#bbcradio4 — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #bbcradio4, aggregated by home.social.
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(Justin Webb is upto shit again ...)
Americast
The anti DEI MAGA activist Christopher Rufo
We’ve been speaking to perhaps the most prominent anti DEI MAGA activist, Christopher Rufo. He’s widely credited for convincing Donald Trump to dismantle Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programmes within the government, and led the campaign which saw Harvard President Claudine Gay resign from her post in 2024.
He's a controversial figure who has who has spearheaded the right-wing movement against what he describes as "gender ideology" and "woke" institutional policies. He’s also concerned about the future direction of the movement he helped to create and worries about splits within MAGA that have seen influencers like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens split with Donald Trump.
In today’s podcast, Justin and Rufo sit down to discuss how successful he thinks the second Trump administration has been, and why Richard Nixon is enjoying a revival among Gen Z Republicans.
HOSTS:
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenterGUEST:
• Christopher Rufo, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan InstituteGET IN TOUCH:
• Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB
• Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480
• Email [email protected]
• Or use #AmericastThis episode was made by George Dabby and Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Rohan Madison. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.
You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers.
US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https:// www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155
Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.
Newscast: https:// www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl
Top Comment: https:// www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm
Radical: https:// www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
The Global Story: https:/ /www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsdDownload
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now27 minutes
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(Justin Webb is upto shit again ...)
Americast
The anti DEI MAGA activist Christopher Rufo
We’ve been speaking to perhaps the most prominent anti DEI MAGA activist, Christopher Rufo. He’s widely credited for convincing Donald Trump to dismantle Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programmes within the government, and led the campaign which saw Harvard President Claudine Gay resign from her post in 2024.
He's a controversial figure who has who has spearheaded the right-wing movement against what he describes as "gender ideology" and "woke" institutional policies. He’s also concerned about the future direction of the movement he helped to create and worries about splits within MAGA that have seen influencers like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens split with Donald Trump.
In today’s podcast, Justin and Rufo sit down to discuss how successful he thinks the second Trump administration has been, and why Richard Nixon is enjoying a revival among Gen Z Republicans.
HOSTS:
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenterGUEST:
• Christopher Rufo, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan InstituteGET IN TOUCH:
• Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB
• Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480
• Email [email protected]
• Or use #AmericastThis episode was made by George Dabby and Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Rohan Madison. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.
You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers.
US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https:// www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155
Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.
Newscast: https:// www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl
Top Comment: https:// www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm
Radical: https:// www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
The Global Story: https:/ /www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsdDownload
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now27 minutes
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( this is what I imagine a Catholic jazz presenter would sound like )
From Our Rome Correspondent
Archive on 4There are few who can remember the days when David Willey wasn't the BBC's Rome Correspondent. Here, with the help of the BBC's and his own private archive, David looked back at his years acting as our eyes and ears in the Italian capital.
The programme also delves into David's earlier career covering North and East Africa and the early years of the Vietnam War. But it's the understanding of the culture and the politics of Italy that David has made his lifetime's work.
In this very personal reminiscence he explores again the events of his time in the country. He talks to old friends and new arrivals about Italian life and attitudes at a crucial point in the country's story, and he offers his own telling insights into the stories behind the stories, and the importance of gaining and sustaining the trust of those on whom he reports.
There's a particularly telling view of the Vatican and its workings from a man who was largely responsible for the Pope providing Radio Four with a unique 'Thought for the Day'.
There's also a chance to hear the lighter side of David's Roman adventure including a truffle hunt with an eccentric female aristocrat and a conversation with a man who has both a Stradivarius and a Guaneri violin to choose from when he performs.
But it's the extra insights, the tour of Silvio Berlusconi's private tomb and the private conversations with the late Pope John Paul II that make David Willey such a unique and treasured figure in the BBC News story.
Producer: Tom Alban.
Available now57 minutes
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( this is what I imagine a Catholic jazz presenter would sound like )
From Our Rome Correspondent
Archive on 4There are few who can remember the days when David Willey wasn't the BBC's Rome Correspondent. Here, with the help of the BBC's and his own private archive, David looked back at his years acting as our eyes and ears in the Italian capital.
The programme also delves into David's earlier career covering North and East Africa and the early years of the Vietnam War. But it's the understanding of the culture and the politics of Italy that David has made his lifetime's work.
In this very personal reminiscence he explores again the events of his time in the country. He talks to old friends and new arrivals about Italian life and attitudes at a crucial point in the country's story, and he offers his own telling insights into the stories behind the stories, and the importance of gaining and sustaining the trust of those on whom he reports.
There's a particularly telling view of the Vatican and its workings from a man who was largely responsible for the Pope providing Radio Four with a unique 'Thought for the Day'.
There's also a chance to hear the lighter side of David's Roman adventure including a truffle hunt with an eccentric female aristocrat and a conversation with a man who has both a Stradivarius and a Guaneri violin to choose from when he performs.
But it's the extra insights, the tour of Silvio Berlusconi's private tomb and the private conversations with the late Pope John Paul II that make David Willey such a unique and treasured figure in the BBC News story.
Producer: Tom Alban.
Available now57 minutes
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Last Word obit programme
Brenda Fricker: The first Irish woman to win an Oscar
Brenda Fricker became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award for her performance in the film “My Left Foot”. She began her career with parts in Ireland’s first soap opera Tolka Row, ITV’s Coronation Street, and became a household name as the nurse Megan Roach in Casualty on the BBC. Her friend and fellow actress Anna Friel pays tribute.
The BBC’s long-serving correspondent David Willey was a renowned authority on the Vatican, covering the lives and deaths of five popes. Before he settled in Rome, David had travelled widely for the BBC, reporting from Algeria, the Vietnam War and China just after the communist revolution. Two of his colleagues, former Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie and International Editor Jeremy Bowen, share their memories of working with him.
The name David Austin is forever indelibly associated with the rose growing business. He created some of the most sought after roses, naming new varieties after fictional or real-life people, including Gabriel Oak from Far From the Madding Crowd, the actress Dame Judi Dench and ceramicist Emma Bridgewater - who pays tribute to him alongside Gardeners' World presenter Sue Kent.
Wally Funk broke records as the oldest person to go to space onboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket in 2021. In the early 1960s she was part of a group of women known as the Mercury 13 who were tested to see if they could compete with male astronauts for a place in the American space programme. But the project was abandoned and her hopes dashed. Loretta Hall, who co-wrote her memoir, tells us her story.
( ... also featuring The Pink Panther saxophone guy ...)
