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What if growth wasn't the main goal for economic prosperity? Kate Raworth, the author and economist behind Doughnut Economics, tells Amol why she thinks that measuring success by GDP growth is unsustainable, immoral, and an unfit economic model for the 21st century. Kate's thesis goes against centuries of economic consensus and has radical ideas for how to overhaul the system by prioritising nature and wellbeing. She argues that real abundance is possible, but only if we learn from nature and live within the planet's limits. GET IN TOUCH: * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and Monday. Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC's media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Oscar Pearson and Julian Paszkiewicz. Digital production was by Daniel Raza. Technical production was by Mike Regaard. The series producer is Rufus Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
It's the 25th anniversary of Doctor Who, and for the occasion the BBC has assembled Nazis, Cybermen, time-traveling aristocrats, and a mysterious statue made of something that shouldn't exist. Add a comet, multiple centuries, and the Doctor's increasingly cryptic hints about his own past, and you've got an episode that John and Jim can't quite agree on. Production Under Pressure John Nathan Turner wanted this as the season opener for maximum impact, but the Summer Olympics threw everything into chaos. More trouble: they found asbestos in the studio. No interior TARDIS scenes meant everything had to go on location—Windsor Castle (well, a substitute), 17th-century England, and actual museums. The budget request for a proper 25th-anniversary celebration? Denied by BBC One's controller, who wasn't even a fan of the show. Tensions on set ran high, mirroring Colin Baker's era. The Idea That Started It All Kevin Clark walked into pitch meetings with no idea what to pitch. Sat down with JNT and Andrew Cartmell, and when asked what he had, he said: "Doctor Who is God." (They asked him to leave God out of it.) His concept became a story about a cosmic object, living space metal, and something called Validium. The Cybermen? Added last-minute by JNT as a twist to make it the anniversary story. Guest Stars and Hidden Layers Fiona Walker returns nearly 25 years after "The Keys of Marinus." Leslie French, who once auditioned to play the First Doctor, appears as a mathematician. Anton Differing took the Nazi role mainly to catch Wimbledon on London television. A celebrated jazz musician leads the band and gets screen time. The behind-the-sofa consensus: this beats Happiness Patrol. The Cybermen get one final classic appearance before the costumes literally fall apart (they were taped together and spray-painted silver). Where the Story Divides One host sees excellent location work, great chemistry between the leads, well-choreographed action, and "good bonkers" energy. The other finds forced humor, a clumsy attempt to deepen the Doctor's mystery, misogynistic moments, and stereotypical American characters that undermine the tone. The final scene—with Ace asking a question and the Doctor refusing to answer—creates genuine friction neither host expected. An Anniversary That Isn't Quite One For a 25th-anniversary episode, it's surprisingly light on callbacks. The real tribute to Doctor Who's past is the Cybermen themselves—silver, returning, and defeated in ways that feel... almost accidental? Multiple plot threads intersect (the Nazis, the magical artifact, the time-jumping aristocrat, the alien invaders), and whether they mesh or clash depends entirely on your tolerance for chaotic storytelling. Coming Up Next: Monday (Patreon Early): Patreon Exclusive 174 with music, Memory TARDIS, and three-part comic "Invaders from Gantac" by Alan Grant. Following Wednesday (Main Feed): Season 25 finale with "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy" (four parts). John promises it's "right up his alley." Hashtags: #DoctorWho #SilverNemesis #25thAnniversary #SylvesterMcCoy #SophieAldred #Cybermen #ClassicWho #BehindTheSofa #ProductionTrouble #HostDisagreement #Validium #McCoyEra #TimeLord #Mystery #DoctorWhoPodcast
Episode 1537 - Sunday sees Haiti vs Scotland. Live on BBC One, we highlight 3 of the best bookmaker offers available right now, if you fancy a bet. Make sure to visit our website for our ladbrokes lucky 15 bonus guide. Betfred Bet £10, Get £50 in Free Bets For new customers only, 18+, Betfred are offering a Bet £10, Get £50 in Free Bets and Bonuses offer. Use promo code BETFRED50 when registering. Terms: New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply. betfred bonus code Ladbrokes Bet £10, Get £40 in Free Bets For new customers only. 18+, Ladbrokes are offering a Bet £10, Get £40 in Free Bets. No promo code required when registering. Terms: 18+. New UK & ROI customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £10 win or E/W bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 & get 4 x £10 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. No cashout, restrictions + T&C apply. ladbrokes promo code BetVictor Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets + 100% Boost Token For new customers 18+ BetVictor are offering a Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets + 100% Boost Token offer. No promo code is required when registering. Terms: 18+ New customers only. Opt in, deposit & bet £10+ on any football market (odds 2.00+) within 7 days of registration. No cash out. Get £30 in Free Bets + 1×100% Boost tokens (max £10 stakes) for selected football markets Free Bets expire in 7 days. T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly. #Ad betvictor 30 free bet 365bet guide and our boylesports 40 free bet guide. betvictor bonus code and coral promo code guides. Read our pages bet365 bonus code uk coral 30 free bet william hill 10 for 30 bet365 world cup max payout ladbrokes 30 free bet maximum payout bet365 new customer offers football maximum payout Top pages https://www.maxpayout.co.uk/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/bet365-bonus-code-uk/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/coral-new-customer-offers/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/ladbrokes-new-customer-offer/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/coral-promo-code-2026/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/betfred-new-customer-offers/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/ladbrokes-promo-code-2026/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/boylesports-sign-up-offer/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/betvictor-new-customer-offer/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/bet365-bet-credits-explained/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/betfred-promo-code-2026/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/william-hill-promo-code-r30/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/william-hill-new-customer-offers/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/betvictor-promo-code-2026/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/boylesports-sign-up-offer/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/best-bookmaker-for-lucky-15/ Listeners & Subscribers 18+. Please be Gambleaware, you can visit GambleAware.org for more information and of course please bet responsibly.
Episode 1536 - Saturday sees Brazil vs Morocco. Live on BBC One, we highlight 3 of the best bookmaker offers available right now, if you fancy a bet. Make sure to visit our website for our betfred lucky 15 one winner guide. Betfred Bet £10, Get £50 in Free Bets For new customers only, 18+, Betfred are offering a Bet £10, Get £50 in Free Bets and Bonuses offer. Use promo code BETFRED50 when registering. Terms: New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply. betfred promo code Coral Bet £5, Get £30 in Free Bets For new customers 18+ Coral are offering a Bet £5, Get £30 in Free Bets offer. No promo code is required when registering. Terms: 18+ New UK + ROI customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £/€5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 6 x £/€5 free bets (selected sportsbook markets only, valid 7 days, stakes not returned). Restrictions + T&Cs apply. coral bet 5 get 30 BetVictor Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets + 100% Boost Token For new customers 18+ BetVictor are offering a Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets + 100% Boost Token offer. No promo code is required when registering. Terms: 18+ New customers only. Opt in, deposit & bet £10+ on any football market (odds 2.00+) within 7 days of registration. No cash out. Get £30 in Free Bets + 1×100% Boost tokens (max £10 stakes) for selected football markets Free Bets expire in 7 days. T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly. #Ad betvictor bet 10 get 30 bet356 guide and our bet365 football max payout guide. betvictor promo code and ladbrokes bonus code guides. Read our pages bet365 bonus code coral bonus code boylesports £40 offer unibet promo code ladbrokes bet 5 get 30 new customer offer football max payout Top pages https://www.maxpayout.co.uk/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/bet365-bonus-code-uk/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/coral-new-customer-offers/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/ladbrokes-new-customer-offer/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/coral-promo-code-2026/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/betfred-new-customer-offers/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/ladbrokes-promo-code-2026/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/boylesports-sign-up-offer/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/betvictor-new-customer-offer/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/bet365-bet-credits-explained/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/betfred-promo-code-2026/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/william-hill-promo-code-r30/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/william-hill-new-customer-offers/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/promo-codes/betvictor-promo-code-2026/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/boylesports-sign-up-offer/ https://www.newcustomeroffer.co.uk/offers/best-bookmaker-for-lucky-15/ Listeners & Subscribers 18+. Please be Gambleaware, you can visit GambleAware.org for more information and of course please bet responsibly.
