Roland Pease

The 2021 Angela Croome Award is awarded to Roland Pease for outstanding science journalism that illuminates a range of geoscience topics, particularly those of interest to Europe and European citizens, in both radio and print outlets.

Roland Pease brings geoscience to life on the BBC show Science in Action. He expertly spins off the news of the day to enlighten listeners about what Earth sciences stories are happening around the world and how those affect people’s lives, including in Europe. His radio work includes explaining the history behind core concepts in Earth sciences, such as plate tectonics, as well as the science behind the latest news, such as fires in the Amazon.

Pease regularly covers topics of societal relevance — such as climate change, air pollution, and earthquake hazard — and brings clearly, accurately reported stories on those subjects to a broad audience. His language is simple and engaging, and his questions to scientists are direct and informative. “He lets scientists into people’s living rooms,” says one of the award judges. “He makes them tell compelling stories, and he makes them appear relatable and approachable. In this day and age, that is a very important and overlooked quality in science reporting.”

Pease’s broad-ranging work touches historical and political angles as well as scientific ones. He produces stories in both radio and print formats, each of which reaches different audiences. He has demonstrated continued, excellent, and successful reporting of geosciences as well as making geosciences more accessible and interesting to general audiences.