“Liz travels around the world to discover what price the environment and climate is paying for our insatiable hunger for meat”

In the Bible, the three kings that brought presents to the baby Jesus were Babylonian astronomers. Like them, I too will be looking to the skies this month. I am hoping to see not the star of Bethlehem, but the Geminids meteor

shower. Taking place every year, the Geminids is one of the best annual showers and should peak for us on 14 December. The Moon is expected to be full and bright that night, so it might hinder your ability to spot the meteors. To get the best chance of viewing, have a look online to find a dark sky location near you, or stand in the shadow of a building to reduce light pollution. Wait until after midnight to get the best chance of seeing the space rocks, as we’ll be on the night-side of Earth when it hits the meteor stream.

This winter’s Cambridge Literary Festival (29 Nov – 1 Dec) has a wealth of big names, including Richard Dawkins, Gaia Vince and Ian McEwan, but I’m most looking forward to hearing psychiatrist-turned-author Joanna Cannon talk about her time in the NHS and her heartbreaking memoir

Breaking & Mending.

If staying in is your thing, animal biologist and presenter Liz Bonnin returns to our screens for BBC One’s Meat: A Threat To Our Planet?

Liz travels around the world to discover what price the environment and climate is paying for our attempts to satisfy an insatiable hunger for meat. In the US, she meets the scientists searching for solutions. Then, Liz visits a small farm in Wales and speaks to a family who have decided to rear and kill the animals on their plates themselves. Urging all of us to question our relationship with meat, this is perhaps not one to watch at dinnertime.