Gareth Southgate joins Marvyn Harrison for a rare and honest conversation about the crisis facing young men and boys in Britain today — and what we actually do about it. In this episode, Gareth discusses his new BBC One documentary Gareth Southgate: Changing the Game for Young Men (airing 8th June, 9pm, BBC One & iPlayer), why he felt compelled to make it after his Dimbleby Lecture, what a good man actually looks like in 2025, and how we reach the men already left behind.They also play a game — building the blueprint of a man using real figures and real traits. Muhammad Ali features. So does a grandfather polishing his shoes.This is not a manosphere conversation. This is the one underneath it.Welcome to The Marvyn Harrison Podcast — a story-driven conversation exploring identity, fatherhood, masculinity, relationships, culture, politics, sport, and modern life.In each episode, Marvyn Harrison sits down with leading thinkers, creatives, athletes, policymakers, and cultural voices to unpack the defining moments that shaped them. Through image prompts, structured storytelling, and revealing game segments, guests explore pivotal memories, career turning points, personal struggles, and the beliefs that guide their decisions today.Expect honest discussions on mental health, family dynamics, leadership, equity, ambition, resilience, and the realities of navigating success in Britain and beyond.This is a podcast about clarity, where lived experience meets sharp cultural insight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel explores the meaning of England and Englishness through the history of the England Men's Football team. This is a social and cultural history as much as a sporting one, examining the story England tells about itself and how it's changed, via the medium of the international game. In Episode Four, David looks at the 1990s and 2000s. He sees how Italia 90 was a turning point for perceptions of the sport, before turning his attention to the glamour and promise of the 'golden generation' of English players and the subsequent slow descent of the team (and the country) into uncertainly and anger. The series delves deep into how national myths are both forged and reflected in the fate of eleven young men with three lions on their shirts. It takes in the view from England's sporting rivals, from Wales to Argentina, and asks what light the success of England's Woman casts on the story of England's Men. Across the series, David Baddiel will be joined by contributors including Stephen Fry, Alex James, Maisie Adam, Elis James, Barney Ronay, Roy Williams, Des Lynam, Stuart Pearce, Jean Williams, David Goldblatt, Pippa Grange, Jonathan Wilson, David Seaman, Omid Djalili and many more.Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel is produced by BBC Studios Audio for BBC Radio 4, in collaboration with Left Bank Pictures who are producing the upcoming drama Dear England for BBC iPlayer and BBC One.Host: David Baddiel Producers: Rich Power and David Baddiel Assistant Producer: Isaac Fisher
Amol is back from his stint in the Celebrity Traitors castle. This week, while in town for the South by Southwest festival, Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry's drops by the Radical studio to talk about what took his ice cream company from a single store in rural America into a billion-dollar business. Ben Cohen argues that most corporations have trained people to believe profit and purpose are from separate worlds – while he says that a company's values should be as important to its mission as making money. Cohen makes the case that consumers are not just shoppers – they are citizens with wallets. He criticises companies that pay lip-service to that through short-term social media campaigns backing the trendy topic of the day, without embedding those values into their business model. But in an age when many companies are dropping their principles when the politics changes, can business really be a force for good – or does purpose melt away when profits are at stake? GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday. Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC's media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Tom Smithard and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Leona Gasper. Technical production was by Mike Regaard. The editor is Sam Bonham.
Ciao to all of our listeners, and benvenuto to our next guest, the fabulous Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli! We're so excited to be part of Giorgio's big announcement that he is set to be the new judge on Celebrity Masterchef on BBC One later this year! Mum took up the challenge of cooking for this Michelin star chef, and she even had a helping hand from the master himself. Not only is Giorgio an incredible chef, but he definitely needs his own Italian travel series too - we heard all about the very best places to visit in Italy, food spots in Sicily, where to find the very best olive oil, that his grandparents lived past 100 and you won't want to miss his tip on how to find the best tinned tomatoes in the supermarket! Thank you for a gorgeous evening Giorgio, we can't wait to see you in action on Masterchef later in the year.Listen & watch Table Manners here - https://tablemanners.komi.io/Follow Table Manners on:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tablemannerspodcast/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@tablemannerspodcastFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/tablemannerspodcastYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TableMannersPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel' explores the meaning of England and Englishness through the history of the England Men's Football team. This is a social and cultural history as much as a sporting one, examining the story England tells about itself and how it's changed, via the medium of the international game. In episode three, David tackles the ‘English disease' of hooliganism and looks at how it was, if not cured, then certainly treated. England fans are not defined by hooliganism, but it's impossible to look at the story of the England team without examining the headline grabbing behaviour of some of its fans. As applause for the 1966 World Cup faded away, the England story didn't take long to add violence and extremism to its mix of patriotism, enthusiasm and natural sporting tension. Contributors including Cass Pennant, Kevin Day, David Goldblatt, and Roy Williams, share their experience of English football's violent surges through the seventies and eighties, before a charting a change in fan behaviour as football emerged into the 1990s. The series delves deep into how national myths are both forged and reflected in the fate of eleven young men with three lions on their shirts. It takes in the view from England's sporting rivals, from Wales to Argentina, and asks what light the success of England's Woman casts on the story of England's Men. Across the series, David Baddiel will be joined by contributors including Stephen Fry, Alex James, Maisie Adam, Elis James, Barney Ronay, Roy Williams, Des Lynam, Stuart Pearce, Jean Williams, David Goldblatt, Pippa Grange, Jonathan Wilson, David Seaman, Omid Djalili and many more.Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel is produced by BBC Studios Audio for BBC Radio 4, in collaboration with Left Bank Pictures who are producing the upcoming drama Dear England for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Host: David Baddiel Producers: Rich Power and David Baddiel Assistant Producer: Isaac Fisher
Hayley Campbell, Scott Bryan and Naga Munchetty review the week's biggest new TV and streaming releases. This week the trio reviewed 'Widow's Bay' a ten-part comedy horror on Apple TV. Matthew Rhys stars at the mayor of a fictional New England town, who refuses to believe the superstitions of the residents who claim the island is cursed, only to begin encountering various supernatural happenings himself.Next, Kylie' a documentary on Netflix looking into the pop stars' life and her career spanning over 40 years and still counting. Produced by John Battsek and directed by Michael Harte, the series dives into her time on Neighbors, overcoming her cancer diagnosis and the preparations for her anniversary tour next year. Finally, 'Dear England' on BBC One and the iPlayer, a four-part drama based on the stage play by James Graham which explores the England men's football team - and its relationship with national identity. Joseph Fiennes stars as Gareth Southgate.Remember you can email mustwatch@bbc.co.uk to have your say.
'Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel' explores the meaning of England and Englishness through the history of the England Men's Football team. This is a social and cultural history as much as a sporting one, examining the story England tells about itself and how it's changed, via the medium of the international game.In episode two, England v Mavericks, David shares a theory that he once unsuccessfully shared with England Manager, Terry Venables. England isn't good at dealing with talent, specifically with maverick talent, talent that doesn't play by the rules - the best kind of talent. As a result, England men's football is littered with wonderous players who won very few caps, and never more than in the 1970s. David thinks the team, in this respect, represents the country and gets to the bottom of how various kinds of Englishness fought to keep the genius Brian Clough away from the manager's job, and Rodney Marsh, the most talented player of his generation, away from the team. Across the series, David Baddiel will be joined by contributors including Stephen Fry, Alex James, Maisie Adam, Elis James, Barney Ronay, Roy Williams, Des Lynam, Stuart Pearce, Jean Williams, David Goldblatt, Pippa Grange, Jonathan Wilson, David Seaman, Omid Djalili and many more.Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel is produced by BBC Studios Audio for BBC Radio 4, in collaboration with Left Bank Pictures who are producing the upcoming drama Dear England for BBC iPlayer and BBC One.The producers are Rich Power and David Baddiel.
Comedian, actor and writer Dawn French is best known as one half of one of the UK's most successful comedy double acts, and as the fictional vicar Geraldine Granger. She's also a bestselling author, and her latest book, Enough, is her fifth novel — her eighth book in total. It blends dark humour with some tougher themes she thinks are important to explore. She joins Nuala to discuss.More than 10,000 pregnant women and girls, primarily unmarried mothers, passed through mother and baby homes in Northern Ireland from the 1920s to the 1990s. Survivors have long campaigned for compensation and have criticised Stormont's proposed redress scheme. The current bill limits compensation to the families of victims who died after 29 September 2011. Yesterday, an amendment to remove the cut-off date was not selected for debate at the Assembly. Campaigners say this excludes many women who were 'failed in life and now failed in death.' The legislation will also establish an inquiry into the institutions. Nuala is joined by BBC Ireland Correspondent Chris Page and Mechelle Dillon from the campaign group Birth Mothers and their Children for Justice.There were 35,000 assaults on staff in Scotland's schools in the last academic year, according to a BBC investigation. New figures suggest assaults by pupils have increased by 55% in just two years. Unions say the true total is likely to be far higher, as not all incidents are recorded. Nuala is joined by the BBC education and social affairs correspondent in Scotland, Lucy Adams, who's been investigating the issue, and Mandy MacDowell, UNISON Scotland's education lead, which represents support staff. Two Weeks in August is a new BBC One drama series centred on a group of old university friends who reunite in Greece for what's meant to be a relaxing holiday, but when an illicit kiss sparks escalating tensions, things unravel in unexpected, even slightly supernatural ways. Nuala is joined by its writer and creator Catherine Shepherd and one of its stars, Jessica Raine, known for Call the Midwife, Wolf Hall and The Devil's Hour.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Dianne McGregor
Released in 1986, Crocodile Dundee was directed by Peter Faiman and co-written by Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie, and John Cornell, with Hogan also starring as the now-iconic Mick Dundee. Made on a modest budget of around A$8.8 million, the film was designed to be a broad, crowd-pleasing Australian comedy that could travel internationally — which is exactly what it did, with all the subtlety of a bloke walking into a New York hotel with a knife the size of a paving slab.Filming took place across Australia and the United States, including Queensland, Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, and New York City. Linda Kozlowski was cast opposite Hogan as American journalist Sue Charlton, while the supporting cast included John Meillon, David Gulpilil, Mark Blum, and Michael Lombard. The film became a worldwide box-office phenomenon, earning more than US$328 million globally and turning Mick Dundee into one of the most recognisable screen characters of the VHS era.TRAILER GUY PLOT SYNOPSISDeep in the Australian Outback, where the wildlife wants to kill you and the locals treat mortal danger as light admin, one man has become a legend. His name is Mick Dundee — hunter, survivor, charmer, and possibly the only man alive who looks at a crocodile and thinks, “G'Day”When a New York journalist travels across the world to meet him, she finds more than just a story. She finds a man who doesn't quite fit into polite society, mostly because polite society has fewer snakes, fewer campfires, and significantly less casual knife work.But when Mick Dundee swaps the Outback for Manhattan, the jungle changes. The predators wear suits, the streets are full of noise, and our hero must face his greatest challenge yet: modern civilisation. Strewth, New York doesn't know what's coming.FUN FACTSCrocodile Dundee was inspired in part by the real-life exploits of Australian bushman Rod Ansell, whose survival story helped feed the mythic quality of Mick Dundee.Paul Hogan was already a major TV personality in Australia before the film, thanks to The Paul Hogan Show, but this movie made him an international star.The screenplay received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, which is not bad for a film best remembered by many people for one very specific knife comparison.Paul Hogan won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy for his performance as Mick Dundee.The film was released in Australia in April 1986 and in the United States in September 1986, where it became a major hit.There are different cuts of the film: the international version was slightly shorter and adjusted some Australian slang for overseas audiences.The famous “Walkabout Creek Hotel” scenes were filmed at the Walkabout Creek Hotel in McKinlay, Queensland, which became a tourist destination after the movie's success.The film was a huge success on UK television, drawing a massive Christmas Day audience when it aired on BBC One in 1989.A restored 4K version, Crocodile Dundee: The Encore Cut, premiered in 2025 with several edits and updates for modern release.MUSICCheckout the parody music from the show on Spotify here.SUPPORT THE SHOWSupport the Show If you enjoy the show and would like to support us, we have a Patreon here. If you're listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leaving us a 5-star review (and a short comment) really helps more people discover the show. It's quick, free, and makes a huge difference. Referral links also help out the show if you were going to sign up:NordVPNNordPassthevhsstrikesback@gmail.comhttps://linktr.ee/vhsstrikesback
In this episode of the Anglotopia Podcast, Jonathan Thomas sits down with Spencer Murphy — Assistant Professor in Media and Communications at Coventry University, specialist in film theory and cross-cultural cinema, and founder of the Coventry East Asian Film Society — for a wide-ranging, enthusiastic, and genuinely entertaining conversation about British film. What is a British film, exactly? Is it about the money, the cast, the crew, the story, or the setting? How does class permeate almost every British film ever made, from Ealing comedies to Harry Potter? Why does the British landscape function as a character in its own right? And why do Americans connect so deeply with British cinema when its sensibility — restrained, ironic, self-deprecating — is so different from Hollywood's? Jonathan and Spencer also trade their top five British films each, debate the new Wuthering Heights adaptation (neither of them liked it), and discuss why British cinema's literary inheritance is both its greatest strength and, sometimes, its creative limitation. Links Spencer Murphy at Coventry University BFI Top 100 British Films Dead Man's Shoes (2004, Shane Meadows) The Full Monty (1997) The Remains of the Day (1993) Rebecca (1940, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) Tamara Drewe (2010, dir. Stephen Frears) Friends of Anglotopia Takeaways Defining what constitutes a British film is genuinely one of the hardest questions in film studies — it can't be reduced to funding source, shooting location, cast, or director alone. Both Jonathan and Spencer agree the most satisfying answer involves who is behind the artistic vision, but even that gets complicated fast. The "Mary Poppins test" is Spencer's shorthand for films that feel very British on the surface but aren't authentically so — the tourist's vision of Britain, the chocolate-box version that meets an expectation rather than reflecting a reality. British film has a deep and complicated two-way relationship with how Britain represents itself to tourists — Hollywood's vision of Britain shapes what visitors expect, and British places have increasingly adapted to meet those expectations, from Harry Potter shops in York's Shambles to the way villages brand themselves around filming locations. Class is the single most persistent thread running