Podcast · 126 episodes
Radical, page 2
by BBC Radio 4 · English
Conversations about the global forces reshaping our world and the radical ideas that could define the future. Radical is a twice-weekly podcast where pioneering thinkers, bold innovators and influential voices explore the ideas, trends and breakthroughs transforming society. From politics and climate change to economics and artificial intelligence, each episode tackles the biggest challenges facing our world, and the solutions that could help shape what's next. LISTEN: Listen to Radical every Monday and Thursday on BBC Sounds. You can also listen on your smart speaker - just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Radical." Available on most smart speakers. GET IN TOUCH: - Send us a message or voice note on WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480. - Email: Radical@bbc.co.uk - Or join the conversation using #BBCRadical.
All episodes, page 2
Last Call for the Local: Are Old Pubs the Solution to Modern Crises? (Oisín Rogers)Whether Britain can save the “Great British Pub” amid rapid closures, and what pubs could do (and what government should do) to remain viable social infrastructure.25 Jun 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 25 chapters
Can Britain Change Its Ways on Housing? (Your Radical Questions with Shiv Malik)Whether Britain can fix its housing crisis by building a new “Forest City” for ~1 million people in East Anglia, with ~400,000 affordable homes, and what “radical” planning should look like (beyond…22 Jun 2026 · 25 min · 9 chapters
The Great British Housing Crisis: Is a Brand New Mega-City the Answer? (Shiv Malik)The UK housing crisis and planning failures, and whether Shiv Malik’s proposal for “Forest City” (a new city near Cambridge in East Anglia) could deliver affordable homes and infrastructure at scale.18 Jun 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 24 chapters
Is Our Idea of Economic Success Completely Broken? (Your Radical Questions with Kate Raworth)Kate Raworth discusses whether economic success is “broken,” arguing for “Donut Economics”: meeting human needs within the means of the living planet, replacing GDP as a steering metric with a…15 Jun 2026 · 18 min · 7 chapters
The End of Endless Growth: Should We Put the Brakes on Economic Expansion? (Kate Raworth)Kate Raworth argues that mainstream “endless growth” economics is morally and ecologically irresponsible.11 Jun 2026 · 1 h 7 min · 29 chapters
Could Ben & Jerry's Be Created Today? (Your Radical Questions with Ben Cohen)Listener Q&A with Ben Cohen (co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s) on whether ethical business can succeed, the role of regulation vs corporate responsibility, ultra-processed foods, and whether a Ben &…8 Jun 2026 · 14 min · 7 chapters
Business Reimagined: Should Firms Have a Purpose Beyond Profit? (Ben & Jerry’s Ben Cohen)Whether firms should have a purpose beyond profit, using Ben & Jerry’s as a case study in ethical capitalism, activism, and the limits imposed by corporate ownership.4 Jun 2026 · 58 min · 22 chapters
How Close Are We to a Cure for Cancer? (Your Radical Questions with Professor Sir John Bell)How close we are to a cancer cure, and how personalized medicine, regulation, pricing, IP, and AI-enabled NHS scaling affect access and timelines.1 Jun 2026 · 20 min · 7 chapters
Healthcare, Reinvented: How Dramatic Medical Breakthroughs Are Quietly Changing Your Life (Professor Sir John Bell)How medical breakthroughs over ~50 years are extending life and shifting healthcare from treating acute illness to managing chronic disease, with knock-on effects for society, productivity, and…28 May 2026 · 53 min · 18 chapters
Is Regenerative Farming Getting Greenwashed? (Your Radical Questions with Andy Cato)Whether regenerative farming is being greenwashed, and how it could be adopted and scaled without harming food production—plus how it can support biodiversity/rewilding and global contexts.25 May 2026 · 22 min · 8 chapters
