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in savings. Additional taxes, fees, and restrictions

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apply. See mintmobile.com. Earlier

1:30

this month, the world celebrated

1:32

Wetlands Day. I've come to

1:34

see what all the fuss is about. Right

1:37

now I'm in a hide at Wiccan

1:39

Fen in the UK and next to

1:41

me is my guide, Ajay

1:43

Tagala, ranger of this reserve. That's

1:47

a great tip going for it. Is that, I was going to

1:49

say, is that a great, that's very clear

1:51

because it's a teacher, teacher, teacher. Yeah,

1:54

yeah. Meanwhile,

1:57

Casa Alom has been to another wetland.

1:59

on the other side of the planet

2:01

in the Bay of Bengal. They

2:05

are planting the mangrove trees to

2:07

stabilize this area so that

2:10

when they reach some sort of height, that

2:12

will be something that acts as a windbreak,

2:14

as an obstacle if there are cyclones or

2:17

anything coming towards the mainland and where all

2:19

the people are living. So it's an ingenious

2:21

way of protecting the area and also making

2:23

sure that this whole place is stable as

2:25

well. More from

2:28

Castor's trips to Bangladesh, and

2:30

later in the show. Wetlands

2:34

are literally wetlands, flooded some

2:36

of the time or all

2:38

of the time. They can

2:41

be inundated by seas, rivers,

2:43

rainwaters, and are found in

2:45

hot and cold places alike. Marshes,

2:48

mangroves and bogs, peatlands,

2:50

swamps and lagoons. One

2:56

thing that unites them all is

2:58

their incredible ability to put the

3:00

break on climate change

3:03

and act as a shield against extreme

3:05

weather, which is going to become a

3:07

lot more common in a warmer world.

3:11

News to you? Well, you're not the only

3:13

one. That's why our climate question

3:15

this week is, are wetlands

3:17

our secret weapon in the fight

3:20

against climate change? I

3:29

live in the UK, and I

3:31

was surprised to learn that we

3:34

have the highest number of internationally

3:36

important wetlands in the world. And

3:39

so this kind of felt like the perfect

3:41

place to begin our journey. On

3:43

the East Coast of England, you'll find

3:46

a huge area about the size

3:48

of Hong Kong called the Fens.

3:50

It's a low-lying peatland. In fact,

3:52

the lowest-lying land in the UK.

3:56

It's also very flat. The winds

3:58

can get up to... Mack

4:00

speeds here, and I can attest that

4:02

cycling in these conditions can be some

4:04

more comical. So we took the car.

4:08

Past Bogeys soggy flooded fields

4:10

to we can spend a

4:12

National Trust nature reserve went

4:15

such a is. S.

4:20

Spring and hide. So

4:23

such as a secret space space

4:25

with the as much as other

4:27

people? Quickly so it may just

4:29

occurred to me that suppose we

4:31

should be whispering souza. So

4:34

I'm I'm a big bird watcher and I

4:36

love parents species and I was outta here

4:38

one winter's day I was on my own

4:40

in the middle of the said it was

4:43

snowy I see so silent lovely blue sky

4:45

and then right in front of me a

4:47

bit and flew out the reads and it

4:49

was sort of glowing gold in the sunlight

4:51

and it just flew in a big arc

4:54

as what's the almost in slow motion as

4:56

he says magic moments like that where the

4:58

kind of surrounded by nature and you see

5:00

something that you could spend hours waiting for

5:03

that. but. To you're in the right place at

5:05

the right time. To. Someone he's not

5:07

from the Uk and not familiar with

5:09

the best and want to this animal

5:11

little a sincere and says he long

5:13

legs. So long legs when they fly,

5:15

The good the training legs and ago

5:17

that kind of spent neck long name

5:19

of bands like Aaron Cynical Clan Unusual

5:21

cool as a yes because is probably

5:24

the biggest claim to fame and you

5:26

can hear that here Sometimes in the

5:28

spring mornings the males made this is

5:30

are booming sound and it can travel

5:32

a couple of miles in reaches under

5:34

decibel. Allowed his bird in Britain for

5:36

citizenship. Test of thousand? Yeah, that

5:38

is impressive. He

5:44

may a day. I don't have to take

5:47

your word the fact that that's a hair

5:49

because we've been food on them already. Today's.