through British cinema across every decade and genre — from Ealing comedies to Downton Abbey to Trainspotting — and Spencer argues it's almost impossible to think of a major British film that isn't, consciously or not, about the class system. British cinema's literary inheritance — the endless cycle of Jane Austen, Brontë, and Robin Hood adaptations — is both a commercial lifeline and a creative constraint. Spencer sees it as potentially reducing the space for new voices and contemporary stories, though he acknowledges the money it generates can fund smaller, more singular films. The British landscape is not just a setting in British cinema — it functions as a character, carrying regional pride and identity in a way that Hollywood rarely matches. Spencer notes that British location managers and production designers feel a deep obligation to get place right in a way their American counterparts don't always have. Spencer's explanation for why Americans love British film comes down to one word: self-deprecation. British culture — and British cinema — is not afraid to ridicule itself, to see its own shortcomings, and to raise them with others in a way that doesn't quite offend. He sees this as the quality Hollywood fundamentally cannot replicate. The new Wuthering Heights adaptation was a near-universal disappointment for both Jonathan and Spencer — not for lack of visual quality, but for failing the fundamental question every film must answer: who is this for? Spencer's most unexpected recommendation is Dead Man's Shoes (2004) by Shane Meadows — a harrowing, masterful, deeply regional Midlands film that he shows students as one of the most authentic and powerful representations of working-class Britain ever put on screen. The incoming Harry Potter TV series — set explicitly in the 1990s with a period-appropriate visual aesthetic — is likely to have a bigger impact on British tourism than anything since the original films, and will once again reshape what visitors expect Britain to look and feel like when they arrive. Soundbites "When I grew up, I really loved Hong Kong movies — Bruce Lee. The thing that fascinated me was you had streets with Chinese signs, but then Royal Albert Street, buses that looked like London buses. I remember my dad saying, 'Oh, it's part of Britain.' And I was like, what? That can't be so." — Spencer on the connection between British colonialism and his career in film. "It's almost like a snake eating its tail. Britain adapts to meet the expectation that its own exported films have created. You go to the Shambles in York and every other shop sells Harry Potter things and tea — because that's what people want to see." — Spencer on cinema's two-way influence on British culture and tourism. "Class in the UK is not purely related to finance. You can be a very, very wealthy working class person. You could be a millionaire and you'll always be working class. That idea of class being embedded generationally — going back hundreds and hundreds of years — movies articulate that struggle." — Spencer on why class is the defining thread of British cinema. "I'm from the Black Country — a heavily industrial area. I moved into what people would call a very middle class job as a lecturer at university. But my accent, the way I speak, where I'm from — it's working class and it will never leave me." — Spencer on living the class story British cinema tells. "You could argue British cinema is trying, in the 1940s post-war period, to lay out the parameters of class once more — because the great leveller of class was the Second World War, when it really didn't matter who your parents were. People were dying at every rank." — Spencer on class and British cinema's post-war identity crisis. "I always think of it as the King Charles test. He gave that speech in Congress — understated, but deeply critical, undercutting the president in a way where nobody could quite call him out for it. That is quintessentially British. And I think British film does that too." — Spencer on why Americans love British cinema's self-deprecating wit. "You're never going to see a British version of Top Gun. It's just never going to happen. Hollywood can be very congratulatory. British cinema is not afraid to ridicule what it is to be British — and I think that appeals to American audiences enormously." — Spencer on the fundamental difference between British and American cinema. "Wuthering Heights — I watched it and I thought, I don't even know what it felt like, but it didn't feel British to me. I wasn't sure who it was made for. Is this made for 19 year olds? Because I don't get it." — Spencer on the Emerald Fennell adaptation. "Dead Man's Shoes is harrowing and awful, but it had a massive impact on me. It touches on class, on the 1980s, on the downtrodden. It's a film I've seen about three times. I show it to students because it's just masterful." — Spencer on his most unexpected British film recommendation. "When they replayed the Royal Wedding coverage in the pub, you know what came on after it on BBC One? Wallace and Gromit. The perfect chaser of all that Britishness." — Jonathan on the most quintessentially British television scheduling decision ever made. ⠀ Chapters 00:00 Introduction — Jonathan sets up the episode and introduces Spencer Murphy 01:50 Spencer's Journey into Film — VHS tapes, corner video stores, Hong Kong martial arts films, and an accidental PhD 04:36 Jonathan Meets His Wife at Film School — A brief Anglotopia origin story 05:13 Southeast Asian Cinema and the British Colonial Lens — How post-1997 Hong Kong shaped Spencer's thinking about national cinema 08:52 What Is a British Film? — The question neither host can fully answer, and why that's the right response 12:36 Jonathan's Working Definition — Setting, cast, and the authenticity test 13:37 The Merchant Ivory Problem — When a British story isn't quite a British film 14:32 The Mary Poppins Test — How to spot a tourist's version of Britain on screen 16:17 Harry Potter, Bond & Lawrence of Arabia — Are America's favourite "British" films actually British? 18:46 Cinema's Two-Way Effect on Britain — How films shape the places they portray 20:53 Harry Potter as Britain's Biggest Cultural Export — And the new TV series that will change tourism again 22:29 The Visual Identity of the Harry Potter TV Show — Why setting it in the 1990s is a smart move 24:28 British Film Genres — Social realism, heritage drama, comedy, Hammer Horror, and what each adds to the British identity 26:50 Class as British Cinema's Defining Thread — Why it runs through every genre from Ealing to Peaky Blinders 31:33 The Full Monty, Billy Elliot & Richard Curtis — Class in 1990s British film 33:36 Accents, Class & the Transatlantic Voice — From clipped 1930s RP to Trainspotting's Scots 38:45 British Cinema & Literary Adaptation — Strength or creative constraint? 42:49 The New Wuthering Heights — Two film lovers find they agree it didn't work, and debate why 47:36 Landscape as Character — How place functions in British cinema differently from Hollywood 52:08 Why Americans Love British Film — Self-deprecation, irony, and the King Charles Congressional speech 55:23 The Battle of Britain vs Top Gun — How British and American cinema represent heroism differently 55:50 Spencer's Top Five British Films — Rebecca, Dr. No, The Devil Rides Out, The Full Monty, Dead Man's Shoes 59:14 Jonathan's Top Five British Films — The Remains of the Day, Master and Commander, About Time, Tamara Drewe, That Hamilton Woman, Hot Fuzz, On Chesil Beach, and Wallace & Gromit 1:03:06 Wallace & Gromit After the Royal Wedding — The perfect end to any discussion of British culture 1:04:08 Wrap-Up — Spencer must dash, a second episode is promised, and a call to share your own favorite British films Video Version
'Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel' explores the meaning of England and Englishness through the history of the England Men's Football team. This is a social and cultural history as much as a sporting one, examining the story England tells about itself and how it's changed, via the medium of the international game.“Football is singularly the most important cultural institution in the country for defining Englishness” says Historian David Goldblatt, as the series begins looking at the most famous moment in English football – the world cup win in 1966. Comedian, writer and football fan, David Baddiel, sees how the victory adorned swinging London, and yet the characters in the team spoke to a very different kind of England. David also travels back to the very origins of the game in England (discovering that Henry VIII had a pair of football boots), checks in with Elis James for a view from Wales, and muses on the meaning of national anthems. The series delves deep into how national myths are both forged and reflected in the fate of eleven young men with three lions on their shirts. It takes in the view from England's sporting rivals, from Wales to Argentina, and asks what light the success of England's Woman casts on the story of England's Men.Across the series, David Baddiel will be joined by contributors including Stephen Fry, Alex James, Maisie Adam, Elis James, Barney Ronay, Roy Williams, Des Lynam, Stuart Pearce, Jean Williams, David Goldblatt, Pippa Grange, Jonathan Wilson, David Seaman, Omid Djalili and many more.Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel is produced by BBC Studios Audio for BBC Radio 4, in collaboration with Left Bank Pictures who are producing the upcoming drama Dear England for BBC iPlayer and BBC One.The producers are Rich Power and David Baddiel.
