April 07, 2025

Unstoppable: Purnima Devi Barman

26 minutes

Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber are both scientists, but it turns out there’s a lot they don’t 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’d 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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