The UK has a religoius Prime Minister - yet again! Rishi Sunak is the first Hindu to occupy the role, but there have been plenty more of the faithful before him - even in the more secular atmosphere of the 20th century. Who did God most? Who least? Who was most sincere? And for whom did the divine actually make a difference?
In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Mark Vickers about his book God In Number 10
Are we are losing our civility and, with it, the space to disagree productively? Why? Where did the idea of 'civility' come from, where is it going, and why does it matter?
In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Ann Hartle about her book What happened to civility?
We spend a lot of money on aid - although not as much as we used to. Does it work or is it, as some claim, a waste? And behind that, why do some countries develop and others not?
In this episode Nick Spencer talks to Stefan Dercon about this book Gambling on Development
For all the fears over growing levels of creationism, evolution is widely accepted in the UK. But 'accepted' does not necessarily mean understood, particularly when the theory itself is subject to so many myths and fanciful interpretation.
In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Simon Conway Morris about his book From Extra-terrestrials to Animal Minds: Six Myths of Evolution
Everyone knows that terrorism is wrong but - a tough question to answer objectively - does it work? And, depending on your answer to that question, how then should we respond to it?
In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Richard English about his book Does Terrorism Work?
Whereas once we read books and newspapers, and read them whole, the world is now mediated to us through screens, usually in much smaller gobbets. What is this doing to our brains - and does it matter?
In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Maryanne Wolf about her book Reader, Come Home: The reading brain in a digital world
The liberation of the sexual revolution is increasingly looking anything but liberating, particularly for young women who are suffering a culture of the endlessly commercialised female body, casual sex, and sometimes violent pornography.
What is going on, why, and what can we do about it? In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Louise Perry about her book The Case Against the Sexual Revolution
What will the world be like a generation from now? Warmer and more crowded, certainly. But… richer? More peaceful? Healthier? Better educated? On Mars? Or at war? Predicting the future is risky but also, arguably, necessary if we hope to navigate the path before us.
In this episode, Nick Spencer talks to Hamish McCrae about his book The World in 2050: How to Think About the Future
Whatever else has happened to religious practice over the last 40 years, it doesn’t seem to have affected the way we talk about, or believe in, the soul, with as many people doing so today as they did 40 years ago. But what we mean by the ‘soul’ is far from clear. Is it a thing, a process, or just a figures of speech?
In this episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Prof. John Cottingham about his book In Search of the Soul.
Even allowing for the fact that relationship between the sexes has never been easy, we surely live in strangely anxious times when it comes to such matters, with accusations of misogyny and toxic masculinity rife. Are men a problem? How do men and women differ? And what, if anything, do we want or need from each other?
In this episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Nina Power about her book What do men want?: masculinity and its discontents.