This week we have the fantastic James Graham joining us for lunch! James came by to talk about his award winning play, Dear England coming to the BBC. Over lunch, we covered everything from growing up in a Nottinghamshire mining village and telly dinners, to the huge Sunday roasts his family loved. We also chatted about Gareth Southgate, turning football into theatre, his love of musicals, the Polish soup disaster that put him off hosting, and his very romantic passion for whisky. James was such a thoughtful guest, we are such fans of his work and we absolutely loved having him at the table. Dear England is coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this month!Listen & watch Table Manners here - https://tablemanners.komi.io/Follow Table Manners on:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tablemannerspodcast/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@tablemannerspodcastFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/tablemannerspodcastYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TableMannersPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Reid Hoffman is one of the founding fathers of the modern technology industry – an early investor and champion of the world of AI and the co-founder of the largest professional network in the world, LinkedIn. In this episode, he answers your questions on whether tech leaders understand the scale of their responsibility over the job market, how politicians will deal with the potential repercussions of tech on the working class, how AI could be used for evil, and what his contemporaries Elon Musk and Sam Altman are really like. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Monday. Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC's media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Rufus Gray and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Joe Wilkinson and Beth Pritchard. Technical production was by Stephen Bailey. The Senior News Editor is Sam Bonham.
Join Dave from the Doctor Who Show, Rob and Mark from 42 to Doomsday, and Richard from Spacefall: A Blakes 7 Podcast, after knocking back a few gin and tonics at Dave's place and watching 1996's Doctor Who: The Movie. This podcast goes out two days short of the movie's 30th anniversary. Developed as a co-production between Universal Studios and BBC Worldwide, it premiered on 12 May 1996 on the Canadian television station CITV in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 15 days before its first showing in the United Kingdom on BBC One and two days before being broadcast in the United States on Fox. The movie follows the Seventh Doctor, played by Sylvester McCoy, who is shot shortly after arriving in 1999 San Francisco while transporting the remains of his old enemy, The Master. He regenerates into the Eighth Doctor, played by Paul McGann, and teams up with surgeon Grace Holloway to stop the Master from stealing the Doctor's remaining lives by opening the Eye of Harmony inside the TARDIS. Contact us: Bluesky: @thedwshow.net X / Twitter: @theDWshow Email: hello@theDWshow.net Substack: thedwshow.substack.com Facebook: facebook.com/theDWshow
Dr Ittai Gradel, the Danish antiquities dealer who uncovered the theft of hundreds of artefacts from the British Museum. Katie Razzall recalls how he helped her report the story.Dame Shirley Porter, the Conservative leader of Westminster Council who had a spectacular fall from grace over the 'homes for votes' scandal.Professor Nigel Dunnett, the horticulturalist and garden designer, known for his ambitious public planting displays at the Olympic Park in East London and the moat of the Tower of London. His friend and fellow gardener Arit Anderson pays tribute.Maria Nieves Rego, the dancer who took the tango from Argentina to the rest of the world. Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: BBC One, News at Ten, 16/08/2023; BBC Radio 4, Front Row, 11/09/2023; BBC Parliament, House of Commons Culture Media and Sport Select Committee, 23/10/2023; BBC Radio 4, Shadow World: Thief at the British Museum 31/05/2024; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs, 28/04/1991; BBC, Radio 4, The Report, 10/05/1996; BBC One, News at Six, 05/07/2004; BBC Radio 4, Costing the Earth: Where Have all our Gardens Gone?, 29/09/2015; The Man from Atlanta, 23/08/1982; Our Last Tango: Official Trailer, Uploaded to YouTube, 31/05/2016
This week, Amol is joined by the tech billionaire Reid Hoffman. Hoffman is best known for creating the largest professional network in the world, LinkedIn, and revolutionising the world of work. His radical idea is that he wants to do it again with a rapid adoption of AI in the workplace in a way that is safe and ethical. The question is, how? In this episode we ask one of the world's richest men why he thinks AI could change the workplace for better and for worse, whether billionaires should pay more tax, and his former relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Monday. Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC's media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Rufus Gray and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Joe Wilkinson and Beth Pritchard. Technical production was by Stephen Bailey. The Senior News Editor is Sam Bonham.
Amol puts your questions, queries, and concerns about AI to Matt Clifford, co-founder of Entrepreneurs First and former AI adviser to Number 10. Matt is a strong advocate for Britain's rapid uptake of AI to boost the economy, but what are the risks? We asked him about capitalism, tech stifling creativity, universal basic income, how the UK government deals with the speed of AI development, and what the impact on inequality might be. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Monday and Thursday. Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He also hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor of The Independent newspaper. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Rufus Gray and Oscar Pearson. Technical production was by Ricardo McCarthy. The Senior News Editor is Sam Bonham.
Naga Munchetty is joined by Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan to review the week's biggest TV and streaming releases.On this week's podcast, the team review BBC One's five-part crime thriller ‘The Cage', featuring Sheridan Smith. It follows casino thieves Matty and Leanne - played by Michael Socha and Sheridan Smith - after the pair realise they have been stealing from the same casino safe, sending them on a path into the world of crime.Second, the trio discuss the new Netflix cult drama Unchosen. Created and written by Julie Gearey, and inspired by real-life experiences in high-control religious communities in the UK, it follows a fictional ultra conservative patriarchal community in rural England run by Mr. Phillips, played by Christopher Eccleston. Last up is ITV's five-part espionage thriller Secret Service, starring Gemma Arterton as an MI6 officer unmasking a Russian mole within the UK government. In the process, she risks her reputation and her family, as an election looms.