5:51

Twice. Of

5:54

say. Let's get off. see here. Yes,

5:57

where his w lucky today for

5:59

a specific. Good day for recording climate

6:01

questions. Wetlands

6:05

like these are wonderful for

6:07

wildlife, but also for

6:10

fighting climate change. Carbon

6:14

dioxide is the main planet warming

6:17

gas we worry about, but

6:19

wetlands can capture carbon and

6:21

store it in the soils.

6:24

That's how they put the brakes on climate change.

6:28

I'm looking at beneath our feet,

6:31

and the soil here always shocked

6:33

me how black it is. Was

6:35

that something that struck you too when you started working on

6:37

the soil here? Yes, it was extremely shocking.

6:40

Where I come from, the soils are pretty

6:42

sandy and they're kind of a light

6:44

brown, grey colour. Very pale in

6:46

comparison to this. That's

6:49

Thomas Markhand, a soil scientist

6:52

from Cambridge University. And

6:54

he knows all about this. He's come

6:56

equipped with wellies, wet wipes and a

6:58

trowel. Yeah, so

7:01

if we dig into the ground,

7:03

the peat's very deep here, so we're not going to get below

7:05

it with a trowel. Is peat a

7:07

type of soil? Yes. Peat

7:10

basically means soil that is mostly made

7:12

of all dead plant matter. Peat is

7:14

sometimes classified in terms of how broken

7:16

down the plant matter is, where like

7:19

the freshest peat really just looks like

7:21

dead plants. It's not even black, the

7:23

freshest peat, it's just piled up dead

7:25

plants. So how do

7:28

you form peat? Well, you need a

7:30

really wet environment and when the plant

7:32

dies, the plant matter can fall into

7:34

this oxygen-free sediment and get stuck there

7:36

for a really long time. But

7:39

what is it about this particular type

7:41

of soil that's really

7:43

important in the fight against climate

7:46

change? Where does carbon, the key

7:48

gas that we talk about, enter

7:50

the picture? Yeah, so plants

7:53

are mostly made of carbon and when

7:55

they die and they're the dead plant

7:57

matter falls to the ground, if it

7:59

sticks around, and that is effectively

8:01

storing carbon. And

8:03

in peat that is waterlogged

8:05

specifically, that organic matter can

8:07

stay there for hundreds of

8:09

thousands, potentially millions of years.

8:12

Wow. Peatland's

8:18

ability to lock away carbon

8:20

for such a long time

8:22

is so impressive that the

8:24

world's gold standard climate science

8:26

report, the Intergovernmental Panel on

8:28

Climate Change's Sixth Assessment, even

8:31

goes as far as saying that peatlands

8:33

are the only land-based option to do

8:35

that. Trees die and

8:37

re-release the carbon dioxide on really

8:40

short time scales. But

8:42

peatlands can store it for thousands,

8:45

maybe even millions of years.

8:48

And they alone also store twice as

8:50

much carbon as the world's forests. Hooray

8:53

for peatlands. But

8:56

there is a caveat, and it's

8:58

a big one. They only

9:00

do this vital job if

9:02

they're waterlogged and oxygen

9:05

free. As soon as

9:07

the water has gone, oxygen

9:09

infiltrates back carbon-rich soil

9:12

and the planet warming

9:14

gas, CO2, carbon dioxide,

9:16

is released into the sky with

9:19

the help of these tiny microorganisms

9:21

called microbes. The

9:24

microbes that take that plant matter and

9:27

eventually turn it into carbon dioxide,

9:29

well, they can't survive without oxygen.

9:31

So you have this oxygen-free sediment. It

9:34

will build up carbon over time. But

9:36

if it's very drained, it produces loads

9:38

of carbon dioxide. I see.

9:40

OK, so there are essentially microbes that live

9:43

in unflooded soil, just regular

9:45

soil like under our feet, that

9:47

munch through the plant. And in

9:49

that process, they release carbon dioxide

9:51

into the sky. But when it

9:53

is waterlogged, those microbes can't really

9:55

survive, basically, because it's not oxygen.

9:57

And so you don't get that.

10:00

emission of carbon dioxide. Exactly.

10:03

So in general, wetlands, if

10:05

wet, can store carbon for

10:08

centuries. They slow down climate

10:10

change. Wetlands

10:12

that are drained emit carbon and

10:14

cause our world to warm faster.

10:18

That's in general because there's been

10:20

a recent discovery that scientists are

10:22

now trying to understand. Wetlands

10:25

are becoming a major source

10:27

of another planet warming gas, methane.

