidden ecosystems play a critical role in regulating the Earth’s climate and sustaining global food systems. From extraordinary deep-sea discoveries to AI-powered species identification, he explores how new technologies and global collaboration are transforming our ability to understand life beneath the waves. If we have discovered less than 10% of ocean life, what might still be out there, and can we find it before it disappears?

    3. Oliver Steeds reveals how much we really know about our oceans

  9. Jun 30

    2. Tom Allen on why exploration is for everyone

    What does it mean to explore a world that already feels mapped? In this conversation, Tom Allen, explorer, author, and the Society’s current Expeditions and Fieldwork Manager, frames the future of exploration as curiosity in action – the ongoing practice of looking closer, asking better questions, and sharing what we find. Drawing on years of slow travel, expeditions, fieldwork, and translating these experiences into books, films, even actual trails to follow, Tom argues that the future of exploration lies less in going further and more in going deeper: into places, into cultures, and through that into our understanding of the world today. From citizen science apps to mapping ancient footpaths, he explores how digital technology and global collaboration are reshaping who gets to explore and what effect it has on the world. The episode takes on the legacy of exploration head-on, highlighting the problematic nature of its historic ties to privilege, extraction and individual heroism and the attention still given to this narrative. Tom envisages a more inclusive, participatory future where anyone can contribute to knowledge and where efforts are judged by their value to society. Set against a backdrop of global change, this is a timely rethink of exploration as a shared, purposeful practice, and an invitation to see yourself as part of it.

    2. Tom Allen on why exploration is for everyone

  10. Jun 15

    1. Bruce Parry on the real frontiers of exploration

    In this live recording, explorer, broadcaster and author Bruce Parry challenges one of the most enduring ideas in exploration: that its purpose is to discover what’s ‘out there’. Instead, he argues, the real frontiers of exploration lie in rediscovering what we as a species have forgotten about ourselves. Best known for the multiple BBC series that documented his time living with Indigenous communities around the world, Bruce reflects on his personal journey beyond the screen as his motivations evolved from ego-driven adventure to a deeper responsibility to listen, learn, and bring insights home. He discusses the radically different ways of being human that he experienced first-hand: societies built on connection, equality, and an intimate relationship with the natural world. These insights, he argues, are not romantic relics but working models of how humans might once again live sustainably and meaningfully. At a time of ecological crisis and social fragmentation, Bruce makes a compelling and heartfelt case that the priorities for today’s explorers lie as much in personal and social transformation as in the gathering of scientific data. In incorporating these goals into our explorations and our daily lives, he says, we might more effectively challenge and remould our assumptions about progress, power, and what it means to live well. Recorded live on stage in the Society’s Ondaatje Theatre with an in-person audience, this is a conversation about humility, responsibility, and the urgent need to reimagine exploration as a force for cultural and planetary repair.

    1. Bruce Parry on the real frontiers of exploration

  11. Trailer

    RGS Presents: The Future of Exploration trailer

    How is exploration changing? Why does it matter now more than ever before? Our new podcast series asks what it means to explore in a rapidly changing world. Across 10 episodes, host Matt Pycroft interviews a leading thinker, scientist or explorer to examine the practical and the philosophical questions that define modern discovery. Episodes are released every two weeks starting Tuesday 30 June 2026. Get early access by heading to our YouTube channel and be the first to watch. RGS Presents: The Future of Exploration is available in both audio and video formats on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Find out more on our website at www.rgs.org/podcasts.

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About

Hosted by Matt Pycroft, this new RGS podcast series is an inquiry into what it means to explore in a rapidly changing world. We’ll speak with leading thinkers, scientists, and explorers to examine both the practical frontiers and the philosophical questions that define modern discovery. The series asks what’s left to explore, how exploration is changing, and why it matters more now than ever before – a conversation that will challenge assumptions, broaden perspective, and help shape how we understand the unknown in the decades ahead.

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