Seriously...

Informações:

Synopsis

A rich selection of documentaries aimed at relentlessly curious minds. Presented by Ashley John-Baptiste, this twice weekly podcast replaces the Radio 4 Documentary of the Week.

Episodes

  • A Reckoning with Drugs in Oregon

    22/03/2024 Duration: 28min

    Four years ago, one of America’s most progressive states passed the country’s boldest approach to drug policy reform yet. Measure 110 came after a spirited campaign targeting the country’s failed war on drugs.The new law decriminalised possession of all illicit substances, including heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine . The reformers accurately predicted that the new law would result in fewer people of colour being locked up, but it also coincided with the new spread of the deadly drug fentanyl, and a tidal wave of homelessness. Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and is far more deadly. Social workers and police now regularly carry the opioid-blocking drug Narcan to treat people overdosing on the streets. Homelessness also continues to rise alongside the drug’s rampage, creating an epidemic on multiple fronts.In A Reckoning with Drugs in Oregon, local journalist Winston Ross explores the complex issues behind Portland’s fentanyl crisis and lawmakers’ recent decision to roll back Measure 110, s

  • Incandescent: The Phoebus Cartel

    19/03/2024 Duration: 37min

    A century ago, businessmen from around the world gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, to form a shadowy international organisation called the Phoebus Cartel. Their purpose? To control the production and distribution of lightbulbs across the world - and also, it's alleged, to deliberately shorten their lifespans to make them burn out quicker in order to sell more. It's a manufacturing tactic called planned obsolescence and it's claimed the Phoebus Cartel invented it. In this documentary, Shaun Keaveny goes in search of the mysterious Phoebus Cartel, a journey which takes him from the Industrial Midlands to Switzerland, a testing laboratory in Belgium, and the bizarre story of an immortal light bulb called Byron. Shaun investigates the rise of today's throwaway culture and looks at its enormous environmental impact, with millions of low-cost, poorly-made products ending up in landfill within a year of being bought. Is this a legacy of the Phoebus Cartel? Where does the conspiracy theory end and reality begin?Shaun

  • Farmers and Furious

    15/03/2024 Duration: 28min

    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 production is supported, and not just environmental work, be enough to appease English farmers? And has the Welsh First Minister's comments that farmers can not simply decide themselves what to do with millions in subsidies, just inflamed the situation further? With so many demands on our land, from capturing carbon to reversing the biodiversity loss, is there still space for farmers to produce food profitably in the UK?Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

  • Decolonising Russia

    12/03/2024 Duration: 27min

    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-determination. The debate about the 'imperial' nature of Russia has now also been taken up by strategists, politicians and scholars in the West. Many are questioning their own previous 'Russocentric' assumptions, and asking whether 'decolonising' Russia is the only way to stop the country threatening its neighbours - and world peace. But some also wonder whether the term 'decolonisation' is really relevant to Russia – and what it means. Is it about challenging the '0imperial mindset' of its rulers – and perhaps of every ordinary Russian? Or perhaps it means dismembering the country itself? Or, as some claim, is t

  • How to Build an Oil Field

    08/03/2024 Duration: 28min

    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 operational, where is all this money, and oil, going to flow? And how does this fit into a commitment to transition from a dependency on fossil fuels to greener alternatives?  There’s a lot at stake with this new oil field: jobs, investment, income, and oil, of course. There are so many questions about how oil and gas works in terms of its relationship to the UK, yet surprisingly few clear answers. This programme will help fill in the blanks.

  • The Forensic Jeweller

    05/03/2024 Duration: 29min

    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 first, and currently only, Forensic Jeweller. In this show, we accompany Maria to the Evros region of Greece, where she, along with her team of Dr Jan Bikker, Professor Pavlidis Pavlos and Filmmaker Harry Lawson, are using the forensic analysis of jewellery to identify deceased migrants.The goal is to give back a name to many of the missing and unidentified who sadly lose their lives trying to enter Europe. A single piece of jewellery can unlock an entire identity.

  • The Hidden History of the Wall

    01/03/2024 Duration: 28min

    Cultural Sociologist Rachel Hurdley travels round England and Wales to uncover what walls tell us about how we live, from iron age roundhouses to Victorian mansions, medieval halls to terraced workers’ cottages, castles to the domestic interiors of today.Rachel explores how walls, which we often take for granted, define the spaces we inhabit and make sense of everyday life and our place in the world, talking to a range of experts and academics including architectural writer Jonathan Glancey. She tries her hand at making wattle and daub for roundhouses at Castell Henllys in Wales, with archaeologist Dr David Howell . She climbs through the thick stone walls of the Norman castle at Conisbrough in South Yorkshire, with buildings archaeologist James Wright and English Heritage curator Kevin Booth. From the top of the tower, Rachel explores ideas of status and wealth, where building the tallest tower was as much about impressing the neighbours, as it was about military defence and protecting the vast wealth of the

  • The Rise of Sinn Féin

    27/02/2024 Duration: 28min

    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.Presenter: Chris Page Producer: Camellia Sinclair Lead broadcast engineer: Ilse LademannCredit: "Two Tribes", RTÉ One, 22nd December 2022

  • Who Do You Really Think You Are?

    23/02/2024 Duration: 28min

    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, population geneticist Dr Adam Rutherford sets out to prove that we're all descended from royalty, revealing along the way that family trees are not the perfect tool for tracing your heritage. But can it really be true? Can we all be descended from Henry VIII or Charlemagne!?