10:31

Here's the kicker. There are also

10:33

microbes that live without oxygen that

10:35

make methane instead of carbon dioxide,

10:38

which might be worse depending on the

10:40

particular local environment and a whole load

10:42

of other factors that complicate it. And

10:44

methane is this really potent planet warming

10:47

gas. It's not stronger than carbon

10:49

dioxide. In that case, when you

10:51

crunch the numbers, some wetlands are

10:53

a net emitter and some are

10:55

a net drawdown of greenhouse gases.

10:57

Wow, OK. So working out

10:59

that balance is a real challenging

11:01

problem. Well, that's what your job is about,

11:03

right? That's what my job is about. Yeah,

11:06

well, there would be no point funding me

11:08

if that was an easy problem to solve. The

11:11

accounting is difficult. But in general, wetlands

11:14

draw down carbon. And the other thing

11:16

that's great about them is they store

11:18

it for, like I say, potentially thousands

11:20

of years. It's

11:28

complicated, isn't it? Whether wetlands

11:30

cause or reverse climate change

11:32

varies from place to place.

11:36

So the burning question is, are we

11:38

protecting our wetlands? Back

11:41

to Ajay at Wick and Fenn. And

11:44

as you might have guessed, beyond the

11:46

borders of this reserve, the land is

11:48

very different. What's

11:51

this, Ajay? This is

11:53

the last surviving wooden drainage

11:55

wind pump used to drain

11:58

the fens in the last And

12:00

it kind of looks like a

12:02

windmill and it's totally black

12:04

and then the blades are white. So it's

12:06

quite a striking feature on a landscape because

12:09

of the colours but also because it's such a low-lying

12:11

landscape it really captures your eye.

12:13

Absolutely. Anything tall really stands out

12:17

and yeah it's become quite a landmark.

12:19

So it was used to pump water into drains

12:22

which would then flow out eventually to sea. And

12:24

so a lot of the fens were

12:27

drained for farming and also for building

12:29

as well for housing. Right for development.

12:31

So how much is there

12:33

of wetland today in its sort of original

12:35

state in the fens? In the

12:37

fens it's less than 1%. Less than 1%? It

12:40

is. It's a tiny fragment that remains, just

12:42

a precious tiny amount. Gosh,

12:45

99% of the fens have been

12:48

drained. I didn't realise that. They've

12:51

become a really important part of

12:53

our economy with a third of

12:55

England's vegetables grown here including key

12:58

crops like potatoes, celery and carrots.

13:00

And much of that wouldn't be

13:02

possible if the fens were

13:04

flooded. That's

13:09

the story where I live. But

13:12

what's the global picture? Let's

13:15

chat to an old friend of

13:17

the climate question, Dr. Massinda Mumba,

13:19

the Secretary-General of the Convention on

13:21

Wetlands. That's a treaty signed by

13:23

over 170 countries that aims to

13:27

protect wetlands. And between

13:29

you and me, she kind of inspired the

13:31

whole programme. So I'm just

13:33

getting ready to go to India. I've never been there. Have

13:36

you? You've never been to India? It's your first

13:38

trip. Not at all. Not at all. Imagine all

13:40

these years. Well, it's surprising

13:42

because, well, I've only been to India

13:44

once and it's full of wetlands, like

13:46

some of the biggest in the world,

13:48

like harkotso in the Thunder

13:50

Bands. So where are you going? I'm

13:52

going to be meeting a group of

13:54

women called the Mitras and just really

13:57

having conversations about how wetlands affect their

13:59

daily lives. So I'm really excited. I'm

14:01

very, very excited. Well, I wish

14:03

you well on that. What's the

14:05

like the status of wetlands

14:07

today? Are they being well

14:09

protected? Are they being destroyed?

14:11

Yes. Well, sadly, we're losing

14:14

wetlands three times faster than

14:16

forest X systems. Yeah,

14:22

I was shocked to read that

14:24

the destruction of wetlands equates to

14:26

5 percent of the world's planet

14:29

warming emissions. Five percent. That's two

14:31

to three times what aviation contributes.

14:34

So why are they being destroyed? Part

14:37

of that is mostly because of agriculture.

14:40

So here is the thing. I

14:42

mean, floodplain systems are a

14:44

very important ecosystem. Floodplain systems

14:46

by their nature, they get dry

14:48

over a period of time and then they

14:50

get flooded over another period

14:53

of time. During that dry

14:55

moment, because the silt is

14:57

actually in the soil, is

14:59

what makes this place extremely

15:01

healthy and also extremely fertile.