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive:
"My Left Foot", Ferndale Films, Granada Film, RTÉ, Hell's Kitchen Films; BBC One, Wogan, 16/02/1990; 62nd Academy Awards, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 26/03/1990; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 05/03/1997; BBC One, Wogan, 15/02/1991; BBC Radio 4, Sunday, 10/03/2013; BBC Radio 4, Archive on 4, From our Rome Correspondent, 07/04/2012; BBC One, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 21/05/2007; BBC One, Football Focus, 06/10/2018; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 19/06/2019; BBC News, 19/06/1983; Blue Origin, YouTube, 20/07/2021; Other audio courtesy of Loretta Hall -
Last Word obit programme
Brenda Fricker: The first Irish woman to win an Oscar
Brenda Fricker became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award for her performance in the film “My Left Foot”. She began her career with parts in Ireland’s first soap opera Tolka Row, ITV’s Coronation Street, and became a household name as the nurse Megan Roach in Casualty on the BBC. Her friend and fellow actress Anna Friel pays tribute.
The BBC’s long-serving correspondent David Willey was a renowned authority on the Vatican, covering the lives and deaths of five popes. Before he settled in Rome, David had travelled widely for the BBC, reporting from Algeria, the Vietnam War and China just after the communist revolution. Two of his colleagues, former Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie and International Editor Jeremy Bowen, share their memories of working with him.
The name David Austin is forever indelibly associated with the rose growing business. He created some of the most sought after roses, naming new varieties after fictional or real-life people, including Gabriel Oak from Far From the Madding Crowd, the actress Dame Judi Dench and ceramicist Emma Bridgewater - who pays tribute to him alongside Gardeners' World presenter Sue Kent.
Wally Funk broke records as the oldest person to go to space onboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket in 2021. In the early 1960s she was part of a group of women known as the Mercury 13 who were tested to see if they could compete with male astronauts for a place in the American space programme. But the project was abandoned and her hopes dashed. Loretta Hall, who co-wrote her memoir, tells us her story.
( ... also featuring The Pink Panther saxophone guy ...)
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive:
"My Left Foot", Ferndale Films, Granada Film, RTÉ, Hell's Kitchen Films; BBC One, Wogan, 16/02/1990; 62nd Academy Awards, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 26/03/1990; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 05/03/1997; BBC One, Wogan, 15/02/1991; BBC Radio 4, Sunday, 10/03/2013; BBC Radio 4, Archive on 4, From our Rome Correspondent, 07/04/2012; BBC One, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 21/05/2007; BBC One, Football Focus, 06/10/2018; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 19/06/2019; BBC News, 19/06/1983; Blue Origin, YouTube, 20/07/2021; Other audio courtesy of Loretta Hall -
Last Word obit programme
Brenda Fricker: The first Irish woman to win an Oscar
Brenda Fricker became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award for her performance in the film “My Left Foot”. She began her career with parts in Ireland’s first soap opera Tolka Row, ITV’s Coronation Street, and became a household name as the nurse Megan Roach in Casualty on the BBC. Her friend and fellow actress Anna Friel pays tribute.
The BBC’s long-serving correspondent David Willey was a renowned authority on the Vatican, covering the lives and deaths of five popes. Before he settled in Rome, David had travelled widely for the BBC, reporting from Algeria, the Vietnam War and China just after the communist revolution. Two of his colleagues, former Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie and International Editor Jeremy Bowen, share their memories of working with him.
The name David Austin is forever indelibly associated with the rose growing business. He created some of the most sought after roses, naming new varieties after fictional or real-life people, including Gabriel Oak from Far From the Madding Crowd, the actress Dame Judi Dench and ceramicist Emma Bridgewater - who pays tribute to him alongside Gardeners' World presenter Sue Kent.
Wally Funk broke records as the oldest person to go to space onboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket in 2021. In the early 1960s she was part of a group of women known as the Mercury 13 who were tested to see if they could compete with male astronauts for a place in the American space programme. But the project was abandoned and her hopes dashed. Loretta Hall, who co-wrote her memoir, tells us her story.
( ... also featuring The Pink Panther saxophone guy ...)
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive:
"My Left Foot", Ferndale Films, Granada Film, RTÉ, Hell's Kitchen Films; BBC One, Wogan, 16/02/1990; 62nd Academy Awards, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 26/03/1990; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 05/03/1997; BBC One, Wogan, 15/02/1991; BBC Radio 4, Sunday, 10/03/2013; BBC Radio 4, Archive on 4, From our Rome Correspondent, 07/04/2012; BBC One, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 21/05/2007; BBC One, Football Focus, 06/10/2018; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 19/06/2019; BBC News, 19/06/1983; Blue Origin, YouTube, 20/07/2021; Other audio courtesy of Loretta Hall -
Last Word obit programme
Brenda Fricker: The first Irish woman to win an Oscar
Brenda Fricker became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award for her performance in the film “My Left Foot”. She began her career with parts in Ireland’s first soap opera Tolka Row, ITV’s Coronation Street, and became a household name as the nurse Megan Roach in Casualty on the BBC. Her friend and fellow actress Anna Friel pays tribute.
The BBC’s long-serving correspondent David Willey was a renowned authority on the Vatican, covering the lives and deaths of five popes. Before he settled in Rome, David had travelled widely for the BBC, reporting from Algeria, the Vietnam War and China just after the communist revolution. Two of his colleagues, former Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie and International Editor Jeremy Bowen, share their memories of working with him.
The name David Austin is forever indelibly associated with the rose growing business. He created some of the most sought after roses, naming new varieties after fictional or real-life people, including Gabriel Oak from Far From the Madding Crowd, the actress Dame Judi Dench and ceramicist Emma Bridgewater - who pays tribute to him alongside Gardeners' World presenter Sue Kent.
Wally Funk broke records as the oldest person to go to space onboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket in 2021. In the early 1960s she was part of a group of women known as the Mercury 13 who were tested to see if they could compete with male astronauts for a place in the American space programme. But the project was abandoned and her hopes dashed. Loretta Hall, who co-wrote her memoir, tells us her story.
( ... also featuring The Pink Panther saxophone guy ...)
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive:
"My Left Foot", Ferndale Films, Granada Film, RTÉ, Hell's Kitchen Films; BBC One, Wogan, 16/02/1990; 62nd Academy Awards, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 26/03/1990; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 05/03/1997; BBC One, Wogan, 15/02/1991; BBC Radio 4, Sunday, 10/03/2013; BBC Radio 4, Archive on 4, From our Rome Correspondent, 07/04/2012; BBC One, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 21/05/2007; BBC One, Football Focus, 06/10/2018; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 19/06/2019; BBC News, 19/06/1983; Blue Origin, YouTube, 20/07/2021; Other audio courtesy of Loretta Hall -
Last Word obit programme
Brenda Fricker: The first Irish woman to win an Oscar
Brenda Fricker became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award for her performance in the film “My Left Foot”. She began her career with parts in Ireland’s first soap opera Tolka Row, ITV’s Coronation Street, and became a household name as the nurse Megan Roach in Casualty on the BBC. Her friend and fellow actress Anna Friel pays tribute.