Jaega Wise meets chef and broadcaster Matt Tebbutt at home in South Wales, to discuss his "Life Through Food". Matt has been presenting Saturday Kitchen Life on BBC One for almost a decade, but before he was a TV Presenter he worked as a chef - first in professional kitchens in London (he was in fact sacked by Marco Pierre White) and later ran his own gastropub in south Wales. It was his cooking there at The Foxhunter - which he ran with his wife Lisa - that first got him noticed by the media, and an appearance on the second ever series of the Great British Menu. To discover what life is like on set for Matt, Jaega also pays a visit to the studios of Saturday Kitchen Live as they are rehearsing, to see how the live cooking show is put together week after week. She meets the team in the backstage "engine room" - the test kitchen - and discovers what they mean when they talk about "heroes", and finds out what happens at 11.30am after the cameras get turned off. Plus she chats to wine expert Olly Smith about Matt's career and the friendship they've developed while working in food tv. Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan
Xia De-hong, inspired her daughter Jung Chang to write the best selling book Wild Swans about her trials and tribulations at the hands of the Chinese government.Lord Hunt, the meteorologist and former Director General and Chief Executive of the Met Office, who was an expert in turbulence.Joan Burstein, ran the influential Browns boutique in London's South Molton Street, backing the careers of many leading designers.Bill Leader, the recording engineer who captured all the leading performers of the folk revival of the 1960s and 70s.Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: Tomorrow's World, BBC One,18/11/1965; You and Yours, BBC Radio 4, 27/06/2005; My Life in Seven Charms, with Annoushka Ducas MBE, 27/05/2021; Joan Burstein Browns 50 Testimonial, Browns Fashion (Uploaded to Youtube - 22 Oct 2020); Best of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, BBC Two, Uploaded to Youtube
This week, Amol speaks to Matt Clifford, co-founder of Entrepreneurs First and former AI adviser to Number 10. Matt's radical idea is simple; he wants to make Britain wealthy again by supercharging economic growth. He argues that economic stagnation has left the UK with flat living standards and wages. In short, he says, Britain needs a pay rise - and the way to get it is through a rapid adoption of AI, and backing entrepreneurs. But what are the challenges? Amol and Matt discuss the potential winners and losers in the AI revolution, the dangers of cutting red tape, and whether economic growth really is the best way of improving our lives.GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and Monday. Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC's media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper.Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Rufus Gray and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Ricardo McCarthy. The Senior News Editor is Sam Bonham.
Joining us this episode to discuss the highs and lows of parenting (and life) is YouTuber, bodybuilder, fitness coach and television personality - also known for appearing as Legend on the British sports game show Gladiators - Matt Morisa. Matt's new book FITNESS UNLOCKED is available to pre-order now and out on the 4 June 2026. Matt is also 'Legend' in the new BBC One hit series, Gladiators. You can watch the new UK Gladiators on BBC iPlayer Youtube: @mattdoesfitness Instagram: @mattdoesfitness Parenting Hell is available to watch on Spotify every Tuesday and Friday. Please subscribe and leave a rating and review you filthy street dogs... xxx If you want to get in touch with the show with any correspondence, kids intro audio clips, small business shout outs, and more.... here's how: EMAIL: Hello@lockdownparenting.co.uk Follow us on instagram: @parentinghell Sales, advertising, and general enquiries: hello@keepitlightmedia.com A 'Keep It Light Media' Production (Copyright 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
*The episode suffers from some audio issues*. Gary returns to the podcast alongside Matt and Dawn to review four brand new British dramas available this week. Fresh off the massive success of his Netflix series Baby Reindeer, Richard Gadd is back with his first original idea for a series. Half Man, available on BBC One and iPlayer, and co-produced by HBO, is the story of toxic masicnility between two men who were brought together when their two mothers fall in love. In a lot of ways, it shares some DNA with the show that catapulted Gadd to stardom, but is that a good thing? Next, we loved the BBC drama The Responder, which starred Martin Freeman as a stressed out police responser struggling to keep his head above water. Writer Tony Shumacker is very good at writing ordinary people in increasingly stressful situations. His new show, The Cage, stars Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha as two employees of a casino who abuse their position to get ahead in their difficult lives. It's another show that feels a lot like the show that proceeded it. Somehow, though, despite strong lead performances, something doesn't click. Next, ITV have a new political thriller in Secret Service. It's a tropey show that feels very much like a show Gary should and would like, but is that the case? Finally, there's Prisoner, a propulsive new thriller on Sky Atlantic. The series puts Big Boys Izuka Hoyle in the spotlight as a prisoner officer who gets caught in the action when trying to transport a prisoner from one place to another. *The episode suffers from some audio issues*.
This week, Amol puts your questions to the businesswoman Emma Grede - from opportunity and motivation, to how dyslexia can contribute to our work ethic and the way we approach tasks. Emma Grede is the co‑founder of Skims, created with her husband Jens and Kim Kardashian, and the CEO and co‑founder of Good American, a fashion label known for its focus on inclusivity. She also serves on the board of the Obama Foundation and is an ambassador for The King's Trust. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday. Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC's media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made Lewis Vickers, Anna Budd, Rufus Gray, and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davies. Technical production was by Mike Regaard. The Senior News Editor is Sam Bonham.
This week, the entrepreneur Emma Grede challenges ‘old thoughts' about work-life balance, money, motherhood and success. She argues that focus, trade-offs and relentless effort matter more than comfort. From growing up in East London to building global businesses, she makes the case that opportunity still exists, if you're willing to chase it. But are her ideas liberating - or just unforgiving? Emma Grede is the co‑founder of Skims, created with her husband Jens and Kim Kardashian, and the CEO and co‑founder of Good American, a fashion label known for its focus on inclusivity. She also serves on the board of the Obama Foundation and is an ambassador for The King's Trust. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday. Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC's media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers, Anna Budd, Rufus Gray, and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Mike Regaard. The Senior News Editor is Sam Bonham.
The amazing Emma Laird spills the beans on starring in new crime series Mint, which continues next Monday on BBC One at 9pm, with all eight episodes available now on BBC iPlayer.Catch TFI Unplugged on Channel 4 from 11pm on Friday nights or on the Virgin Radio UK YouTube channel! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Awesome American actor Olivia Munn swings by to chat to us all about the season two of Your Friends and Neighbours on Apple TV!The marvellous Kris Marshall tells us all we need to know about Beyond Paradise season four with new episodes out every Friday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer!Watch all episodes of TFI Unplugged on the Virgin Radio UK YouTube channel. Just search Virgin Radio UK on all of our socials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Amol puts your Radical questions to Adrian Wooldridge, a Bloomberg columnist and author of ‘Centrists of the World Unite: The Lost Genius of Liberalism'. They discuss individualism and society, a decline in support for the centre ground, the potential dangers of nostalgia, and how the political centre could engage young people. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday. Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC's media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Rufus Gray and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davies. Technical production was by Jonny Baker. The editor is Sam Bonham.
Hayley Campbell, Scott Bryan and Naga Munchetty review the week's biggest new TV and streaming releases.This week the trio review the third and highly anticipated season of ‘Euphoria' on HBO Max, where we see most of the original star-studded cast reprise their roles including Jacob Elordi, Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney. The series is set five years on from where we last left the cast in season 2, all the characters have moved into their adult lives and are trying to find their way in the world now they've left high school.Next ‘Mint' a new eight-part drama on BBC One, written and directed by Charlotte Regan. It follows the story of Shannon, played by Emma Laird and Arran, played by Benjamin Coyle-Larner who are both children of rival crime families and against the odds fall in love. Finally, ‘Margo's Got Money Troubles' on Apple TV which follows Margo, played by Elle Fanning, a pregnant college drop out who's navigating the trials and tribulations of becoming a single mother. Fanning's co-stars include Michelle Pfeiffer and Nick Offerman who play her mum and dad. Remember you can email mustwatch@bbc.co.uk to have your say.
The Irish actor chats about playing comedic roles in tv series like 'The Dry' (which is coming back soon for a third and final series), as well as tougher roles like ‘Babies' on BBC One. She also chats about her own path into an acting career, beginning with theatre, and never taking work for granted.
