The Glacier in Retreat

Slow Radio

Feb 26 2023 • 30 mins

High in the mountains snow falls. As it comes to rest on the frozen slopes it become part of an ancient glacier. Over the course of 100 years the glacier will flow down the valley, changing the landscape around it.

Using field recordings from deep within glaciers, along with the sounds of the natural world around them, this programme charts an imagined journey of snow and glacier from mountain top to valley floor.

Over the course of that journey we hear the sound world change and the increasing impact of human activity on the landscape - the wilderness of the high slopes replaced by the noise of tourism and traffic. There is an irony to the fact that the people who choose to visit the mountains because they love them are also contributing to their changing environment.

These unique glacier recordings have been made by Ugo Nanni, researcher at the University of Oslo who specialises in the stability of Arctic glaciers, and field recordist Clovis Tisserand.

Producer: Barnaby Gordon

You Might Like

Hidden Brain
Hidden Brain
Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
Radiolab
Radiolab
WNYC Studios
Science Friday
Science Friday
Science Friday and WNYC Studios
StarTalk Radio
StarTalk Radio
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Sasquatch Chronicles
Sasquatch Chronicles
Sasquatch Chronicles - Bigfoot Encounters
Something You Should Know
Something You Should Know
Mike Carruthers | OmniCast Media | Cumulus Podcast Network
Paranormal Mysteries
Paranormal Mysteries
Nic Ryan Media | Unexplained Supernatural Stories
This Podcast Will Kill You
This Podcast Will Kill You
Exactly Right Media – the original true crime comedy network
Science Vs
Science Vs
Spotify Studios
Tooth & Claw: True Stories of Animal Attacks
Tooth & Claw: True Stories of Animal Attacks
Wes Larson, Jeff Larson, Mike Smith | QCODE
The Confessionals
The Confessionals
Merkel Media
Blurry Creatures
Blurry Creatures
Blurry Creatures
Real Ghost Stories Online
Real Ghost Stories Online
Real Ghost Stories Online | Paranormal, Supernatural & Horror Radio