The BBC’s long-serving correspondent David Willey was a renowned authority on the Vatican, covering the lives and deaths of five popes. Before he settled in Rome, David had travelled widely for the BBC, reporting from Algeria, the Vietnam War and China just after the communist revolution. Two of his colleagues, former Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie and International Editor Jeremy Bowen, share their memories of working with him.
The name David Austin is forever indelibly associated with the rose growing business. He created some of the most sought after roses, naming new varieties after fictional or real-life people, including Gabriel Oak from Far From the Madding Crowd, the actress Dame Judi Dench and ceramicist Emma Bridgewater - who pays tribute to him alongside Gardeners' World presenter Sue Kent.
Wally Funk broke records as the oldest person to go to space onboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket in 2021. In the early 1960s she was part of a group of women known as the Mercury 13 who were tested to see if they could compete with male astronauts for a place in the American space programme. But the project was abandoned and her hopes dashed. Loretta Hall, who co-wrote her memoir, tells us her story.
( ... also featuring The Pink Panther saxophone guy ...)
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive:
"My Left Foot", Ferndale Films, Granada Film, RTÉ, Hell's Kitchen Films; BBC One, Wogan, 16/02/1990; 62nd Academy Awards, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 26/03/1990; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 05/03/1997; BBC One, Wogan, 15/02/1991; BBC Radio 4, Sunday, 10/03/2013; BBC Radio 4, Archive on 4, From our Rome Correspondent, 07/04/2012; BBC One, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 21/05/2007; BBC One, Football Focus, 06/10/2018; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 19/06/2019; BBC News, 19/06/1983; Blue Origin, YouTube, 20/07/2021; Other audio courtesy of Loretta Hall -
audio essays by Rebecca Stott
Episode 4: Mud and War
A Meditation on Mud by Rebecca Stott
Episode 4 of 5Award-winning writer Rebecca Stott likes to unearth the overlooked and the forgotten.
While taking a long walk in Sussex to mark the first anniversary of her mother’s death, Rebecca’s focus shifts to the mud all around her. Noticing it for the first time in detail, she sets off on a journey to discover its hidden depths and meanings. She finds herself peeling back layers of literature, culture, science and geology; she discovers the rich literary history of marsh monsters, dips her toes into Darwin’s mud experiments, treads in the footsteps of soldiers in the trenches during World War One and finds out how mud cores extracted from the seabed can shed light on the planet’s past and future.
In Episode 4, Rebecca traces her own tragic family history: two newly discovered letters reveal that two of her family members lost their lives on mud-drenched battlefields, one in Mesopotamia and the other in France.
Written and narrated by Rebecca Stott
Producer, Lisa Lipman
Editor, Kirsten Lass
Sound engineer and mix, Jon Calver
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4Show less
29 days left to listen14 minutes
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audio essays by Rebecca Stott
Episode 4: Mud and War
A Meditation on Mud by Rebecca Stott
Episode 4 of 5Award-winning writer Rebecca Stott likes to unearth the overlooked and the forgotten.
While taking a long walk in Sussex to mark the first anniversary of her mother’s death, Rebecca’s focus shifts to the mud all around her. Noticing it for the first time in detail, she sets off on a journey to discover its hidden depths and meanings. She finds herself peeling back layers of literature, culture, science and geology; she discovers the rich literary history of marsh monsters, dips her toes into Darwin’s mud experiments, treads in the footsteps of soldiers in the trenches during World War One and finds out how mud cores extracted from the seabed can shed light on the planet’s past and future.
In Episode 4, Rebecca traces her own tragic family history: two newly discovered letters reveal that two of her family members lost their lives on mud-drenched battlefields, one in Mesopotamia and the other in France.
Written and narrated by Rebecca Stott
Producer, Lisa Lipman
Editor, Kirsten Lass
Sound engineer and mix, Jon Calver
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4Show less
29 days left to listen14 minutes
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Tom Whipple has Beaver Anal Glands.
Testing Testosterone Testing
BBC Inside ScienceSecretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has announced that the US military will be screening military personnel aged 30 and older for testosterone deficiency. Those found with low testosterone levels will be offered voluntary hormone replacement therapy. The secretary says this is to ensure “a healthy, capable, and decisively dominant fighting force”. Tom Whipple is joined by Professor Joe Herbert from the University of Cambridge to discuss why jacking soldiers up with testosterone may be the best idea. [NS1.1]
Marine Biologist Kathryn Ayres, from the non-profit organisation Beneath the Waves, describes a newly observed behaviour in orcas in which they collaboratively swim so hard into a dead sunfish it explodes. Is it a teachable moment for their young or is it just for fun?
Finally, we have Kit Yates, our resident mathematician, to reassure Tom that although AI might one day actually kill [NS2.1]us all, at least it can disprove an 87-year-old mathematics conjecture[NS3.1].
Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Dan Welsh, Alex Mansfield, Imy Harper, Tabitha Taylor Buck
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth2026-07-23 1630-1700
( ... would actually pay #BBCLicenceFee for this content ... maybe ...)
#Hegseth #Orca
#TomWhipple #InsideScience #BBCInsideScience #BBCRadio4 -
Tom Whipple has Beaver Anal Glands.
Testing Testosterone Testing
BBC Inside ScienceSecretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has announced that the US military will be screening military personnel aged 30 and older for testosterone deficiency. Those found with low testosterone levels will be offered voluntary hormone replacement therapy. The secretary says this is to ensure “a healthy, capable, and decisively dominant fighting force”. Tom Whipple is joined by Professor Joe Herbert from the University of Cambridge to discuss why jacking soldiers up with testosterone may be the best idea. [NS1.1]
Marine Biologist Kathryn Ayres, from the non-profit organisation Beneath the Waves, describes a newly observed behaviour in orcas in which they collaboratively swim so hard into a dead sunfish it explodes. Is it a teachable moment for their young or is it just for fun?
Finally, we have Kit Yates, our resident mathematician, to reassure Tom that although AI might one day actually kill [NS2.1]us all, at least it can disprove an 87-year-old mathematics conjecture[NS3.1].
Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Dan Welsh, Alex Mansfield, Imy Harper, Tabitha Taylor Buck
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth2026-07-23 1630-1700
( ... would actually pay #BBCLicenceFee for this content ... maybe ...)
#Hegseth #Orca
#TomWhipple #InsideScience #BBCInsideScience #BBCRadio4 -
Tom Whipple has Beaver Anal Glands.
