Seriously...
Seriously is a podcast that showcases the world's best audio documentaries and podcast recommendations, introduced by Vanessa Kisuule. The feed is no longer being updated, but the archive remains available for listeners.
Episodes
Stealing Power
Meter tampering means altering a meter to prevent it from fully recording how much electricity or gas is being used, or bypassing the meter completely to energy usage being recorded at all. It may seem like a great idea, but there are consequences. It’s dangerous and it is a criminal offence. Its classified as theft and can lead to prison sentences and heavy fines. The number of people illegally b
The Club Nobody Wants to Join
There Is a club that no high school principal in the USA wants to join, but they are all incredibly grateful that its there. Because in the event of the worst possible scenario happening, they will need it The 'Principal Recovery Network' is made up of school leaders who have lived through the horror of a shooting in their hallways and classrooms. And in the hours after an incident they are on the
Searching for Butterflies
In the mountains of Latakia, Syria, Mudar Salimeh devotes much of his time to searching for butterflies. A geologist, artist, and nature lover, Mudar's fascination with butterflies began in the spring of 2018 when a great number of caterpillars appeared in his art studio. Over time, the caterpillars transformed into a cloud of white butterflies, sparking Mudar's quest to find and document these be
Brood X
Every 17 years in the eastern United States, a roaring mass of millions of black-bodied, red-eyed, thumb-length insects erupt from the ground. For a few glorious weeks the periodical cicadas cover the trees and the air vibrates with their chorus of come-hither calls. Then they leave a billion eggs to hatch and burrow into the dirt, beginning the seventeen year cycle all over again. Sing. Fly. Mate
Stoppage Time for Scunthorpe
When Bury FC was expelled from the Football League after 125 years, the government commissioned a fan-led review of football's financial stability. Centring the importance of football clubs to hundreds of local communities, it recommended tough new rules about governance and ownership of football clubs. Five years on and with both Labour and the Conservatives supporting the creation of a new regul
The City That Stayed at Home
At the last general election, three of the four seats with the lowest turnout, where the lowest number of eligible people came out to vote, were in Hull. Alex Forsyth sits down with people who stay at home on election day to find out why. She begins in Hull East, the seat which had the lowest turnout in the UK at the last general election, visiting Marfleet, a ward with low turnout at local electi
Living Without My Smartphone
A group of teenagers agree to give up their smartphones for 5 school days. The phones are locked in a box, and our subjects pick up their old style “brick” phone instead. What’s the best and worst of their smartphone free days? Can they cope, and what, if anything, do they, their parents and teachers notice?
Rachel Burden has teenagers, and knows all about smartphone parenting. She joins our in
The Beauty of Everyday Things
Poet Ian McMillan has a gift for the art of small pleasures; the joy of close observation; revelling in everyday things, places and encounters; describing and re-describing them endlessly. In the company of fellow poets Helen Mort, Steve Ely and Dave Green he takes us to ordinary places that fascinate him: a railway platform with a striking red bench, on a bus journey, to a village cafe, and a loc
Conflict on Campus
Examining how the Israel-Gaza war is affecting students here in the UK. Anwar Akhtar is a director at the Samosa Project, a media and arts charity working to create understanding across cultures. He heads to Leeds, and gets a close-up view of the tensions bubbling over at the university.This programme was first broadcast on 12 May, 2024.