15:04

So in many places, this

15:06

has been obviously very important

15:09

for growing, for agriculture, for

15:11

obviously getting our food supply, etc. We

15:14

even as a convention and with many

15:16

other partners have been discussing with governments

15:19

to re-wet these wetland systems because there's

15:21

a cost to pay. And part

15:23

of our adaptation dynamic is how

15:25

we reintroduce water in places that

15:28

were drained so that we can

15:30

have a natural way. I suppose

15:32

some people, you know, who are

15:34

working as farmers in

15:36

agriculture might say, why would I

15:38

re-wet the land that earns me

15:41

money? Because I can't farm on

15:43

flooded land. Well, it is

15:45

the kind of agriculture that you're also

15:47

practicing. How do we grow food

15:49

in a way that is a lot more sustainable

15:52

and sustaining for the planet? How

15:55

do we find ways and mechanisms

15:57

that we're not producing food?

16:00

In a way that is extremely. Perverse and

16:02

problematic. And not only is it just

16:04

over obstructing the water, it is also

16:06

pulled You see not just to the

16:08

water but also to the soil. This

16:14

is the climate question from the

16:16

Bbc World Service. I'm your Host

16:19

Fred Jackson. Now we

16:21

started this episode asking if

16:23

Wetlands where our secret weapon

16:25

in fighting climate change. So.

16:28

Far, we've talked a lot about

16:30

how generally went wetland, store carbon

16:32

and put the brakes on climate

16:34

change, but that's another really important

16:37

thing. They do. They protect

16:39

us from the impacts of climate

16:41

change. That's. A really important

16:44

question about you know the issue of adaptation.

16:46

So what you see is so is to

16:48

have a man grew back to send you

16:50

off the have a like a war. Basically

16:52

if a surge storm happens and you know

16:55

we see more on of these sort of

16:57

sea level rise and and five clones and.

16:59

Climate related storm. The men were

17:01

stopped that so there's that protection

17:04

element. Listen to

17:06

tells me wetlands, stormwater protecting

17:08

us from floods and droughts

17:10

as well as cleaning or

17:12

sir. Peter. Jones even

17:14

lower the temperature, providing a refuge

17:16

on a hot summer's day. In.

17:19

The Netherlands it's been absolutely interesting.

17:21

And spectacular to watch. Because the

17:23

government of the Netherlands also decided. To have

17:26

a policy of giving back to

17:28

nature so where they had dykes

17:30

broke the dykes or that this

17:32

see could reclaim. The. Land

17:34

back in order to make

17:37

sure. That. The cooling effect on

17:39

Amsterdam one brought to dance and

17:41

other cities because are concrete. This

17:43

is also another problematic material concrete

17:46

as one material that heats up.

17:48

Very quickly. The

17:50

How To Cool As Cities

17:52

Wetlands provide that solution for

17:54

managing and making us less

17:56

susceptible to the impacts to

17:59

the heat. And

18:01

also to the actual availability of

18:03

water for us to survive on

18:05

this planet. You.

18:10

May remember on a previous episode

18:12

of the Climate Question that my

18:15

case long went uncounted. Some mangroves

18:17

in Bangladesh for exactly this purpose

18:19

to help president's adapt to the

18:22

effects of climate change. Cafe is

18:24

with the now. It's so nice

18:26

to be revisiting this project for

18:28

the and lucky with you again.

