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Unstoppable: Purnima Devi Barman

Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber tell each other inspiring tales of pioneering female scientists鈥� the stories they wish they鈥檇 known about the women that came before them.

Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber are both scientists, but it turns out there鈥檚 a lot they don鈥檛 know about the women that came before them. In Unstoppable, Julia and Ella tell each other the hidden, world-shaping stories of the scientists, engineers and innovators that they wish they鈥檇 known about when they were starting out in science. This week, the story of an Indian conservationist who combines stork preservation with female empowerment.

On the banks of the Brahmaputra River in the Indian state of Assam, a young Purnima Barman discovers a love of storks whilst singing songs with her farmer grandmother. Fast forward decades later, she has created a community like no other by recruiting an army of over 20,000 village women to bring the Hargila storks from her childhood back from the brink of extinction. With their shared goal of restoring the relationship between the people and the wildlife, discover how Purnima is empowering women in the face of gender inequality.

Presenters: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey
Guest Speaker: Dr Purnima Devi Barman
Producers: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey
Assistant Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Anna Charalambou and Josie Hardy
Sound Designer: Ella Roberts
Production Coordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Editor: Holly Squire

(Image: Purnima Devi Barman. Credit: Purnima Devi Barman)

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27 minutes

Last on

Mon 14 Apr 2025 00:32GMT

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