The Switch
Three people from three different eras reveal what it's like to live with multiple personalities, or Dissociative Identity Disorder.A retired librarian who lived through the disorder's most controversial time and has found peace as several parts; an early YouTuber who fought stigma about DID and now lives as one person; and a young TikToker navigating life as a 'system'.The BBC has been sharing st
The Beaches
A top secret little-known mission that changed the outcome of World War II. Not Alan Turing's Enigma code-breaking mission but a daring foray, conducted behind enemy lines on the shores of Normandy. Harrison Lewis and wetland scientist Christian Dunn re-enact one of the most remarkable feats of the Second World War and discover the intricate details of the daring but forgotten science that underpi
Broken Politicians, Broken Politics
Are British politicians at breaking point? In this new digital age with its high level of public scrutiny, the sheer amount of abuse, disdain and direct threat politicians get is causing their mental health to take a real hit.And this matters. Broken politicians equal broken politics and that’s bad news for us all.Few can dispute that in the wake of a near constant stream of scandals, public perce
Portugal’s Carnation Revolution
25th April 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of Portugal's 'Carnation Revolution', which overthrew the authoritarian dictatorship of the Estado Novo ('New State') which had governed Portugal since the 1920s. A largely bloodless revolution, marked by the carnations that were placed in the rifles of the soldiers, it led to the successful establishment of democracy in Portugal and the integration of m
Night Train
In literature and film, night trains are the setting for intrigue and romance, espionage and sudden death. And in real life too they’re places of possibility and the expectation of new adventures. Writer Horatio Clare boards a train to Vienna for a night-time journey across Europe… and into the archive, aboard night trains of decades past. His journey begins at the Gare de l’Est in Paris, the depa
True Crime 1599
For the last decade, True Crime has become ubiquitous on television and podcasts. Yet despite its current popularity, it’s not a new phenomenon. In this programme, author Charles Nicholl take us back to a time before podcasts, TV, pulp magazines, even Penny Dreadfuls – all the way to the English stage 400 years ago when, for the first time, playhouses were putting contemporary news onstage.Present
Haiti - Descent Into Anarchy
With criminal gangs now controlling most of Haiti's capital and no function government, Mike Thomson explores what caused this spiralling descent to Anarchy in this predominately Christian, Caribbean country, where more than half its eleven million French and Creole speaking people live below the poverty line. Mike looks for answers with help from Haitians, experts and political leaders who’ve liv
A Dentist's Life
In February 2024, the NHS dental crisis hit the headlines as hundreds of people queued outside a dental practice in Bristol to register as NHS patients. It was the latest sign of the severity of the national shortage of NHS dentists.The Nuffield Trust have declared that NHS dentistry faces its 'most perilous point' in 75-year history and the government have responded pledging to improve access and
Counterfeit Characters
What do Artificial Intelligence and digital technology mean for actors and their relationship with audiences?Leading acting coach Geoffrey Colman, who has spent his working life on the sets of Hollywood movies, in theatrical rehearsal spaces, and teaching in the UK's most prestigious classrooms, wants to find out. AI, he says, may represent the most profound change to the acting business since the
Home Fires
Richard King explores the past and present of the second homes debate in Wales, revisiting the story of Meibion Glyndwr – active terrorists on British soil for almost 15 years.
The proliferation of second homes is a problem in many parts of the UK. They contribute to pushing up house prices, often in low-income areas, effectively locking young people out of the housing market. It’s a problem wit
Mila’s Legacy
How many medicines can you think of created for just one person? The likelihood is none - which is why the world hasn’t heard of milasen yet. But its creation, and the efforts behind it, could build a pathway towards some of the greatest advances in genomic medicine, and a new initiative being trialled in Britain has a huge role to play in making this happen. At the age of seven, Mila Makovec b
Protein: Powerhouse or Piffle?
Take a trip around the supermarket and you'll see shelves of products claiming to be 'high in protein'. Scroll through your social media and you'll find beautiful, sculpted people offering recipes and ideas for packing more protein into your diet. Science presenters Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber have noticed this too. They wanted to unpick the protein puzzle to find out what it does in our bod
Rwanda Thirty Years On
Victoria Uwonkunda makes an emotional journey back to Rwanda, where she grew up. It’s the first time she’s visited since the age of 12, when she fled the 1994 genocide with her family.Victoria retraces her journey to safety out of the capital Kigali, to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.Along the way Victoria speaks to survivors of the violence – both victims and perpetrators – to f
Dehumidified
One baffling online scam – involving a £138 dehumidifier – and a humiliated BBC producer who will not rest until she has a return address for it.January 2024. Polly Weston’s toddler has a terrible cough, no one in the house is getting any sleep, and, as is traditional for Bristol Victorian Terraces, her house has a lot of damp patches. So she decides to invest in a dehumidifier. A very convincing
Do We Still Need the Pips?