18:31

How are you. The

18:33

I'm really well thanks and likewise really

18:35

good to be on the climate question

18:37

answer soon as go back in my

18:39

head. So mangrove so yeah. thanks for

18:41

having me. For. Anyone? He's never

18:43

seen a mangrove? What do they look

18:46

like? Of mangroves are just incredible

18:48

but when you look at them you'd

18:50

probably think that the tree is dying

18:53

or is dead and you'll have all

18:55

these really not t twisty roots that

18:57

look really brussels sort of coming out

18:59

of the ground caught of like a

19:02

which is claw of fingers if you

19:04

get what I mean and them and

19:06

you think all that looks in bad

19:09

shape but that is absolutely part of

19:11

the mangrove. It's all the mangroves routes

19:13

which a really really strong they bind

19:16

all. The soil on the earth

19:18

on the coasts to ensure that

19:20

actually that area was protected from

19:22

a rose hims and also they

19:25

are just really really good at

19:27

creating areas and or hot spots

19:29

for fisheries for plantation for vegetation

19:32

they are really incredible trees. And

19:34

these my grades that you went say whereabouts

19:36

in Bangladesh How they. Said. they are

19:38

in the bay of bengal will have

19:40

died in the south it's a location

19:42

that is specifically known for the tools

19:44

for anyone who doesn't know what a

19:47

true i have no idea or tories

19:49

what is this your first lead don't

19:51

stress because i didn't know it was

19:53

either until i went there so it's

19:55

kind of like a new is forming

19:57

island of land that us to sort

19:59

of stopped and sort of

20:01

joined on to the edge of a

20:03

coastal region somewhere. And whole communities set

20:05

up their lives and livelihoods in these

20:08

areas for about five, six years and

20:10

then when it's time to start moving

20:12

on to another area that's exactly what

20:14

they do because yeah we'll have land

20:17

and little islands that pop up but

20:19

then also a few years later they'll

20:21

of course be eroded down. Right I

20:23

mean whole communities they must be really

20:26

big then. I was imagining tiny

20:28

little things. Yeah

20:30

these communities are absolutely vast and

20:32

the thing is what is actually

20:34

happening out there on these shores

20:36

and these wetlands is that they're

20:38

trying to make these areas last

20:41

a little bit longer. So what I did

20:43

is I went to one of these newly

20:45

formed found islands in the middle of the

20:47

Bay of Bengal a couple of kilometers

20:49

out to sea. We went on a boat,

20:51

we went out there and the way to

20:53

sort of make sure that this doesn't then

20:55

just sort of erode away over like two

20:58

years or so is to plant

21:00

all these mangroves around the coastal

21:02

area of it so it solidifies

21:04

and then plant loads of crops

21:07

on the ground as well. So those roots

21:10

from those trees where in 20-30 years time

21:12

they take hold, they strengthen the ground to

21:14

ensure that it's able to stay where it

21:16

is. This

21:23

is newly formed land. This is

21:26

amazing. We are literally out in the middle

21:29

of nothing but two three years ago

21:31

this started to form and

21:34

now they're planting mangrove trees here

21:37

and I love the feeling of the sediment on

21:39

my feet you know. It's nice to be all

21:41

muddy and they're going to be planting these mangrove

21:43

trees because it will stabilize

21:45

this whole shore, it will also

21:48

act as a protection and

21:50

they've got the foresight because they're

21:52

already talking about second people here but in 20-30

21:55

years so this is something

21:57

that is a longer term project to help the

21:59

country. and also use this space and it's

22:02

just amazing. I mean, whoa, it

22:04

goes quite deep here. Not all of it is

22:06

set. So you do go in a little

22:08

bit deep and other points you're right on the top. Oh

22:12

yeah, it's pretty amazing. Look how deep my

22:14

foot goes. Incredible. By

22:17

this point, my guides were pretty key

22:19

to get me to work. So we

22:21

planted some mangrove seedlings first and then

22:23

moved a little bit more in shore

22:25

to plant some crops. So

22:28

tell me a little bit about what you

22:30

guys been doing today. You've got some people

22:32

here, haven't you? We are planting seedlings here.

22:35

And after 20 years,

22:38

this will be stable and

22:41

suitable for habitat. How

22:44

do you feel about all this? I

22:46

feel surprising. I'm surprising in,

22:49

I'm working in Bangladesh for

22:51

this department and I'm surprised

22:53

to do this type of job, increasing

22:56

land in Bangladesh. And

23:00

increasing biodiversity. And

23:02

this plantation is

23:05

saving our lives in this hostel

23:07

best. Right, let's

23:09

get to do some planting because that's what I'm here

23:11

to do today. Help these boys, not that they need

23:13

it. Hard

23:18

work. Fun but hard. If

23:21

you have a look at my line, it's all wonky and

23:23

then there's his straight. So yeah, maybe I should stick to

23:25

the day job. Well,

23:29

I'm glad you did stick to your

23:31

day job, Casa, so

23:33

that we can have you here today. And

23:35

I mean, these wetlands are clearly helping people.