Testing Testosterone Testing
BBC Inside ScienceSecretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has announced that the US military will be screening military personnel aged 30 and older for testosterone deficiency. Those found with low testosterone levels will be offered voluntary hormone replacement therapy. The secretary says this is to ensure “a healthy, capable, and decisively dominant fighting force”. Tom Whipple is joined by Professor Joe Herbert from the University of Cambridge to discuss why jacking soldiers up with testosterone may be the best idea. [NS1.1]
Marine Biologist Kathryn Ayres, from the non-profit organisation Beneath the Waves, describes a newly observed behaviour in orcas in which they collaboratively swim so hard into a dead sunfish it explodes. Is it a teachable moment for their young or is it just for fun?
Finally, we have Kit Yates, our resident mathematician, to reassure Tom that although AI might one day actually kill [NS2.1]us all, at least it can disprove an 87-year-old mathematics conjecture[NS3.1].
Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Dan Welsh, Alex Mansfield, Imy Harper, Tabitha Taylor Buck
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth2026-07-23 1630-1700
( ... would actually pay #BBCLicenceFee for this content ... maybe ...)
#Hegseth #Orca
#TomWhipple #InsideScience #BBCInsideScience #BBCRadio4 -
Tom Whipple has Beaver Anal Glands.
Testing Testosterone Testing
BBC Inside ScienceSecretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has announced that the US military will be screening military personnel aged 30 and older for testosterone deficiency. Those found with low testosterone levels will be offered voluntary hormone replacement therapy. The secretary says this is to ensure “a healthy, capable, and decisively dominant fighting force”. Tom Whipple is joined by Professor Joe Herbert from the University of Cambridge to discuss why jacking soldiers up with testosterone may be the best idea. [NS1.1]
Marine Biologist Kathryn Ayres, from the non-profit organisation Beneath the Waves, describes a newly observed behaviour in orcas in which they collaboratively swim so hard into a dead sunfish it explodes. Is it a teachable moment for their young or is it just for fun?
Finally, we have Kit Yates, our resident mathematician, to reassure Tom that although AI might one day actually kill [NS2.1]us all, at least it can disprove an 87-year-old mathematics conjecture[NS3.1].
Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Dan Welsh, Alex Mansfield, Imy Harper, Tabitha Taylor Buck
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth2026-07-23 1630-1700
( ... would actually pay #BBCLicenceFee for this content ... maybe ...)
#Hegseth #Orca
#TomWhipple #InsideScience #BBCInsideScience #BBCRadio4 -
Tom Whipple has Beaver Anal Glands.
Testing Testosterone Testing
BBC Inside ScienceSecretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has announced that the US military will be screening military personnel aged 30 and older for testosterone deficiency. Those found with low testosterone levels will be offered voluntary hormone replacement therapy. The secretary says this is to ensure “a healthy, capable, and decisively dominant fighting force”. Tom Whipple is joined by Professor Joe Herbert from the University of Cambridge to discuss why jacking soldiers up with testosterone may be the best idea. [NS1.1]
Marine Biologist Kathryn Ayres, from the non-profit organisation Beneath the Waves, describes a newly observed behaviour in orcas in which they collaboratively swim so hard into a dead sunfish it explodes. Is it a teachable moment for their young or is it just for fun?
Finally, we have Kit Yates, our resident mathematician, to reassure Tom that although AI might one day actually kill [NS2.1]us all, at least it can disprove an 87-year-old mathematics conjecture[NS3.1].
Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Dan Welsh, Alex Mansfield, Imy Harper, Tabitha Taylor Buck
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth2026-07-23 1630-1700
( ... would actually pay #BBCLicenceFee for this content ... maybe ...)
#Hegseth #Orca
#TomWhipple #InsideScience #BBCInsideScience #BBCRadio4 -
BBCNews:
ANDY BURNHAM LACKS FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC EXPERIENCE!!!... in other sources for other PMs ...
"... She was previously Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs from 15 September 2021 ..." -
BBCNews:
ANDY BURNHAM LACKS FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC EXPERIENCE!!!... in other sources for other PMs ...
"... She was previously Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs from 15 September 2021 ..." -
BBCNews:
ANDY BURNHAM LACKS FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC EXPERIENCE!!!... in other sources for other PMs ...
"... She was previously Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs from 15 September 2021 ..." -
BBCNews:
ANDY BURNHAM LACKS FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC EXPERIENCE!!!... in other sources for other PMs ...
"... She was previously Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs from 15 September 2021 ..." -
BBCNews:
ANDY BURNHAM LACKS FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC EXPERIENCE!!!... in other sources for other PMs ...
"... She was previously Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs from 15 September 2021 ..." -
(fascinating documentary about someone I've never heard of who spouted a load of bollocks which fascinated easily confused idiots (imho))
Alan Watts: The Brahman of Bromley
Archive on 4Jarvis Cocker wasn’t exactly enthusiastic when his bandmate suggested they listen to some old Buddhist lectures to while away the hours on their tour bus. But when the captivating voice of Alan Watts floated through the speakers, it transformed the way he saw the world.
Alan Watts is considered by many to have been a key translator of Eastern spiritual ideas in the 20th century. His books and lectures took the complex and often intangible concepts of Buddhism, Zen and Taoism, and unpacked them for Western ears with startling clarity and wry humour.
Born in Chislehurst in 1915, Watts moved to America just before the Second World War, where he became a popular public intellectual, “philosophical entertainer” and a thought-leader for the Beat Generation and emergent hippy counterculture.
In the years since his death in 1973, Watts’ reputation has only grown - first in esoteric New Age circles, and now with the millions of viewers online who take comfort from his archive of recorded lectures on YouTube and social media.
With access to his extensive recorded archive, Jarvis Cocker examines Watts’ life, work and digital legacy - featuring interviews with Watts enthusiasts and family members, historians and experts, as well as artists and filmmakers inspired by his work.
Access to Alan Watts' audio lectures provided by Mark Watts at the Alan Watts Organization.
Written and produced by Tom Harrad.
Executive producer: Ant Adeane
Sound mix: Alex PortfelixA Small Blue production for BBC Radio 4
Available now57 minutes
Last onYesterday
20:00
BBC Radio 4 -
(fascinating documentary about someone I've never heard of who spouted a load of bollocks which fascinated easily confused idiots (imho))
Alan Watts: The Brahman of Bromley
Archive on 4Jarvis Cocker wasn’t exactly enthusiastic when his bandmate suggested they listen to some old Buddhist lectures to while away the hours on their tour bus. But when the captivating voice of Alan Watts floated through the speakers, it transformed the way he saw the world.
Alan Watts is considered by many to have been a key translator of Eastern spiritual ideas in the 20th century. His books and lectures took the complex and often intangible concepts of Buddhism, Zen and Taoism, and unpacked them for Western ears with startling clarity and wry humour.
Born in Chislehurst in 1915, Watts moved to America just before the Second World War, where he became a popular public intellectual, “philosophical entertainer” and a thought-leader for the Beat Generation and emergent hippy counterculture.