To mark the centenary of the Greenwich Time Signal on the BBC, Paddy O'Connell asks the unaskable - Do We Still Need the Pips?First broadcast at 9.30pm on Feb the 5th 1924, the six pips of the Greenwich Time Signal have become synonymous with Radio 4. But today digital broadcasting has rendered this time signal delayed and inaccurate. Plus their immovable presence can cause accidents on-air, and n
Wokewash - Episode 1
Following on from the success of Green Inc and with the same bold, provocative and entirely un-switchoffable energy, writer, comedian and satirist Heydon Prowse turns his tongue-in-cheek attention corporate Wokewashing. From a razor company talking about #MeToo to an LGBT sandwich and a burger chain tackling depression, writer and satirist Heydon Prowse unpacks how some of the world's biggest corp
The War the World Forgot
Since it gained Independence in 1956 Sudan has had at least 2 major civil wars. The last one resulted in Southern Sudan becoming an Independent state in 2011. The latest civil war broke out last April between two rival factions of the military government, the Sudanese Army Force (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF. Thousands have been killed and the country is on the verge of a humanitarian cr
Farmers and Furious
Following wide ranging farmers' protests across Europe, now British farmers are starting to show their discontent with thousands of farmers meeting in Wales, as well as protests taking place in England. BBC Radio 4 Farming Today's Charlotte Smith joins farmers as they are protesting and asks if the industry is now at breaking point. Will the new promise by the prime minister to ensure food produc
Decolonising Russia
All along Russia’s border, in former Soviet republics, the Ukrainian war has prompted a new, more assertive sense of national identity. They’re asking whether – despite independence – they’ve really overcome the legacy of 'Russian colonialism.' Meanwhile activists from the many ethnic minorities inside Russia are increasingly describing themselves as victims of colonialism too - and demanding self
How to Build an Oil Field
In September 2023 permission was given to develop Rosebank, the UK’s largest untapped oil field. Located west of Shetland, the UK government says it will provide energy security in the UK for a whole generation, at a time where we have never felt more insecure about the source of our energy and the cost. But will it? A feat of modern engineering, with the latest technology used to create it. Once
The Forensic Jeweller
Jewellery can tell us so much about people - the ones that wore it, and the ones that made it. It reveals something about status, or power, or belief systems - religion and relationships. There's so many interesting things that you can uncover about a person, or a group of people, by their jewellery. This makes it an incredibly useful tool for forensic analysis. Dr Maria Maclennan, is the world's
The Rise of Sinn Féin
Ireland correspondent Chris Page looks at the growth of Sinn Féin across the island of Ireland over the last 30 years and explores how it has achieved that. He examines the party's current aims and policies, from housing to the economy. And he asks, given the current trend in the polls, what the implications might be of the party being in government in two jurisdictions - in Belfast and in Dublin.
Who Do You Really Think You Are?