23:38

They have new land that they can farm,

23:40

but it also strikes me that this might

23:42

help also protect them from things like cyclones,

23:44

which climate change is gonna make much more

23:47

intense. Yeah, with these

23:49

little chore islands that we've got off the

23:51

mainland, when they plant these mangroves, make these

23:54

mangrove forests and then these are the tall

23:56

tree forests in the middle of the Bay

23:58

of Bengal. cyclones

24:00

coming, they actually act as

24:02

wave breaks. So you've got

24:04

these huge waves and

24:06

cyclones that aren't able to gather

24:08

up momentum for miles and miles

24:11

before hitting the coastline and hitting

24:13

Bangladesh and these villages and these

24:15

poor people's communities. Therefore, even though

24:17

there will still be an impact,

24:19

it will be far

24:22

less than what it could have been.

24:24

Earlier in the programme we heard that

24:27

wetlands were being destroyed three times

24:29

faster than our forests and I

24:31

wonder is Bangladesh the exception to

24:33

the rule? It sounds like they're

24:35

doing a lot to restore

24:37

and even make new wetlands. Around

24:40

half of Bangladesh approximately is wetland

24:42

but it is one of those

24:44

places also that's really hard to

24:46

monitor just how much wetland loss

24:49

there has been because it is

24:51

just an area that is constantly

24:53

underwater in areas and there is

24:55

so much flooding. However, what I

24:57

do know about Bangladesh having been

24:59

there is that there is so

25:01

much urbanisation going and when we've

25:04

got these huge places like Daha

25:06

which is an absolute sprawl, if

25:08

you've not been there it is such

25:10

an assault on the senses and it's

25:12

just getting bigger every single year

25:15

and effectively a lot of the land

25:17

outside of that area is wetland in

25:19

places, same in Silet and then people

25:22

are developing on this land therefore we

25:24

do have a lot of wetland being

25:26

lost. Thanks so much for

25:28

sharing your insights there Cass, I really

25:30

appreciate it and so nice to speak to you

25:32

again. Yeah, lovely to talk to you too. I

25:39

can hear Cass's love of wetlands and I

25:41

totally get it, I love them too. I

25:44

remember visiting the Sanderbans on the

25:46

Bangladeshi Indian border and just

25:48

being awed by them, home to some very

25:51

cocky monkeys if I remember rightly and

25:53

very elusive tigers. Countries

25:57

like the UK where I live are

26:00

beginning to recognise the importance of

26:02

wetlands in the fight against climate

26:04

change. Last

26:08

August the British government announced it

26:10

was investing over 50 million pounds

26:12

to restore 35,000 hectares

26:14

of peatlands around the UK,

26:17

including the fens. I

26:19

think they're so important in our lives

26:22

right now, more so than everybody realises,

26:24

because their ability to capture carbon, that's

26:26

really important than the fact that you

26:28

can create them so easily as well.

26:31

You think rainforests, ancient woodlands are amazing

26:33

habitats, amazing for carbon capture.

26:35

They take hundreds of years to develop, but

26:37

with wetlands they're not too hard to create.

26:39

They're kind of an easy win

26:42

in some ways, they're what we need more of for sure.

26:44

Do

26:47

you think they get a bit of a bad rap? Wetlands?

26:49

Um... Boggy, soggy...

26:51

Yeah exactly, it's like anything, you have to be

26:53

equipped for it, you need a good pair of wellies. I

26:57

like wetlands because there's something calming about

26:59

being by water and the life that

27:01

it attracts as well. Some of these

27:03

wonderful mammals like water voles, otters, and

27:06

birds that depend on water

27:08

and thrive on it. It's sort of a

27:11

magic world and I love exploring wet areas.

27:23

That takes us to the end of

27:25

this edition of The Climate Question.

27:27

I've been your host, Greer Jackson,

27:29

and I just wanted to say

27:31

thank you to all our guests

27:33

as well as our production team.

27:35

They were producers Osman Iqbal and

27:37

Octavia Woodward, production coordinator Brent Brown,

27:39

series producer Simon Watts, editor Matt

27:41

Willis, and film design by Tom Rignell.

27:53

Can you set the stage a little bit so people understand

27:55

what happened? In 1969, 14 black student-athletes

28:00

were kicked off their university's American

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football team for planning a show

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of support against racism. We

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were really protesting our treatment on the

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field. Amazing sports stories

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from the BBC World Service tells their

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story. We became brothers that day when he did

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that to us. We made a change. Fighting

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for what we deserve. Search

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for Amazing Sports Stories wherever you get your

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BBC podcasts. Hi,

28:32

I'm Danny Pellegrino from the Everything Iconic podcast.

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