Radio Verulam - The Generation Gap

In this Podcast Clive and Anna consider the issues raised by the Everyday Sexism website set up by writer Laura Bates. Despite many changes in our society over the years there are still many instances of sexism in everyday life. In particular they discuss sexism at universities which is a concern for Anna who will be starting at university this year.

Clive and Hannah discuss the future of cars. From 2030 - less than 9 years away - you will no longer be able to buy a new petrol or diesel car. So electric cars will be dominant but will everyone want to own their own car in future or will they be mainly rented or perhaps shared with neighbours? And, will we trust the future "autonomous" self driving cars we are promised to get us where we want to go in safely?

Do young people listen to radio or do they prefer PodCasts? That is the question Clive put to Anna who is perhaps unusual for her generation as she does listen to radio programmes but also to PodCasts.

Anna has started working at an Independent coffee shop in St Albans and so is learning everything about coffee. She talks to Clive about the environmental issues surrounding the production of coffee, Fair Trade, the history of coffee shops (which go back 400 years!) and the differences between Independent coffee shops and the big international chains. So listen to find out everything you ever need to know about coffee!

As in previous years Clive gets together with fellow Eurovision fan - and Millennial - Amy to discuss the entries for this year's Song Contest being held in Rotterdam on 22 May. Having both listened to all of this year's 39 entries they feel qualified to rate them into ones they like and don't plus which ones they think will do well this year. And this year they even agree on that one song they think will be the big winner on the night!

Clive and Honor discuss how clever dogs are with particular reference to Honor's dog Max as an example. Developers of Artificial Intelligence systems say that they have now reached a level equivalent to the intelligence of a two year old dog or perhaps a human toddler. But what does this actually mean? The discussion also takes in cats, gerbils and squirrels!

Clive talks to guest Millennial Hannah about her ideas of what a holiday is and shares some of his own holiday experiences from his childhood onwards. They discuss holidaying in the UK, which is likely to be the most probable option for most families this year, so including the delights of the A303 to Cornwall and he also tries to convince Hannah of  the joys of camping holidays!

Honor is a local PodCaster and radio broadcaster who started her career at Radio Verulam while still at school. She tells Clive about her about her Low Season Travel PodCasts and her Morning Cuppa podcasts about new music. Honor also talks about her John O’Groats to Lands End charity cycle ride last Summer which raised over £50,000 in memory of her father.

In this podcast Clive and Anna discuss how they use Digital Personal Assistants like Alexa, Google and Siri. Clive feels embarrassed talking to his phone but is that second nature to young people like Anna?

In this Generation Gap PodCast Clive and Anna consider some major changes in the way we communicate over the past couple of decades. Firstly Clive asks Anna if she ever writes letters such as to thank people for Christmas or birthday presents as he was encouraged to do when he was young.

Clive is joined by Anna who is a local student studying History at A level. The subject is taught in small pieces, about events and people but without embedding a good idea of overall time lines so students often get confused about what came before or after other things. And beyond the "recent" history of the past few millennia it is very difficult to comprehend the scale of time going back many thousands or millions of years. Like when dinosaurs ruled the world. Well that is what Clive thinks. Does Anna agree?

Hannah is a second year student at a university in London. She recently moved from her long term home in the village of Kimpton to live in London. In this podcast she talks to Clive about the challenges of such a move and the pros and cons of living in a big city instead of a small village in Hertfordshire.

Chloe takes the lead in this discussion as she explains the realities of dating in the 21st Century. This certainly includes online dating which Clive has doubts about but he is also reassured that  the old fashioned ways of meeting people still seem as valid today as in the past. Plus how do you prepare for that first date once you have met someone new - either virtually or in person?

Millennials like Chloe can realistically expect to live until near the end of this century. Positive predictions of the future envisage amazing developments in science and technology over that period including further medical advances such as being able to live together or downloading your memories to a computer. And maybe thousands of people will have settled on the Moon and Mars. But negative predictions include climate changes causing flooding in some parts of the world and draughts in others

Clive talks to professional singer and Radio Verulam presenter Natasha about how the past few months have affected her work as a live performer and how she and others in her position have been coping. They discuss how things depend on who you know and who you meet to give you that big break in the music business. Not a career for the faint-hearted!

Unfortunately there won't be a Meraki Festival this year so we have looked into our archives and found this programme where Clive and Sarah Glover talked about Meraki 2019 and interviewed some of the participants and visitors. We hope it will bring back memories if you were there and help you look forward to Meraki 2021!

Clive asks St Albans Generation Z student Anna about her attitude the Environment as her generation - people born in the 21st Century - have a reputation of being more environmentally aware than other generations. They talk about Climate Change and its effects on farming - and particularly animal farming - on the environment plus vegetarianism and the importance of supporting local food producers.