We’re a nation obsessed with genealogy. Millions of us are gripped by TV shows like 'Who Do You Think You Are', where genealogists show celebrities their famous ancestors - like Danny Dyer being descended from Edward III, the first Plantagent King! But what if Danny doesn’t get exclusive bragging rights? With the help of mathematician Hannah Fry and Habsburg Royal Historian professor Martyn Rady,
Prosecuting Polmont
In 2018, within a few months of each other, Katie Allan and William Lindsay took their own lives at Polmont Young Offenders Institution in Scotland. There have been nine suicides at Polmont since 2012 and the overall suicide rate in Scottish prisons is at a record high. Katie's mum Linda believes many of these deaths were avoidable. She was told by the Crown Office that there were sufficient groun
How to Read the News - Episode 1
When journalists tell stories, they rarely start at the beginning but instead with the latest development. Context comes towards the end. It’s called the ‘inverted pyramid’. When scandal at the Confederation of British Industry hit the newspapers and boss Tony Danker was dismissed, he complained that articles didn’t state right at the start that he was not accused of the worst misconduct. If you d
Graceland in the Glens
In 2019, Elvis Presley Enterprises threatened to deconstruct Graceland and move it to Saudi Arabia, Tokyo, or whoever was the highest bidder. Artist, writer, KLF member and money burner - Bill Drummond - realised something had to be done. Bill's relationship with Northern Ireland began before his relationship with Elvis - but at some junction, these two relationships were bound to collide. It s
The Screening Dilemma
Ronnie Helvy is on his way for a screening test. He's in his sixties and wants an assessment to check for a variety of cancers. He isn't currently displaying any symptoms but is seeking reassurance. His blood will undergo a series of tests in exchange for over a thousand pounds. The outcome might be able to determine whether he is susceptible to cancers that some of his family have died from. It s
Hotel Room Art
The inside story of art in hotel rooms - and why hoteliers think it's so important to get it right. Ian McMillan has always been fascinated by the artworks he finds on his travels. Here he encounters mass produced flowers, abstract excitement and ancient artefacts. In three very different hotel bedrooms he meets curators, designers and artists - but most importantly he meets the art, and asks wh
Seven Deadly Psychologies - 1. Pride
Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a cold hard look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins. Rolling with the order established by Pope Gregory the Great, first up is pride, followed by greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and (finally) lazy old sloth. Why have we evolved these ugly emotions? What’s going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongsi
Seven Deadly Psychologies - 2. Greed
Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a cold hard look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins, in the order established by Pope Gregory the Great: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and lazy old sloth. Why have we evolved these ugly emotions? What’s going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongside them - in ourselves and with others?Greed
Seven Deadly Psychologies - 3. Lust
Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a cold hard look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins, in the order established by Pope Gregory the Great: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and lazy old sloth. Why have we evolved these ugly emotions? What’s going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongside them - in ourselves and with others?Lust
Seven Deadly Psychologies - 4. Envy
Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a cold hard look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins, in the order established by Pope Gregory the Great: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and lazy old sloth. Why have we evolved these ugly emotions? What’s going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongside them - in ourselves and with others?Envy
Seven Deadly Psychologies - 5. Gluttony
Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a cold hard look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins, in the order established by Pope Gregory the Great: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and lazy old sloth. Why have we evolved these ugly emotions? What’s going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongside them - in ourselves and with others?Glutt
Seven Deadly Psychologies - 6. Wrath
Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a cold hard look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins, in the order established by Pope Gregory the Great: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and lazy old sloth. Why have we evolved these emotions? What’s going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongside them - in ourselves and with others?Wrath is t
Seven Deadly Psychologies - 7. Sloth
Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a cold hard look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins. Rolling with the order established by Pope Gregory the Great, first up is pride, followed by greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and (finally) lazy old sloth. Why have we evolved these ugly emotions? What’s going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongsi
Finding My Father
This is a remarkable true story of how an elderly former engineer met a new partner, who eventually put in a care home without telling his family where he was. His daughter embarked on a long search to track him down - when she finally found him last Christmas he had advanced dementia but recognised her straight away and was overjoyed to see her again. Anyone else might have given up when faced wi