In the years since his death in 1973, Watts’ reputation has only grown - first in esoteric New Age circles, and now with the millions of viewers online who take comfort from his archive of recorded lectures on YouTube and social media.
With access to his extensive recorded archive, Jarvis Cocker examines Watts’ life, work and digital legacy - featuring interviews with Watts enthusiasts and family members, historians and experts, as well as artists and filmmakers inspired by his work.
Access to Alan Watts' audio lectures provided by Mark Watts at the Alan Watts Organization.
Written and produced by Tom Harrad.
Executive producer: Ant Adeane
Sound mix: Alex PortfelixA Small Blue production for BBC Radio 4
Available now57 minutes
Last onYesterday
20:00
BBC Radio 4 -
(fascinating documentary about someone I've never heard of who spouted a load of bollocks which fascinated easily confused idiots (imho))
Alan Watts: The Brahman of Bromley
Archive on 4Jarvis Cocker wasn’t exactly enthusiastic when his bandmate suggested they listen to some old Buddhist lectures to while away the hours on their tour bus. But when the captivating voice of Alan Watts floated through the speakers, it transformed the way he saw the world.
Alan Watts is considered by many to have been a key translator of Eastern spiritual ideas in the 20th century. His books and lectures took the complex and often intangible concepts of Buddhism, Zen and Taoism, and unpacked them for Western ears with startling clarity and wry humour.
Born in Chislehurst in 1915, Watts moved to America just before the Second World War, where he became a popular public intellectual, “philosophical entertainer” and a thought-leader for the Beat Generation and emergent hippy counterculture.
In the years since his death in 1973, Watts’ reputation has only grown - first in esoteric New Age circles, and now with the millions of viewers online who take comfort from his archive of recorded lectures on YouTube and social media.
With access to his extensive recorded archive, Jarvis Cocker examines Watts’ life, work and digital legacy - featuring interviews with Watts enthusiasts and family members, historians and experts, as well as artists and filmmakers inspired by his work.
Access to Alan Watts' audio lectures provided by Mark Watts at the Alan Watts Organization.
Written and produced by Tom Harrad.
Executive producer: Ant Adeane
Sound mix: Alex PortfelixA Small Blue production for BBC Radio 4
Available now57 minutes
Last onYesterday
20:00
BBC Radio 4 -
(fascinating documentary about someone I've never heard of who spouted a load of bollocks which fascinated easily confused idiots (imho))
Alan Watts: The Brahman of Bromley
Archive on 4Jarvis Cocker wasn’t exactly enthusiastic when his bandmate suggested they listen to some old Buddhist lectures to while away the hours on their tour bus. But when the captivating voice of Alan Watts floated through the speakers, it transformed the way he saw the world.
Alan Watts is considered by many to have been a key translator of Eastern spiritual ideas in the 20th century. His books and lectures took the complex and often intangible concepts of Buddhism, Zen and Taoism, and unpacked them for Western ears with startling clarity and wry humour.
Born in Chislehurst in 1915, Watts moved to America just before the Second World War, where he became a popular public intellectual, “philosophical entertainer” and a thought-leader for the Beat Generation and emergent hippy counterculture.
In the years since his death in 1973, Watts’ reputation has only grown - first in esoteric New Age circles, and now with the millions of viewers online who take comfort from his archive of recorded lectures on YouTube and social media.
With access to his extensive recorded archive, Jarvis Cocker examines Watts’ life, work and digital legacy - featuring interviews with Watts enthusiasts and family members, historians and experts, as well as artists and filmmakers inspired by his work.
Access to Alan Watts' audio lectures provided by Mark Watts at the Alan Watts Organization.
Written and produced by Tom Harrad.
Executive producer: Ant Adeane
Sound mix: Alex PortfelixA Small Blue production for BBC Radio 4
Available now57 minutes
Last onYesterday
20:00
BBC Radio 4 -
(fascinating documentary about someone I've never heard of who spouted a load of bollocks which fascinated easily confused idiots (imho))
Alan Watts: The Brahman of Bromley
Archive on 4Jarvis Cocker wasn’t exactly enthusiastic when his bandmate suggested they listen to some old Buddhist lectures to while away the hours on their tour bus. But when the captivating voice of Alan Watts floated through the speakers, it transformed the way he saw the world.
Alan Watts is considered by many to have been a key translator of Eastern spiritual ideas in the 20th century. His books and lectures took the complex and often intangible concepts of Buddhism, Zen and Taoism, and unpacked them for Western ears with startling clarity and wry humour.
Born in Chislehurst in 1915, Watts moved to America just before the Second World War, where he became a popular public intellectual, “philosophical entertainer” and a thought-leader for the Beat Generation and emergent hippy counterculture.
In the years since his death in 1973, Watts’ reputation has only grown - first in esoteric New Age circles, and now with the millions of viewers online who take comfort from his archive of recorded lectures on YouTube and social media.
With access to his extensive recorded archive, Jarvis Cocker examines Watts’ life, work and digital legacy - featuring interviews with Watts enthusiasts and family members, historians and experts, as well as artists and filmmakers inspired by his work.
Access to Alan Watts' audio lectures provided by Mark Watts at the Alan Watts Organization.
Written and produced by Tom Harrad.
Executive producer: Ant Adeane
Sound mix: Alex PortfelixA Small Blue production for BBC Radio 4
Available now57 minutes
Last onYesterday
20:00
BBC Radio 4 -
BBCNews #BBCNews #BBCRadio4
"A small boat crossed the Channel carrying a RECORD number of migrants."
#WorldRecord #GuinnessBookOfRecords #RecordBreakers #OfficialWorldRecord
-
BBCNews #BBCNews #BBCRadio4
"A small boat crossed the Channel carrying a RECORD number of migrants."
#WorldRecord #GuinnessBookOfRecords #RecordBreakers #OfficialWorldRecord
-
BBCNews #BBCNews #BBCRadio4
"A small boat crossed the Channel carrying a RECORD number of migrants."
#WorldRecord #GuinnessBookOfRecords #RecordBreakers #OfficialWorldRecord
-
BBCNews #BBCNews #BBCRadio4
"A small boat crossed the Channel carrying a RECORD number of migrants."
#WorldRecord #GuinnessBookOfRecords #RecordBreakers #OfficialWorldRecord
-
BBCNews #BBCNews #BBCRadio4
"A small boat crossed the Channel carrying a RECORD number of migrants."
#WorldRecord #GuinnessBookOfRecords #RecordBreakers #OfficialWorldRecord
-
Ten Years After Brexit: Omnibus 1
PoliticallyIt is 10 years since the Brexit referendum. Alex Forsyth, a BBC correspondent who’s covered Brexit from both Brussels and Westminster, looks at what impact the decision to leave the EU has had on various aspects of public and political life.