  • Prosecuting Polmont

    20/02/2024 Duration: 28min

    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 grounds for prosecuting the Scottish Prison Service for potential failures of duty of care to both Katie and William, but they couldn't proceed because, unlike the police, the NHS, or even a private prison, the prison service has immunity from prosecution. With a Fatal Accident Inquiry about to open into Katie and William's deaths, Linda has little faith it will hold the prison accountable. Dani Garavelli Presenter and Researcher Liza Greig Producer Elizabeth Clark Executive ProducerBBC Scotland Productions for BBC Radio 4

  • How to Read the News - Episode 1

    16/02/2024 Duration: 14min

    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 didn’t make it much past the headlines, you might not realise that. We discover why journalists write stories ‘the wrong way up’, how that affects how we understand them, and how that might change with new technology.‘How to Read the News’ - this series is all about giving you the tools to decode the news. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Charlotte McDonald Researchers: Beth Ashmead Latham, Kirsteen Knight Editors: China Collins, Emma Rippon

  • Graceland in the Glens

    13/02/2024 Duration: 28min

    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 seems the Curfew Tower at the junction of the crossroads in the village of Cushendall in the Glens of Antrim is where this collision will be taking place. Producer: Conor Garrett

  • The Screening Dilemma

    09/02/2024 Duration: 28min

    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 sounds like a good thing. Or is it?Advances in health screening have allowed us to see far into our bodies' future. During the pandemic home testing became an everyday routine. The same technology has helped develop new tools that can sequence our DNA quickly. Simple tests are making the process less intrusive than ever before.These improvements have also seen the development of a number of major national screening programmes. Including Our Future Health and the UK Biobank. Both of these are large scale research studies to help researchers prevent chronic health conditions. They could also inform the NHS on how to imp

  • Hotel Room Art

    06/02/2024 Duration: 28min

    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 why we have ‘art’ hotels .

  • Seven Deadly Psychologies - 1. Pride

    12/01/2024 Duration: 28min

    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 alongside them - in ourselves and with others?Pride - also known as the "original sin" - is now a bit of a double-edged word. The good side is motivating and self-affirming: to be proud of your work, your kids, or your identity. But then there’s the ugly side of pride: thinking you’re better than others. Arrogance, narcissism, an inflated sense of superiority. How can we have one without the other? Confidence without arrogance? Self-worth without self-aggrandisement? To guide us through this mess is evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, neuros

  • Seven Deadly Psychologies - 2. Greed

    12/01/2024 Duration: 28min

    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 is in the spotlight today. And we're not talking food. (That’s gluttony, we come to that later in the series.) We're talking greed for money, for land, for material things – and ultimately for control, status, dominance, power. The kind of greed that separates the "haves" from the "have nots". On one hand, greed is a great motivator, driving us all forward in our pursuit to get more of whatever it is we want. But at its ugliest, greed can come at a huge cost to other people, and to the planet. When does self-interested behaviour become selfish? And can we be greedy for the good? To guide us through this mess is evol

  • Seven Deadly Psychologies - 3. Lust

    12/01/2024 Duration: 28min

    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 is today's hot topic. It's crucial to the continuation of our species, but it's also a form of neurochemical madness that can lead us astray. We all have wildly different brains, bodies, and cultural references, so everyone’s relationship to lust is highly personal. Is it true that men want it more than women? When was the "lustiest" time in history? And, back in today's world, how can we navigate our drives alongside cultural expectations and the issue of consent? And how can we feel desire without shame? To guide us through this mess is evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin from the Department of Experimental

  • Seven Deadly Psychologies - 4. Envy

    12/01/2024 Duration: 29min

    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 is in the spotlight today. On one hand, it indicates what it is you want, and it motivates you to go out there and get it. On the other hand, it can be a corrosive feeling of yearning that eats you up from the inside. And at its ugliest, it can drive you to seek the destruction of others...How can we listen to our feelings of envy, without being riddled with resentment? And how can we make peace with that restless, nagging feeling that the grass is always greener? To guide us through this mess is evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, psy

  • Seven Deadly Psychologies - 5. Gluttony

    12/01/2024 Duration: 28min

    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?Gluttony is on the menu today. On one hand, the odd bit of indulgence isn't such a bad thing. Eat, drink, and be merry. But sometimes we overdo it. We crave, we binge, we short circuit our dopamine reward systems, and before we know it, we can't stop. But why do we crave? Can we control our cravings? And when does a little bit of binging become too much? To guide us through this mess is evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, food writer Mark Schatzker, author of 'Steak', 'The Dorito Effect' and 'The End of Craving', Dr Andrew Moynihan from the

  • Seven Deadly Psychologies - 6. Wrath

    12/01/2024 Duration: 28min

    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 today's hot topic, and things can get pretty ugly when our blood starts to boil. Some of us are quick to flip, some of us brood, and some of us push down our anger. But ultimately anger is a motivator; a driver for change in the face of a perceived injustice. The question is, how are you going to act on it? For bad? Or for good?To guide us through this mess is evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, psychology professor Dr Ryan Martin (aka "The Anger Professor"), multidisciplinary artist and former Children's Laureate of Wales, Connor Allen

page 1 from 15