The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has told one of its presenters, Evan Davis, that he can no longer host a podcast about heat pumps, The Guardian reports. Davis has published 20 episodes of the “Happy Heat Pump Podcast” and posted his final one Tuesday, April 22.
Davis said he believes the BBC is concerned his podcast could be viewed as political and controversial.
“I know why. It’s essentially because I actually don’t think the heating system is the issue,” Davis said. “It’s that if Britain moves to net zero, you’re obviously going to have to have a lot of heat pumps installed as the most efficient form of electric heating. And so, I think net zero or the timetable to net zero is slightly in play as an issue.”
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UK targets net zero emissions by 2050
The U.K. Parliament says its goal is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. According to the Commons Library website, “this means that the total greenhouse gas emissions would be equal to the emissions removed from the atmosphere, with the aim of limiting global warming and resultant climate change.”
Co-host calls decision ‘bizarre‘
Davis’ podcast co-host, Bean Beanland, called the BBC’s decision “bizarre.”
“It’s quite extraordinary, really,” Beanland said. “I mean, you see this term culture war being sort of bandied around these days, and it does seem to me that somehow the technology that we espouse has fallen victim to some sort of culture war.”
Free speech concerns growing in UK
The BBC’s decision comes at a time when free speech limitations are under scrutiny in the United Kingdom. There have been cases of police officers arresting people over social media posts and even arresting alleged protestors before a protest has taken place.
Essex police received criticism in November 2024 when they announced an investigation of a local columnist over a year-old social media post talking about the conflict in Gaza.
Parliament is also considering a new “Crime and Policing” bill stating that authorities may issue a “Respect Order” to prevent someone from engaging in antisocial behavior, prohibit the person from doing anything described in the order, or require the person to do anything described in the order.
Freedom of speech has also garnered the attention of Vice President JD Vance, who said he would like to see a review of the U.K.’s speech laws included as a provision in a trade deal with the U.S.
Davis says the “Happy Heat Pump Podcast” episodes will remain online.