In the first of two programmes, Alex and guests discuss Brexit's effect on the UK economy and trade and immigration, and how the referendum result impacted Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound mix: James Beard
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley57 minutes
Last on
Yesterday
21:00
BBC Radio 42026-07-11 2100-2200
#BBCPolitically
#TenYearsAfterBrexit
#BBCTenYearsAfterBrexitOmnibus
#BBCRadio4 -
Ten Years After Brexit: Omnibus 1
PoliticallyIt is 10 years since the Brexit referendum. Alex Forsyth, a BBC correspondent who’s covered Brexit from both Brussels and Westminster, looks at what impact the decision to leave the EU has had on various aspects of public and political life.
In the first of two programmes, Alex and guests discuss Brexit's effect on the UK economy and trade and immigration, and how the referendum result impacted Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound mix: James Beard
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley57 minutes
Last on
Yesterday
21:00
BBC Radio 42026-07-11 2100-2200
#BBCPolitically
#TenYearsAfterBrexit
#BBCTenYearsAfterBrexitOmnibus
#BBCRadio4 -
Ten Years After Brexit: Omnibus 1
PoliticallyIt is 10 years since the Brexit referendum. Alex Forsyth, a BBC correspondent who’s covered Brexit from both Brussels and Westminster, looks at what impact the decision to leave the EU has had on various aspects of public and political life.
In the first of two programmes, Alex and guests discuss Brexit's effect on the UK economy and trade and immigration, and how the referendum result impacted Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound mix: James Beard
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley57 minutes
Last on
Yesterday
21:00
BBC Radio 42026-07-11 2100-2200
#BBCPolitically
#TenYearsAfterBrexit
#BBCTenYearsAfterBrexitOmnibus
#BBCRadio4 -
Ten Years After Brexit: Omnibus 1
PoliticallyIt is 10 years since the Brexit referendum. Alex Forsyth, a BBC correspondent who’s covered Brexit from both Brussels and Westminster, looks at what impact the decision to leave the EU has had on various aspects of public and political life.
In the first of two programmes, Alex and guests discuss Brexit's effect on the UK economy and trade and immigration, and how the referendum result impacted Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound mix: James Beard
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley57 minutes
Last on
Yesterday
21:00
BBC Radio 42026-07-11 2100-2200
#BBCPolitically
#TenYearsAfterBrexit
#BBCTenYearsAfterBrexitOmnibus
#BBCRadio4 -
Ten Years After Brexit: Omnibus 1
PoliticallyIt is 10 years since the Brexit referendum. Alex Forsyth, a BBC correspondent who’s covered Brexit from both Brussels and Westminster, looks at what impact the decision to leave the EU has had on various aspects of public and political life.
In the first of two programmes, Alex and guests discuss Brexit's effect on the UK economy and trade and immigration, and how the referendum result impacted Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound mix: James Beard
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley57 minutes
Last on
Yesterday
21:00
BBC Radio 42026-07-11 2100-2200
#BBCPolitically
#TenYearsAfterBrexit
#BBCTenYearsAfterBrexitOmnibus
#BBCRadio4 -
Peter Singer
50 Years of Peter Singer's Animal Liberation
Archive on 4In 2026 the philosopher Peter Singer turns 80. He’s a most unusual contemporary philosopher: his ideas reach far beyond the academy, sparking widespread public debate and changing minds. His book Animal Liberation (1975) became the best-selling philosophy book of the 20th century, and is considered the founding text of the animal liberation movement.
Singer argued that the moral status of animals depends on their capacity for suffering, rather than any abstract considerations about whether they have ‘rights’. He coined the phrase ‘speciesism’, to highlight humans’ prejudice that their suffering matters more than the suffering of other species. He argued that if anything humans do to an animal causes it to suffer, it’s morally wrong.
Singer’s views have remained remarkably consistent since the mid 1970s. But a look into the archive suggests the world of animal rights activism has gone through several changes. In 1979 File On Four reported on the rise of an anti-vivisectionist movement named for Singer’s book: the Animal liberation Front. Their main concern back then was to raise awareness of scientific experimentation on animals. By 1983, the World At One was reporting on concerns that the Front was using increasingly violent tactics, but Delia Smith was also exposing viewers to the novelty of vegetarian food. Today the importance of animal suffering is recognised in law, and vegan options appear on many menus.
Throughout this change in the animal liberation movement, Peter Singer has been on the front line of the media battle. But he's also provoked controversy, particularly with his views on euthanasia.
Philosopher Jonathan Egid explores the thought, legacy, and extensive media archive of Peter Singer.
Producer: Luke Mulhall
Show less
Available now57 minutes
Last on
Yesterday
20:00
BBC Radio 4Peter Singer
2026-07-11 2000-2100
#50YearsOfPeterSingersAnimalLiberation
#BBC50YearsOfPeterSingersAnimalLiberation
#BBCArchiveOn4 #BBCRadio4
#PeterSinger -
Peter Singer
50 Years of Peter Singer's Animal Liberation
Archive on 4In 2026 the philosopher Peter Singer turns 80. He’s a most unusual contemporary philosopher: his ideas reach far beyond the academy, sparking widespread public debate and changing minds. His book Animal Liberation (1975) became the best-selling philosophy book of the 20th century, and is considered the founding text of the animal liberation movement.
Singer argued that the moral status of animals depends on their capacity for suffering, rather than any abstract considerations about whether they have ‘rights’. He coined the phrase ‘speciesism’, to highlight humans’ prejudice that their suffering matters more than the suffering of other species. He argued that if anything humans do to an animal causes it to suffer, it’s morally wrong.
Singer’s views have remained remarkably consistent since the mid 1970s. But a look into the archive suggests the world of animal rights activism has gone through several changes. In 1979 File On Four reported on the rise of an anti-vivisectionist movement named for Singer’s book: the Animal liberation Front. Their main concern back then was to raise awareness of scientific experimentation on animals. By 1983, the World At One was reporting on concerns that the Front was using increasingly violent tactics, but Delia Smith was also exposing viewers to the novelty of vegetarian food. Today the importance of animal suffering is recognised in law, and vegan options appear on many menus.
Throughout this change in the animal liberation movement, Peter Singer has been on the front line of the media battle. But he's also provoked controversy, particularly with his views on euthanasia.
Philosopher Jonathan Egid explores the thought, legacy, and extensive media archive of Peter Singer.