This week, the columnist and author Adrian Wooldridge joins Amol to argue that liberalism is not only the best ideology for the future, but that it's also under serious threat. Wooldridge sees populist movements on the right and identity-focused politics on the left as potentially fatal to liberal principles. The once dominant post-war philosophy has had a bad rap recently, so why should we bring it back? Has liberalism itself grown complacent? Is it now an out-of-touch establishment, failing to address modern challenges like social cohesion and corporate power? To survive, Wooldridge says, we must take radical steps to renew liberalism for the modern age and embrace the political centre again. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and Monday. Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC's media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Rufus Gray and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davies. Technical production was by Jonny Baker. The editor is Sam Bonham.
Amol runs through your questions with the Times columnist James Marriott. They take on whether we could use technology to encourage people to do more reading, pessimism on social media, and whether we risk changing our sense of what it means to be human when we lose our connection to imaginary worlds in books. James's Radio 4 series ‘How Reading Made Us' is available now on BBC Sounds. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday. Amol presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor of The Independent newspaper. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers and Rufus Gray with Anna Budd, Cordelia Hemming and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davies. Technical production was by Johnny Hall. The editor is Sam Bonham.
Lily Phillips is one of the most exciting up and coming voices in comedy in the UK. She was a Runner Up at the 2019 Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year, Funny Women Finalist 2018, and was a part of prestigious Pleasance Comedy Reserve at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2021, she reached the grand final of the BBC New Comedy Awards on BBC One and she was Chortle's One to Watch 2022. She is a series regular on The Stand Up Sketch Show and The Stand Up Sketch Show Christmas Special (ITV2), and she recently starred in a new hidden camera show for E4 Digital as a fake podcast host. Her credits also include Period Dramas (BBC3), The Joy Of Missing Out (All4), and comedy shorts for Comedy Central Online. She has also debated at the Oxford Union. Lily is also a talented writer and in 2021, her script beat out over 1,000 applicants to be shortlisted as the final 3 in the Funny Women's Writer's Award, sponsored by Sky Studios. Lily has fronted campaigns for Dominos, North Face, Bumble, and Mooncup, bringing her hilarious brand of feminist comedy to the masses .Lily Phillips is our guest in episode 577 of My Time Capsule and chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things she'd like to put in a time capsule; four she'd like to preserve and one she'd like to bury and never have to think about again .Tickets for Lily Phillips: Crying at Soho Theatre available here - https://sohotheatre.com/events/lily-phillips-crying .For everything else Lily Phillips, including her podcast, visit - https://www.lilyphillipscomedy.com .Follow Lily Phillips on Instagram: @lilyphillipscomedy .Follow My Time Capsule on Instagram: @mytimecapsulepodcast & Twitter/X & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter/X: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by matthewboxall.com .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people .To support this podcast, get all episodes ad-free and a bonus episode every Wednesday of "My Time Capsule The Debrief', please sign up here - https://mytimecapsule.supercast.com. All money goes straight into the making of the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
John Wilson onRobert Fox the producer who had a career that spanned theatre, film and television. We have tributes from Colin Firth, Rupert Everett and Robert's brother, the actor Edward Fox.Mary Rand MBE, the first British woman to win an Olympic athletics gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.Sir Tony Hoare, one of the world's leading computer software designers who developed algorithms and languages which have become industry standards. Biruté Galdikas, the primatologist and conservationist whose years of studying orangutans in their natural habitat helped understand and protect the primates.Interviewee: Edward Fox Interviewee: Rupert Everett Interviewee: Colin Firth Interviewee: Wendy Sly Interviewee: Professor Bill Roscoe Interviewee: Professor Erin VogelProducer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyArchive used: Another Country movie promo, Another Country Trailer, 1984, director Marek Kanievska, writer Julian Mitchell, Goldcrest Films International,, YouTube Uploaded by Sundance Now, 04/10/2017; Another Country, Queen's Theatre, directed by Stuart Burge, written by Julian Mitchell, 1982, broadcast on Newsnight, BBC Two, 02/03/1982; Mary Rand at the 1964 Olympics, BBC Sound Archive, commentary by David Coleman, 1964 Tokyo Olympics, 14/01/1964; An Interview with Tony Hoare, ACM 1980 A.M. Turing Award Recipient, Interviewer: Cliff Jones, Newcastle University, 24/11/2015, uploaded to Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) YouTube channel on 25/10/2016; Biruté Galdikas interview, Good Morning, BBC One, 15/02/1995; Biruté Galdikas, Great Apes Documentary, BBC Two, 29/02/1976; Biruté Galdikas interview, Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4, 16/02/1995;
Matthew Bannister onSir Craig Reedie, the sports administrator who led London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympics and went on to become President of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Lord Coe pays tribute. Bronwen Naish, the musician who devoted her life to promoting the joys of the double bass.Geoff Yeadon, the world record breaking cave diver from Yorkshire.And Margareta Magnusson, best known as the author of the book “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning”.Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyArchive: Daytime Live, BBC One, 21/01/1988; Edinburgh Festival Fringe, YouTube Upload, Browen Naish, 01/09/2020; Bartholomew, YouTube Upload, Bronwen Naish, 04/09/2020; Wogan, BBC One, 01/07/1985; A Visit with Bronwen Naish, Bass-Talk with Hagen and Heyes, YouTube Upload, 25/02/2024; Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4, 09/01/2018 Conversation Piece, BBC Radio 4, 07/05/1982; Behind the Ears, BBC Radio 3, 15/06/2025; BBC Look North, BBC, June 1983; BBC News, BBC, 06/06/2005; Newsnight, BBC One, 21/07/2016; Mixed Zone interview of Sir Craig Reedie – The ANOC Awards 2022; BBC News, BBC, 06/07/2005; The Daily Politics, BBC 2, 14/01/2003
This week, the columnist and writer James Marriott argues that reading is essential to the rise and fall of liberal democracy. He proposes that reading helps the spread of information, encourages critical thinking, and forces people to structure their ideas logically. But he's concerned the shift from deep reading to digital skim-reading - driven largely by screens - is weakening our ability to think in complex, reflective ways. He suggests the decline has political consequences - that a less literate, more screen-dependent public may be more vulnerable to misinformation and less capable of meaningful democratic participation. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday. Your Radical Questions is released every Monday. Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, and he's the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and the editor of The Independent newspaper. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers and Rufus Gray with Anna Budd, Cordelia Hemming and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Johnny Hall. The editor is Sam Bonham.
Yale political theorist and author of Politics Without Politicians, Professor Hélène Landemore, answers your questions about her radical vision for replacing electoral politics with citizen‑led democracy. She answers questions on app‑based referendum systems, how to persuade politicians to embrace open democracy, and why ‘de‑bundling' policies could lead to decisions that better reflect the public. They also explore how the architecture of parliamentary buildings shapes, and sometimes limits, effective governance. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Monday and Thursday. Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers, Anna Budd and Rufus Gray. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Mike Regaard. The editor is Sam Bonham.
