Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Politics & Social Sciences

From politics to economics, from tech to the study of how we live, things are changing fast. Old certainties are crumbling, and we need new solutions to shake up the status quo and shape the future. In The Spark, Helen Lewis meets 11 radical thinkers who are bidding to change our world, and puts their ideas under the spotlight to find out what they have to offer compared to the failures of the past.

In his first BBC radio series, New Comedy Award finalist Jacob Hawley examines one of the most important issues affecting young people today, looking into every aspect of British drug culture to discover its scope and effects. As a recreational drugs user for almost a decade, Jacob thought he knew more than most about the topic - but was shocked by how much he still had to learn.

Chaired by Simon Brett (author of the hugely popular Charles Paris series), this intriguing, interactive panel show challenges professional crime novelists to put their experience and expertise to the test as they try to unravel various mind-bending mysteries. Each episode features a death and a denouement - with various red herrings and misdirections along the way. As the murder scenario is described and the clues laid out, our writer-detectives take turns cross-examining the suspects. 

The BBC Radio 3 series exploring the meaning of the male nude in the visual arts. When we think of the nude we usually think of the female nude, and in Western art in particular, we're often contemplating an image where the artist is primarily concerned with sensuality and desire. If we spare a thought for the male nude at all, he tends to appear as a figure symbolising courage and endurance. Both perspectives are, of course, a simplification or distortion.

The story of how Britain's Olympic journey started 400 years ago - in the Cotswolds. It was once thought that the modern Olympics was the brainchild of Baron Pierre de Coubertin alone and put into action in Greece in 1896. The man himself encouraged the myth.

Listen now to fascinating and remarkable conversations between The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and leading men and women as they discuss big questions about humankind. This collection is a must-listen for anyone looking to explore life beyond the sensational headlines and glossy PR that dominate our world. The interviews delve into what it really means to be human, and each guest has an incredible story that is shared in a deeply personal way.

From Shakespeare and Milton to Alan Moore and Douglas Adams, writers have striven to convey the enormity and wonder of our universe. In this enlightening three-part series, Robin Ince, aided by special guests including his fellow Infinite Monkey Cage presenter Brian Cox, appraises the great communicators past and present, who have captured our imagination and advanced our knowledge.

In this wildly entertaining A to Z of verbal acrobatics, Gyles takes you on a whirlwind tour of our mother tongue – from the origins of words and correct grammar and punctuation, to similes, euphemisms and record breaking tongue twisters (try getting your mouth around floccinaucinihilipification!). An idiosyncratic blend of history, word play, anecdote, and hyperbole, all in 60-second instalments, this is Gyles Brandreth at his word-perfect, Just-a-Minute best. You’ll never mix your metaphors again...

The News Quiz made its debut on Radio 4 in 1977, and decades later it's still playfully making and breaking the headlines of our daily news. If you enjoy your news humorously grilled, with a side order of biting wit, these 14 gems of vintage episodes will be exactly to your taste.

Much of human history is hidden from us, buried deep under our feet. Layered beneath the landscape are the unknown stories of ancient peoples and civilizations, written in bones and long-lost artefacts, waiting to be revealed and deciphered. In these eight series, renowned author and broadcaster Aubrey Manning delves into the past, following geological and archaeological clues in an attempt to unravel some of these mysteries – from the Lost Map of London and the Amber Room to the Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Antikythera Mechanism and the Land of Punt.