Producer: Luke Mulhall
Show less
Available now57 minutes
Last on
Yesterday
20:00
BBC Radio 4Peter Singer
2026-07-11 2000-2100
#50YearsOfPeterSingersAnimalLiberation
#BBC50YearsOfPeterSingersAnimalLiberation
#BBCArchiveOn4 #BBCRadio4
#PeterSinger -
Peter Singer
50 Years of Peter Singer's Animal Liberation
Archive on 4In 2026 the philosopher Peter Singer turns 80. He’s a most unusual contemporary philosopher: his ideas reach far beyond the academy, sparking widespread public debate and changing minds. His book Animal Liberation (1975) became the best-selling philosophy book of the 20th century, and is considered the founding text of the animal liberation movement.
Singer argued that the moral status of animals depends on their capacity for suffering, rather than any abstract considerations about whether they have ‘rights’. He coined the phrase ‘speciesism’, to highlight humans’ prejudice that their suffering matters more than the suffering of other species. He argued that if anything humans do to an animal causes it to suffer, it’s morally wrong.
Singer’s views have remained remarkably consistent since the mid 1970s. But a look into the archive suggests the world of animal rights activism has gone through several changes. In 1979 File On Four reported on the rise of an anti-vivisectionist movement named for Singer’s book: the Animal liberation Front. Their main concern back then was to raise awareness of scientific experimentation on animals. By 1983, the World At One was reporting on concerns that the Front was using increasingly violent tactics, but Delia Smith was also exposing viewers to the novelty of vegetarian food. Today the importance of animal suffering is recognised in law, and vegan options appear on many menus.
Throughout this change in the animal liberation movement, Peter Singer has been on the front line of the media battle. But he's also provoked controversy, particularly with his views on euthanasia.
Philosopher Jonathan Egid explores the thought, legacy, and extensive media archive of Peter Singer.
Producer: Luke Mulhall
Show less
Available now57 minutes
Last on
Yesterday
20:00
BBC Radio 4Peter Singer
2026-07-11 2000-2100
#50YearsOfPeterSingersAnimalLiberation
#BBC50YearsOfPeterSingersAnimalLiberation
#BBCArchiveOn4 #BBCRadio4
#PeterSinger -
Peter Singer
50 Years of Peter Singer's Animal Liberation
Archive on 4In 2026 the philosopher Peter Singer turns 80. He’s a most unusual contemporary philosopher: his ideas reach far beyond the academy, sparking widespread public debate and changing minds. His book Animal Liberation (1975) became the best-selling philosophy book of the 20th century, and is considered the founding text of the animal liberation movement.
Singer argued that the moral status of animals depends on their capacity for suffering, rather than any abstract considerations about whether they have ‘rights’. He coined the phrase ‘speciesism’, to highlight humans’ prejudice that their suffering matters more than the suffering of other species. He argued that if anything humans do to an animal causes it to suffer, it’s morally wrong.
Singer’s views have remained remarkably consistent since the mid 1970s. But a look into the archive suggests the world of animal rights activism has gone through several changes. In 1979 File On Four reported on the rise of an anti-vivisectionist movement named for Singer’s book: the Animal liberation Front. Their main concern back then was to raise awareness of scientific experimentation on animals. By 1983, the World At One was reporting on concerns that the Front was using increasingly violent tactics, but Delia Smith was also exposing viewers to the novelty of vegetarian food. Today the importance of animal suffering is recognised in law, and vegan options appear on many menus.
Throughout this change in the animal liberation movement, Peter Singer has been on the front line of the media battle. But he's also provoked controversy, particularly with his views on euthanasia.
Philosopher Jonathan Egid explores the thought, legacy, and extensive media archive of Peter Singer.
Producer: Luke Mulhall
Show less
Available now57 minutes
Last on
Yesterday
20:00
BBC Radio 4Peter Singer
2026-07-11 2000-2100
#50YearsOfPeterSingersAnimalLiberation
#BBC50YearsOfPeterSingersAnimalLiberation
#BBCArchiveOn4 #BBCRadio4
#PeterSinger -
Peter Singer
50 Years of Peter Singer's Animal Liberation
Archive on 4In 2026 the philosopher Peter Singer turns 80. He’s a most unusual contemporary philosopher: his ideas reach far beyond the academy, sparking widespread public debate and changing minds. His book Animal Liberation (1975) became the best-selling philosophy book of the 20th century, and is considered the founding text of the animal liberation movement.
Singer argued that the moral status of animals depends on their capacity for suffering, rather than any abstract considerations about whether they have ‘rights’. He coined the phrase ‘speciesism’, to highlight humans’ prejudice that their suffering matters more than the suffering of other species. He argued that if anything humans do to an animal causes it to suffer, it’s morally wrong.
Singer’s views have remained remarkably consistent since the mid 1970s. But a look into the archive suggests the world of animal rights activism has gone through several changes. In 1979 File On Four reported on the rise of an anti-vivisectionist movement named for Singer’s book: the Animal liberation Front. Their main concern back then was to raise awareness of scientific experimentation on animals. By 1983, the World At One was reporting on concerns that the Front was using increasingly violent tactics, but Delia Smith was also exposing viewers to the novelty of vegetarian food. Today the importance of animal suffering is recognised in law, and vegan options appear on many menus.
Throughout this change in the animal liberation movement, Peter Singer has been on the front line of the media battle. But he's also provoked controversy, particularly with his views on euthanasia.
Philosopher Jonathan Egid explores the thought, legacy, and extensive media archive of Peter Singer.
Producer: Luke Mulhall
Show less
Available now57 minutes
Last on
Yesterday
20:00
BBC Radio 4Peter Singer
2026-07-11 2000-2100
#50YearsOfPeterSingersAnimalLiberation
#BBC50YearsOfPeterSingersAnimalLiberation
#BBCArchiveOn4 #BBCRadio4
#PeterSinger -
How Boarding Schools Shaped Britain
1. Building men of Empire
Boarding schools have long been synonymous with leadership, privilege and tradition. Woven into the fabric of British society, these institutions have played a significant role in shaping the nation's leaders - from Empire builders to politicians.
In the first of three programmes, Nicky Campbell unravels the complex history of boarding schools, from their humble origins as day schools for the poor to their transformation into elite institutions that have defined power and influence.
But does early separation from family and loved ones come at a cost? And what impact has Britain's most enduring educational tradition had on the rest of British society?
Available now
42 minutesLast on
Yesterday
19:15
BBC Radio 42026-07-11 1915-2000
#BBCRadio4 #BBCHowBoardingSchoolsShapedBritain
#HowBoardingSchoolsShapedBritain
#NickyCampbell -
How Boarding Schools Shaped Britain
1. Building men of Empire
Boarding schools have long been synonymous with leadership, privilege and tradition. Woven into the fabric of British society, these institutions have played a significant role in shaping the nation's leaders - from Empire builders to politicians.
In the first of three programmes, Nicky Campbell unravels the complex history of boarding schools, from their humble origins as day schools for the poor to their transformation into elite institutions that have defined power and influence.