The Green Backlash
As the individual costs of the EU’s Green Deal are becoming clearer, many people across Europe say they are unwilling or unable to pay the price associated with it. Anna Holligan explores the increasing popularity of anti-green political parties across the continent. She talks to dairy farmers in the Netherlands, who fear government green targets would endanger a sector which makes the country the
The Big League
Real Madras, Borussia Moobsandbackfat, OB City, Man Titty, Inter PieAmi, Pork Vale, ScranMere Rovers - all real teams that play in the big league. Man Vs Fat is a football league designed to help men lose weight. The league says it has helped around 23,000 men lose 601,288lbs since it started in 2016. But dropping a few belt notches is not the only thing that has transformed lives Men talking abou
South Africa: The Children of Paradise - Episode 1
Three decades after the momentous transition from Apartheid to a democratic South Africa, Fergal Keane returns to see what happened to the hopes and promises of a better nation. In a famous speech thirty years ago, as he collected the Nobel Peace Prize, Nelson Mandela spoke of a “common humanity” in which all South Africans would live “like the children of paradise.”As the BBC’s South Africa corre
Empire of Tea - Episode 1
George Orwell described tea as “one of the mainstays of civilization in this country.” But how did this foreign plant become so British? Sathnam Sanghera speaks to Orwell expert Jean Seaton, cultural historian Kate Teltscher, and ramblers with flasks of tea in the Peak District, to try and figure out how and why tea became a national obsession. Produced by Paul Martin for BBC Audio Wales
Across the Divide - Episode 1
Families from the many sides of the Gaza/Israeli dispute share and reflect on their own personal histories and day-to-day existence.
Battle Grounds: Culture Wars in the Countryside - Vegans
The British countryside is often portrayed as a green and pleasant land - a rural idyll. But under the surface, rural culture wars rage: the Right to Roam, veganism, rewilding. Anna Jones is a farmer’s daughter who has worked as a rural affairs journalist for almost 20 years. In this series she uncovers the personal stories of individuals caught up in these battle grounds. In this episode she meet
The Reinvention of Italy
Anne McElvoy goes on the road in Italy in the latest in her series exploring the convulsions of political and cultural change sweeping through Europe’s great nations. The election last September of the right wing populist Giorgia Meloni shocked the political establishment. Her declared mission: to restore and defend Italy’s national identity. But what does it mean to be an Italian today? We visit
Military Ink
Glasgow’s west end is home to the Primrose Path Tattoo Society where ex-service men & women have gravitated to reflect, celebrate and sometimes come to terms with their lives in the military, all while under the artists needle. Tattoos have a long tradition in the military but at the Society, each one is custom designed to reflect the deeply personal and emotional experience. David Selwyn join
How to Spot Potential - Sporting Success
Kate Mason looks at how potential can be assessed in the world of professional football with Brentford FC player Michael Olakigbe and talent spotter Lee Dykes. From cycling, Dan Bigham tells us how the potential of technology helped him take on the professionals. Cricketing broadcaster and Director of women’s cricket at Surrey, Ebony Rainford Brent, discusses the Ace programme which helps young pe
Archive on 4 - The Greyhound Diaries 2023
American singer-songwriter Doug Levitt expected his tour to last just the six weeks printed on the face of the Greyhound pass he bought. The idea was to compose a fuller portrait of the United States by writing songs about the lives and struggles of fellow riders. That was over 15 years, 100 songs and 150,000 miles back. Travel by Greyhound is a favored lower-cost option for people who are often j
How Safe is Maternity Care?
In 2013, broadcaster and journalist Krupa Padhy, one of the presenters for BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, lost her first child because of medical negligence in a London Hospital. Legal action was taken. Midwives and doctors were given extra training. Lessons were, apparently, learned. But Krupa's life has been changed forever. Over the last few years, systemic failures at multiple maternity units hav
Redeeming Ricky
Ex-offender Ricky Gleeson has set up HoodEx, a new sustainable clothing charity in South Shields, Tyne and Wear. Ricky has a remarkable back story – a deeply troubled, chequered past. His mother was in her teens when she had him, a single parent who struggled to cope with life. She became addicted to drugs and alcohol and had a series of difficult relationships. As a child, Ricky was moved from do
Hoax - The Planted Plants of Rum
Mysterious plants appear on the Isle of Rum. Do they prove the island miraculously escaped the Ice Age? And what extraordinary lengths would one scientist go to in order to prove that it did? Dr Tori Herridge investigates. Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth Sagar-Fenton
The Great Replacement
The Great Replacement is an idea fueling far-right recruitment around the world - the idea that white communities and culture are being purposely replaced by non-white migrants. Many far-right terrorists have referenced this theory as the driving force behind their murderous actions - but where does this idea originate from, and how seriously should we be taking its proliferation here in the UK?