The Future of Food: Can Regenerative Farming Save Our Soil? (Andy Cato)Regenerative farming as a way to rebuild soil health and make food systems resilient to climate extremes, while keeping farmers profitable through new economics and measurement.21 May 2026 · 58 min · 26 chapters
Is Social Media Making Young Women Hate Men? (Your Radical Questions with Dr Jilly Kay)Whether social media (and future AI) is driving young women to polarize against men, and what causes and solutions exist for the “Femisphere” and “Manosphere” online movements.18 May 2026 · 14 min · 5 chapters
The Rise of the Femosphere: Who Are the Women Giving Up on Men? (Dr Jilly Kay)The “femosphere” (women-only online spaces mirroring the “manosphere”) and how it shapes Gen Z dating, politics, and pessimism about heterosexual relationships.14 May 2026 · 52 min · 25 chapters
What Are the Tech Billionaires Really Like? (Your Radical Questions with Reid Hoffman)How tech leaders and platforms shape jobs, ethics, and opportunity amid AI-driven disruption; plus AI safety and whether the future benefits “the many.”11 May 2026 · 18 min · 12 chapters
The Jobs Revolution: Is AI Working for You? (Reid Hoffman)AI’s impact on jobs and education, framed as a “cognitive Industrial Revolution.” Reid Hoffman argues AI will automate scripted tasks, transform others (e.g., software engineering into…7 May 2026 · 1 h 8 min · 34 chapters
Is AI Coming for Your Job? (Your Radical Questions with Matt Clifford)Q&A on whether AI will replace jobs, how to preserve time/space for creativity amid overstimulation, and how UK government should make policy under AI uncertainty.4 May 2026 · 26 min · 11 chapters
Going for Growth: Can We Make Britain Wealthy Again? (Matt Clifford)Matt Clifford argues Britain has “sleepwalked into stagnation” (no pay rises for ~18–19 years, large lost output) and that the route out is economic growth driven by productivity gains from AI.30 Apr 2026 · 1 h 16 min · 32 chapters
How Can More Women Become Business Leaders? (Your Radical Questions with Emma Grede)Emma Grede answers listener questions on breaking into opportunity, why women aren’t business leaders, leadership, entrepreneurship, motherhood, and dyslexia—framing it as “start with yourself” and…27 Apr 2026 · 19 min · 13 chapters
Taking Responsibility: Are We Thinking About Success and Ambition All Wrong? (Emma Grede)Emma Grede’s “Start With Yourself” argues that success requires taking personal responsibility, making real trade-offs, and rejecting “old thoughts” about work-life balance, money, ambition, and…23 Apr 2026 · 53 min · 33 chapters
Why Are Young People Abandoning the Political Centre? (Your Radical Questions with Adrian Wooldridge)Why young people are leaving the political centre; a defence of liberal centrism as a way to rebuild belonging, address loneliness, and respond to modern threats (tech power, Putin, populism).20 Apr 2026 · 27 min · 9 chapters
Reclaiming the Centre: Is the Old Political Order Dead? (Adrian Wooldridge)Adrian Wooldridge argues that liberal democracy’s “centre” is in decline because liberalism stopped adapting its radical solutions to new conditions.16 Apr 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 24 chapters
Can Technology Rescue Reading? (Your Radical Questions with James Marriott)Whether technology can rescue reading and support critical thought, empathy, and learning amid declining literacy; includes ideas like dumb phones, AI tutors, gamified learning, and possible…13 Apr 2026 · 22 min · 12 chapters
The Reading Recession: Are We Making Ourselves Less Intelligent? (James Marriott)The decline of reading and literacy (“post-literate” society) and how screen-based, short-form video and smartphone use may weaken comprehension, reflective thinking, and ultimately democracy.9 Apr 2026 · 58 min · 27 chapters
Could All Government Decisions Be Made Through an App? (Your Radical Questions with Hélène Landemore)Whether government decisions can be made via apps and/or citizen deliberation, and how citizen assemblies should complement Parliament (including digital ID, electoral design, and even redesigning…6 Apr 2026 · 19 min · 7 chapters