RGS Presents: The Future of Exploration
Sep 8, 2026 · 58 min · 12 segments
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…
Prem GillGuest
Matt PycroftHost
You've spoken about the kind of... how it changes the data and the science and the academic approach.

To what extent does visiting somewhere that you've been studying extensively on a computer screen and from satellite data, how is that changed kind of emotionally or passionately by visiting the place?

In my case, I might be a bit unique, but I've had a much more emotive response to looking at satellite images of Antarctica than being there in person, I would say.

And I think part of the reason for that is when I'm looking at satellite imagery of Antarctica, I'm often on my own.

And I zoom into that teardrop shape, and next to it, there's another little, you know, pixelated blob.

And then it dawns on me that I might be the first person to lay eyes on this colony, and perhaps the only person to ever lay eyes on this colony.

And I'm witnessing, you know, this really personal, private moment of... you know, life being introduced into this world with this pupping colony of Weddell seals.

And that's a really personal connection I'm building to this environment, to these species, through these pixels on my screen.

And I think, you know, just being in a quiet room and having to pause and going, you know, what I've just witnessed is quite significant.

Whereas when I went to the field in Antarctica, I was there for two weeks, had a very busy job to do, I was just concentrated on collecting as much data as I could collect.

I was based at the Rothera Research Station, which is a British research station.

If I'm staring at the floor walking between one building to another, you'll just hear some machinery going off and people will be like, all

You've spoken about the kind of... how it changes the data and the science and the academic approach.

To what extent does visiting somewhere that you've been studying extensively on a computer screen and from satellite data, how is that changed kind of emotionally or passionately by visiting the place?

In my case, I might be a bit unique, but I've had a much more emotive response to looking at satellite images of Antarctica than being there in person, I would say.

And I think part of the reason for that is when I'm looking at satellite imagery of Antarctica, I'm often on my own.

And I zoom into that teardrop shape, and next to it, there's another little, you know, pixelated blob.

And then it dawns on me that I might be the first person to lay eyes on this colony, and perhaps the only person to ever lay eyes on this colony.

And I'm witnessing, you know, this really personal, private moment of... you know, life being introduced into this world with this pupping colony of Weddell seals.

And that's a really personal connection I'm building to this environment, to these species, through these pixels on my screen.

And I think, you know, just being in a quiet room and having to pause and going, you know, what I've just witnessed is quite significant.

Whereas when I went to the field in Antarctica, I was there for two weeks, had a very busy job to do, I was just concentrated on collecting as much data as I could collect.

I was based at the Rothera Research Station, which is a British research station.

If I'm staring at the floor walking between one building to another, you'll just hear some machinery going off and people will be like, all
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.