Technofossils - Sarah Gabbott, Mark Miodownik and Aurie Styla
From The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4
August 6, 2025 · 42 min
About this episode
The episode explores the concept of technofossils and how modern artifacts may become the fossils of the future.
Brian Cox and Robin Ince dig deep into the strata of an imagined human history to unearth the curious concept of technofossils. Joined by paleobiologist Sarah Gabbott, material scientist Mark Miodownik and comedian and tech enthusiast Aurie Styla the panel unearth how the everyday objects that we throw away today compare to fossils of the past. Together, the panel investigates how these modern artifacts could degrade over time to become the fossils of the future. From old smartphones buried in bedside drawers to sprawling landfill sites, they imagine how these remnants of the Anthropocene might puzzle future archaeologists—and speculate on what these researchers might infer about our technology, customs, and way of life. Series Producer: Melanie Brown Assistant Producer: Olivia Jani Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem BBC Studios Audio Production
People in this episode
Hosts: Brian Cox, Robin Ince
Guests: Sarah Gabbott, Mark Miodownik, Aurie Styla
Topics covered
- technofossils
- paleobiology
- material science
- Anthropocene
- archaeology
- technology
- waste management
Keywords
- technofossils
- fossils
- archaeology
- smartphones
- landfill
- Anthropocene
- paleobiology
- material science
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: BBC Radio 4, BBC Studios
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