A few days ago, I got my annual invitation to appear on a BBC TV current affairs programme. The researcher opened with a gotcha question. Here it is, verbatim: "You say climate change is getting worse. But the ozone hole is smaller than it was before!" Thread/

This level of ignorance is, in my experience, quite normal among the BBC's NCA researchers. I had to explain to one what CO2 was and, to another, how to calculate percentages. And it goes all the way to the top: John Humphrys, for example, revels in his scientific illiteracy.

Just imagine if they knew as little about politics as they know about the issues that might determine human survival. They would be out of the door within minutes. But a total absence of scientific knowledge seems entirely acceptable, across the media.