Angst! Gaia
By Martin Jameson
First broadcast – BBC Radio 4 – 20/08/21
In today’s ‘zeit’ the ‘geist’ is everywhere: environmental catastrophe; conspiracy theories; populism; fake news; the age of the algorithm; nationalism; racism; social exclusion. Not to mention pandemics.
As the world teeters on the edge of various self-made apocalypses, Angst! takes a satirical sideways look at our own naked fears. Five separate but connected half-hour ‘what if?’ stories all told under the watchful eye of the enigmatic Timor Greer.
What if the planet were, in reality, a single sentient organism, intent on ridding itself of the poisonous human parasites living on its surface? And what if a way were found to communicate with this ‘intelligence’? And what if the person put in charge of negotiations were a refugee cleaner from Darfur?
Gaia ….. Kerry Shale
Nemat ….. Yusra Warsama
Timor Greer ….. Cyril Nri
Other voices are played by the cast
Sound design ….. Adam Woodhams & Steve Bond
Production manager ….. Anna de Wolff Evans
Executive producer ….. Sara Davies
Series creator ….. Martin Jameson
Produced & directed by Nicolas Jackson
An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4