Memorial No More? A History of Russian Forgetting
Historian Catherine Merridale witnessed the birth of Memorial in 1989 as the Soviet Union died. An organisation devoted to recovering the past of the Soviet Gulag and soon documenting the new transgressions of the Russian state and its imperial wars. Even as Russia wnet to war against Ukraine it sought to close Memorial down, silence its voice and reshape history. But months after the invasion Mem
Lego Overboard
In 1997 a freak wave washed 62 containers into the sea off a cargo ship near the coast of Cornwall. Inside one were five million pieces of Lego. By a strange quirk of fate, many of the Lego pieces had a sea theme. This is the story of the community of beachcombers trying to track down the miniature octopuses, scuba tanks, life rafts, flippers, sharks and some very rare green dragons still washing
Archive on 4 - The Holy Blood
Two decades ago Da Vinci Code mania gripped the world. But the story behind the theory that Jesus Christ had a secret bloodline is more surprising than any thriller. Step aside Indiana Jones and Robert Langdon - BBC Paris Correspondent Hugh Schofield heads to the South of France to uncover a forgotten milestone of broadcasting which helped set the template for the modern conspiracy theory. The Los
Bug in the System: The Past, Present and Future of Cancer - Episode 1
Dr Kat Arney explores cancer through the lens of evolution. Why do we get cancer? In this episode we find out that far from being a new disease, cancer is embedded deep in almost every branch of the tree of life, from the very earliest organisms through to today, and in most species from aardwolves to zebras. Kat explores how the origins of cancer are inseparable from the history of life itself, w
BFFs: A Life Built on Friendship
Emily Knight lives with five housemates. One of them is her partner. But this isn't a student house-share. They are all in their 30s, have no plans to break up the group, and Emily can't imagine life without them all. So could the rest of her life be built on these friendships?
Traditionally life's big chapters - housebuying, raising kids, retiring - are seen as things you probably do with a roman
An Almanac for Anxiety: In Search of a Calmer Mind - Episode 1
Anxiety is the most common form of mental illness in the UK, with nearly a fifth of people experiencing it over the course of a year. Although it is often treated through medication, there are many alternative ways which are proving to be very effective in reducing anxiety amongst some people. In this series, we explore how connecting with the elemental forces of nature helps people with a range o
The Trouble with Sheep
Sheep have been instrumental in creating some of the UK’s most iconic upland landscapes – from the sweeping fells of the Lake District, to the moors of Devon and Cornwall. These humble animals have left their mark on our language, our place names and even our architecture. But upland sheep are under fire. As the farm subsidy system changes post Brexit, it’s getting harder to make money out of them
Fever: The Hunt for Covid's Origin - Episode 1
As a deadly new virus starts spreading in Wuhan, China, so do rumours about a lab there. In the remote, jungle-covered hills of China’s far-southwestern Yunnan Province, teams of scientists have spent years intensively researching one animal: bats. The scientists are virus hunters, trying to better understand and mitigate the threat of new viruses jumping from bats to other animals and humans, pot
Yeti - Episode 1
Tales of a bipedal ape-like creature persist in the myth and legend of the Himalayas. But does the yeti really exist? Two enthusiasts are determined to find out. Andrew Benfield and Richard Horsey begin their search in the north-east Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Speaking to villagers and yak herders, they hear multiple accounts of yeti sightings. Will they find the evidence they need to prov
Brexit: A Guide for the Perplexed - Movement of People
The free movement of people from the EU has ended, but immigration has reached record levels. Former Brussels correspondent, Adam Fleming, charts how Britain’s workplaces and universities have changed as a result of Brexit, and learns from seasonal workers about the art of picking asparagus. Producers: Sally Abrahams and Diane Richardson
Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: China Colli
The Fast Furniture Fix
Fair fashion campaigner and influencer Venetia La Manna sets out to discover how the ways we produce, consume and value furniture have transformed over recent decades, and what that means for our homes and the planet. From the comfort of our sofas, it’s a giant footprint and a major waste category that many of us are barely aware of. And with diminishing quality feeding our throwaway mindset, are
Windrush: A Family Divided - Episode 1
Robert and Jennifer Beckford are married and agree on most things - apart from one issue; was the Windrush Generation better off after coming here or should they have stayed in the Caribbean? And ultimately, whether they should take their teenage children to live in Jamaica. The question is simple, but the arguments are complex and multi-layered, but what about the consequences for the Beckfords?