But does early separation from family and loved ones come at a cost? And what impact has Britain's most enduring educational tradition had on the rest of British society?
Available now
42 minutesLast on
Yesterday
19:15
BBC Radio 42026-07-11 1915-2000
#BBCRadio4 #BBCHowBoardingSchoolsShapedBritain
#HowBoardingSchoolsShapedBritain
#NickyCampbell -
How Boarding Schools Shaped Britain
1. Building men of Empire
Boarding schools have long been synonymous with leadership, privilege and tradition. Woven into the fabric of British society, these institutions have played a significant role in shaping the nation's leaders - from Empire builders to politicians.
In the first of three programmes, Nicky Campbell unravels the complex history of boarding schools, from their humble origins as day schools for the poor to their transformation into elite institutions that have defined power and influence.
But does early separation from family and loved ones come at a cost? And what impact has Britain's most enduring educational tradition had on the rest of British society?
Available now
42 minutesLast on
Yesterday
19:15
BBC Radio 42026-07-11 1915-2000
#BBCRadio4 #BBCHowBoardingSchoolsShapedBritain
#HowBoardingSchoolsShapedBritain
#NickyCampbell -
How Boarding Schools Shaped Britain
1. Building men of Empire
Boarding schools have long been synonymous with leadership, privilege and tradition. Woven into the fabric of British society, these institutions have played a significant role in shaping the nation's leaders - from Empire builders to politicians.
In the first of three programmes, Nicky Campbell unravels the complex history of boarding schools, from their humble origins as day schools for the poor to their transformation into elite institutions that have defined power and influence.
But does early separation from family and loved ones come at a cost? And what impact has Britain's most enduring educational tradition had on the rest of British society?
Available now
42 minutesLast on
Yesterday
19:15
BBC Radio 42026-07-11 1915-2000
#BBCRadio4 #BBCHowBoardingSchoolsShapedBritain
#HowBoardingSchoolsShapedBritain
#NickyCampbell -
How Boarding Schools Shaped Britain
1. Building men of Empire
Boarding schools have long been synonymous with leadership, privilege and tradition. Woven into the fabric of British society, these institutions have played a significant role in shaping the nation's leaders - from Empire builders to politicians.
In the first of three programmes, Nicky Campbell unravels the complex history of boarding schools, from their humble origins as day schools for the poor to their transformation into elite institutions that have defined power and influence.
But does early separation from family and loved ones come at a cost? And what impact has Britain's most enduring educational tradition had on the rest of British society?
Available now
42 minutesLast on
Yesterday
19:15
BBC Radio 42026-07-11 1915-2000
#BBCRadio4 #BBCHowBoardingSchoolsShapedBritain
#HowBoardingSchoolsShapedBritain
#NickyCampbell -
Gianni Infantino
ProfileThe FIFA president grew up in Switzerland as part of an Italian migrant family, and fell in love with football and its administration when he was just a teenager.
Having qualified as a football lawyer and making a name for himself at the European football federation UEFA, Infantino ended up perfectly positioned to take over the presidency of the world body FIFA after the organisation was mired in corruption charges. His promise to give the member associations double the money sealed his bid.
He’s now been president for over 10 years and has overseen FIFA’s expansion, with World Cups in Qatar, Russia and now North America; the growth of the women’s game; more competitions; more controversy - and of course more money.
This week, his love affair with Donald Trump has been thrust into the spotlight after US player Folarin Balogun’s red card was suspended following Trump's appeal to Infantino. Will this latest controversy prove his undoing, or is it just another chapter in a new brazen age?
Production:
Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Tom Gillett, Eleanor Harrison-Dengate
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele, Siobhan Reed
Sound: Neil Churchill
Editor: Justine LangARCHIVE:
FIFAShow less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now15 minutes
-
Gianni Infantino
ProfileThe FIFA president grew up in Switzerland as part of an Italian migrant family, and fell in love with football and its administration when he was just a teenager.
Having qualified as a football lawyer and making a name for himself at the European football federation UEFA, Infantino ended up perfectly positioned to take over the presidency of the world body FIFA after the organisation was mired in corruption charges. His promise to give the member associations double the money sealed his bid.
He’s now been president for over 10 years and has overseen FIFA’s expansion, with World Cups in Qatar, Russia and now North America; the growth of the women’s game; more competitions; more controversy - and of course more money.
This week, his love affair with Donald Trump has been thrust into the spotlight after US player Folarin Balogun’s red card was suspended following Trump's appeal to Infantino. Will this latest controversy prove his undoing, or is it just another chapter in a new brazen age?
Production:
Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Tom Gillett, Eleanor Harrison-Dengate
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele, Siobhan Reed
Sound: Neil Churchill
Editor: Justine LangARCHIVE:
FIFAShow less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now15 minutes
-
Gianni Infantino
ProfileThe FIFA president grew up in Switzerland as part of an Italian migrant family, and fell in love with football and its administration when he was just a teenager.
Having qualified as a football lawyer and making a name for himself at the European football federation UEFA, Infantino ended up perfectly positioned to take over the presidency of the world body FIFA after the organisation was mired in corruption charges. His promise to give the member associations double the money sealed his bid.
He’s now been president for over 10 years and has overseen FIFA’s expansion, with World Cups in Qatar, Russia and now North America; the growth of the women’s game; more competitions; more controversy - and of course more money.
This week, his love affair with Donald Trump has been thrust into the spotlight after US player Folarin Balogun’s red card was suspended following Trump's appeal to Infantino. Will this latest controversy prove his undoing, or is it just another chapter in a new brazen age?
Production:
Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Tom Gillett, Eleanor Harrison-Dengate
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele, Siobhan Reed
Sound: Neil Churchill
Editor: Justine LangARCHIVE:
FIFAShow less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now15 minutes
-
Gianni Infantino
ProfileThe FIFA president grew up in Switzerland as part of an Italian migrant family, and fell in love with football and its administration when he was just a teenager.
Having qualified as a football lawyer and making a name for himself at the European football federation UEFA, Infantino ended up perfectly positioned to take over the presidency of the world body FIFA after the organisation was mired in corruption charges. His promise to give the member associations double the money sealed his bid.
He’s now been president for over 10 years and has overseen FIFA’s expansion, with World Cups in Qatar, Russia and now North America; the growth of the women’s game; more competitions; more controversy - and of course more money.
This week, his love affair with Donald Trump has been thrust into the spotlight after US player Folarin Balogun’s red card was suspended following Trump's appeal to Infantino. Will this latest controversy prove his undoing, or is it just another chapter in a new brazen age?
Production:
Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Tom Gillett, Eleanor Harrison-Dengate
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele, Siobhan Reed
Sound: Neil Churchill
Editor: Justine LangARCHIVE:
FIFAShow less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now15 minutes