Following a recent programme welcoming the re-opening of zoos and, in particular our local Whipsnade Zoo - Clive & Chloe were invited to visit Whipsnade to talk to staff and to see how things were going.

Anna is a Year 12 student going into Year 13 in September so her last year at school when she will be taking her all important A Levels. But she, like literally millions of school age children, has missed nearly four months of schooling due to Coronavirus. Clive asks her about her experience of online and home based schooling and whether she thinks losing that amount of formal schooling will have an adverse effect on her and other students for their university and subsequent job prospects.

In this PodCast Clive & Chloe look back at the Sony Walkman which was launched in the UK 40 years ago in 1980 (well before Chloe was born). But the impact it had on the way people listen to music was immense and far reaching, leading  directly to the iPod and now music stored on phones and streaming services.

Millennial Chloe is passionate about the Arts and worried that we may loose many venues and practitioners of the Arts as a consequence of the Pandemic.

Hannah is a volunteer at Radio Verulam and a university student studying music technology and other aspects of the music business.

Clive and Chloe celebrate the re-opening of zoos this week. In particular the re-opening of our nearest  and favourite zoo, Whipsnade.

In this Podcast Clive and Chloe consider what may happen to the world of work after the Covid-19 pandemic. Things will be different for sure. But how?

In this latest Generation Gap Lockdown Podcast Clive talks to his Millennial daughter Sarah about "testing" for Covid-19.

Although practically everything has been cancelled this year the cancellation of the 2020 EuroVision Song Contest (due to be broadcast this Saturday 16th May) was a particular shock and disappointment to its many millions of fans. Including Clive and Amy. So they decided to listen to all 41 songs entered for this year's Contest and discuss which they like and don't plus make their own predictions about who would have won.

Seven weeks into Lockdown and how are you coping? In this Podcast Clive and Chloe discuss their own experiences of Lockdown and that of friends and families.

In this Podcast Clive is joined by Faye in a discussion about how fashion has changed and been regarded over the past few decades.

Recorded on St George's Day, 23rd April 2020 - exactly five years since the first Generation Gap programme was broadcast - Clive and Klaudia talk about some of the subjects they have covered in over 150 programmes

In this first Lockdown Generation Gap podcast Clive discusses with guest Millennial Chloe the degree to which we have become a Surveillance Society and whether young people are  as concerned about this as older generations are.

In this PodCast Clive discusses with Klaudia her personal journey from a young child arriving in the UK from Poland not speaking any English through schools and university - and of course radio - to becoming a British Citizen.

What do you know about sleep? How important is it to your physical and mental health? Clive discusses some aspects of sleep with his guest Millennial and self confessed early riser (so a "Lark") Chloe

Millennials have created the term #Adulting to describe those moments when young people suddenly realise they are acting like their parents - so like adults! This usually happens after they have officially become adults in legal terms on their 18th birthday. 

In this PodCast Clive discusses with Guest Millennial Laura the Humble Toothbrush. They have been around for thousands of years in some form with the modern version being a simple and familiar plastic brush. But why is it that 23 million people in the UK now use electric toothbrushes?

Clive and Klaudia discuss the so called Mandela Effect where some people have different memories of events and people. It is so named because it was discovered many people seem to remember different things about Nelson Mandela with many believing he died in prison in the 1980s rather than him being released in 1990 and going on to become the President of South Africa.

Clive and Liv discuss famous predictions of the future including those by Nostradamus and journalist Simon Reeve. They are also fascinated by the story of someone who claimed to have travelled back in time from the 2030's to the early 2000's retrieve a computer code which was causing chaos in his own time.

In this PodCast Clive talks to Gabrielle who is a Journalism student from the University of Hertfordshire doing work experience at Radio Verulam.

In this PodCast Clive is joined by Gabrielle who explains the work she has done as part of her Journalism studies at the University of Hertfordshire for a radio documentary about Body Image issues.

In this PodCast Clive talks to his Millennial daughter Sarah about her recent first ever visit to New York.

In this PodCast Clive talks to Millennial Jemma Johnston about dogs and, in particular, how she has set up her own dog walking business Every K9 Active in St Albans and how she hopes to develop it in future.

Working in the fashion Industry is exciting and glamorous - or is it? In this PodCast Clive talks to Liv about her experiences as a teenager working as a photographic model and what she has learned about the realities of the business. Essential listening if you or your children are thinking about a career in Fashion!

Liv would like to be an "Eco Warrior" to help to save the planet and its environment. She has read extensively about environmental issues and in the programme exchanges with Clive some of the steps individuals can take to try to help the environment.