Doug Gurr on natural history and our broken planet

Doug Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, sits down with Patrick to discuss the challenges facing the world, key among them the impact of agriculture. In a wide ranging conversation, they consider what needs to be done to fix ‘our broken planet’, to borrow a phrase from the museum’s current exhibition looking at ways to repair the world. Gurr aims to inspire people to become advocates for the planet. The discussion – sometimes challenging and contentious – considers the role of the museum in our culture and how it can look forward as much as back.

Gurr started as director at the Natural History Museum in 2020. He came from a background in business, notably working for Amazon UK and Amazon China, but has long supported the work of charities such as the British Heart Foundation, the National Gallery, the Science Museum and others, as a board chair or trustee.

Doug speaks extensively about whether we can have economic growth in a way that doesn’t over-consume the Earth’s natural resources. ‘That, if you like, is the big exam question.’ He notes, ‘the good news is that the answer is yes, there is a path, it’s a narrow one but it’s not the path we are currently on. If we can just nudge people – and this is why farming and agriculture is so important – towards that path, we can have a world in which both people and planet can thrive.’