What Are the Railways For?
As the government prepares a major reorganisation of Britain's railways, Daniel Brittain asks what are they for. It's a question which has been ignored in previous reorganisations - which typically take place after a crisis or a disaster. So Daniel travels to Greater Manchester, meeting people on trains, people who want to be on trains, and those who run the railways, to understand how the rail in
Searching for Cosmic Dust
Norwegian jazz musician Jon Larsen was having breakfast one clear spring morning when he noticed a tiny black speck land on his clean, white table. With no wind, birds or planes in sight, he wondered if it fell from space.Dust from space isn’t as fanciful as it sounds. Billions of microscopic meteorites, dating back to the birth of our solar system, fall onto Earth every year. But they are so tiny
The Boy in the Peking Hotel
When 8 year old Kim Gordon set off for China in 1965, it set in train a tale of passion, imagination and still unanswered questions. Kim’s parents were committed communists in the thick of Mao’s cultural revolution. Kim became a Red Guard, one of an army of children and teenagers marshalled in support of Mao and he had a ringside view of the vast rallies in Tiananmen Square. But when the political
Does the Irish Republic Want Reunification?
25 years since the people of both Northern Ireland and the Republic voted to accept the Good Friday Agreement, another potential referendum looms on the distant horizon. That Agreement, though primarily to end the violence of the Troubles, allows for a future border poll that would determine whether Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, or re-joined the south. But crucially, few pe
Supersenses - Episode 1
We've been building computers to think like us for years, but our ability to replicate human senses has been impossible. Until now. This technological revolution is starting to profoundly change not only how we interact with the world around us, but is allowing us to see, hear, smell, taste and even touch things we never imagined possible before. An Artificial Intelligence revolution is super-char
Is Psychiatry Working? - Anxiety Special
In a special episode to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, writer Horatio Clare and psychiatrist Femi Oyebode consider the purpose of anxiety, and how it can manifest in different ways. They look at where it comes from, and hear from firefighter Jonny about his journey with panic attacks and his techniques for coping with them.
Buying a British Dad
You can buy almost everything on social media – how about a British dad for your child? A year long BBC investigation has uncovered a brazen illegal immigration scam in which pregnant migrant women who are in the UK without a visa are paying British men thousands of pounds to pose as fathers to their children.
The women gain British citizenship for their child, which means they may be able to get
The Truth Police
For years, science has had a dirty secret; research has been dogged by claims and instances of fraud, malpractice and outright incompetence. Suspicious-looking data sets, breakthrough results that can’t be replicated, eyebrow-raising statistical sleights of hand - science has been undergoing something of an existential crisis. And at the forefront of keeping science honest has been a bunch of outs
Magic Consultants - Episode 1
Adam Shaw peeks behind the curtain of the consultancy industry. Worth hundreds of billions of pounds, consultants stretch across almost every industry, government department and international border.Since the pandemic there’s been an unprecedented demand for their services and many believe our future is determined by what they think and do. Yet little is known about these largely hidden influencer
