BBC Witness History

A farmer, a cheesemaker, a philosopher and a scientist take us on a guided tour through a cow.

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Told in five acts, this programme weaves together the voices of our four guides - artist-philosopher Samar Nasrullah Khan, cheesemaker Peter Dixon, farmer Nikki Yoxall and Professor of Animal Science and Microbiology Sharon Huws.

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They take us on a journey from deep in the soil, through a plant, into a cow’s mouth, through her four stomach compartments – home to vast civilisations of bacteria, protozoa and fungi – and, of course, out the other end.

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Part documentary, part creative interpretation, the programme uses field recordings to immerse us in the multi-species communities we encounter along the way.

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Click here to listen.

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Archive on 4 charting the impact of the 1992 rave at Castlemorton Common, and how it led to the 1994 Criminal Justice Act. Presented and produced by Tom Barton. Sound by Barney Philbrick and Joel Cox. Listen: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0017f1b

This BBC Radio 4 documentary recalls how the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak affected a Herefordshire farming community: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000y6kf

In Sweden’s far north, indigenous Sami people say their culture is threatened by carbon-cutting industries. Listen at BBC Sounds.