The voice on the phone seemed frighteningly real an American mother heard her daughter sobbing before a man took over and demanded a ransom. But the girl was an AI clone and the abduction was fake.
Two cute . meerkat pups at sunset. Photograph: Greg Hartman/BBC
David Attenborough brings his soothing tones to this special, focusing on the fortunes of meerkat queen Maghogho and her family’s fight for survival in the harsh aridity of Botswana’s Makgadikgadi salt pan. Facing a tough dry season, the clan must try to hold out for rain.
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8pm, BBC Four
The annual scientific series kicks off with a fascinating offering from the geology professor Chris Jackson, who details the history of Earth’s climate change, as stored in the makeup of ancient fossils. A cautionary tale of human industry that has now tipped this delicate balance over the edge.