Snows Comedy Star 2022 winner Daniel Edison is a stand-up comedian specialising in one-liners and quickfire puns. He's been runner-up at the UK Pun Championships for the past 3 years. He recently got through the first round of Britain's Got Talent, good luck for the next round! Daniel has performed at many prestigious clubs and theatres around the UK and has appeared on TV and radio. He has appeared on BBC One, he has performed at the BBC New Comedy Award on BBC Radio 4 Extra, and guested as a panellist on BBC Radio Solent's Christmas Comedy Special 2022. Daniel has supported Russell Kane & Katherine Ryan. Even if you don't know Daniel, there's a chance you've heard one of his jokes. He's built a fanbase of thousands of followers on X (formerly Twitter) by regularly sharing his original one-liners, several of which have gone viral online and have been featured in such publications and sites as The Reader's Digest (UK and US editions), Funny or Die, The Poke and many more! One of Daniel's jokes featured in The Independent's Top 10 Jokes, 2023 .Daniel Edison is our guest in episode 575 of My Time Capsule and he chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things he'd like to put in a time capsule; four he'd like to preserve and one he'd like to bury and never have to think about again .Watch Daniel's Britain's Got Talent audition here - https://youtu.be/0w63v1SKWKY?si=Do19I_oJpLowfKll .Follow Daniel Edison on Instagram & Twitter/X: @DanEdisonComedy .Follow My Time Capsule on Instagram: @mytimecapsulepodcast & Twitter/X & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter/X: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by matthewboxall.com .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people .To support this podcast, get all episodes ad-free and a bonus episode every Wednesday of "My Time Capsule The Debrief', please sign up here - https://mytimecapsule.supercast.com. All money goes straight into the making of the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this week's episode, Amol sits down with Yale political theorist and author of ‘Politics Without Politicians', Professor Hélène Landemore, to discuss her argument to revive citizen‑led governance. She explains why she believes our current electoral systems fall short of representing the full diversity of the population and lays out a practical roadmap for what she calls an “open democracy.” Hélène also addresses the most common critiques of her approach and highlights real-world examples of citizen assemblies – how would they work at scale? Who would (and wouldn't) be allowed on them? And what if people simply aren't interested? GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and Monday. Previous episodes are available on BBC iPlayerhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002f1d0/radical-with-amol-rajan Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers, Anna Budd and Rufus Gray. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Mike Regaard. The editor is Sam Bonham.
Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan, neurologist and author of The Age of Diagnosis, answers your questions about her book, what it means for women who are under-diagnosed and how she deals with criticism of her work. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Monday and Thursday.Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers with Cordelia Hemming. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Jonny Hall. The editor is Sam Bonham.
Matthew Bannister onThe Woman's Hour presenter Dame Jenni Murray. Mark Steel joins us to recall her triumphant debut as a stand-up comedian. Len Deighton who created “anti-James Bond” novels including The Ipcress File, Billion Dollar Brain and Horse Under Water.Lynda Hale, the footballer who battled against sexism to play in the first official England women's international in 1972.Jurgen Habermas, the German philosopher who came up with the influential concept of “the public sphere”.Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyArchive: Jurgen Habermas interview, YouTube Upload, Davidmeme, 1/02/2007; Jürgen Habermas Interview, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs (Georgetown University), 10/2011; Scotland v England, BBC News, 18/11/1972; South Today, BBC, 29/07/2025; South Today, BBC, 18/07/2022; Nationwide, BBC, 17/11/1972; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 19/06/1976 The Lively Arts: Len Deighton, BBC Two, 18/12/1977; The Truth About Len Deighton, BBC Four, 01/08/2007; The Ipcress File, BBC Radio 4, 04/01/2015; Pebble Mill, BBC One, 13/05/1993; South Today, BBC (via TV Ark), 20/10/1983; Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4, 19/01/1987; Comic Relief, BBC, 09/03/2011 BBC News, BBC, 21/12/2006; Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4, 01/10/2020
Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan thinks that we are getting diagnosis wrong. In this episode the neurologist and author of The Age of Diagnosis explains how advances in screening have led to certain diseases being over-detected and why she thinks giving a condition a label can sometimes do more harm than good. And Amol asks about some of the criticism she's faced since her book was published last year.GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002f1d0/radical-with-amol-rajan Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers with Cordelia Hemming. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Jonny Hall. The editor is Sam Bonham. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths.
Simukai Chigudu, author of ‘Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire' and associate professor of African politics at Oxford University, answers your questions about statues, reparations for slavery and decolonising the curriculum.GET IN TOUCH* WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.ukEpisodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002f1d0/radical-with-amol-rajanAmol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent.Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers with Anna Budd and Cordelia Hemming. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Philip Bull. The editor is Sam Bonham. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths.
Zoe Ball has news of a new 12-part television series of Just One Thing which will continue the legacy of Michael Mosley. The series is presented by Roman Kemp, Clive Myrie and Zoe.You can watch the first four episodes from Monday to Thursday at 2pm on BBC One, starting on Monday 23 March, 2026. In that first week, we discover the health benefits of oily fish, gardening, dancing, and drinking tea! All 12 episodes will be available on iPlayer from 23 March.
Matthew Bannister onPaul Conroy, the photojournalist who worked extensively in war zones in the Middle East and the Balkans. He was with the Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin when she was killed in Syria. Kenith Trodd, the TV producer best known for his work with Dennis Potter on series like Pennies from Heaven and The Singing Detective. Stephen Poliakoff pays tribute. Astrid Llewellyn who skippered the first all-female crew to take part in a Tall Ships Race. Jo Purvis, the DJ who promoted LGBTQ+ ballroom dancing events in the 1970s and 1980s. Interviewee: Stephen Poliakoff Interviewee: Tim Llewellyn Interviewee: Toni Krause Interviewee: Peter FlockhartProducer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyArchive used: Paul Conroy interview, Music on the Front Line, Music Matters, BBC Radio 3, 03/05/2025; Paul Conroy: My Escape from Homs, Outlook, BBC World Service, 22/01/2013; Caught on a Train, Play for Today, Playhouse, Director: Peter Duffell, Writer: Stephen Poliakoff , BBC Two, 31/10/1980; The Ballroom of Romance, Play for Today, Playhouse, Director: Pat O'Connor, Writer: William Trevor, BBC Two, 05/11/1982; Pennies From Heaven, Episode 4: Better Think Twice, Director: Piers Haggard, Writer: Dennis Potter, BBC One, 28/03/1978; The Singing Detective, BBC Promo, 1991; The Singing Detective, Night Waves, BBC Radio 3, 16/06/2014; Sunday Feature: Dennis Potter - With Aggressive Affection, BBC Radio 3, 04/08/2015; Astrid Llewellyn interview and actuality, The Tall Ships Race 1974, BBC Television, 07/08/1974; Jo Purvis interview, Purvette, taken from the film ondon. Director: Alex Eisenberg, Courtesy of Alex Eisenberg, 2024;
Actor James McAvoy who has starred in everything from Shameless to X Men talks about turning director for his debut feature, California Schemin'. The film, which is billed as being "based on a true lie", tells the story of two young rappers from Dundee who pretended to be American in order to be taken seriously by the record industry - and ended up touring with Eminem in the 2000s. BBC One's new Sunday evening drama series The Other Bennet Sister tells the story of Pride and Prejudice through the eyes of Mary Bennet, often regarded as less remarkable than her sisters Jane and Elizabeth in Jane Austen's classic novel. Screenwriter Sarah Quintrell speaks about adapting Janice Hadlow's bestselling book which offers a new perspective on the much-loved book and stars Bridgerton's Ella Bruccoleri in the lead role, as well as Ruth Jones as mother Mrs Bennet, with Richard E Grant as Mr Bennet. And 800 years on from his death, we are joined by art historian Joost Joustra and Franciscan Friar Brother Samuel to consider the cultural legacy of St Francis of Assisi. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan