The Reith Lectures

In this podcast, Professor Ben Ansell explores fostering a collective identity in a divided society. He discusses regional disparities and the decline of industries, the importance of solidarity and public services, universal benefits versus means-tested benefits, turning foreign aid commitments into outcomes, the risks of artificial intelligence, English solidarity, and the impact of the European Court of Human Rights on Brexit and fake news threat to solidarity.

In this podcast, the lecturer explores the complacency of citizens in wealthy countries regarding security threats. He discusses the delicate balance between security and freedom, the relationship between inequality and crime, and challenges to liberal democracy's monopoly on security. The ongoing debate on decrypting messages and the importance of trust and accountability are also addressed.

Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Oxford University, discusses the challenges of democracy in the 21st century, including the rise of authoritarianism and the impact of AI. He explores the history and fragility of democracy, as well as the misuse of technology in politics. The pros and cons of the House of Lords are also discussed, along with the future of democracy in relation to capitalism and inequality. The concept of lowering the voting age and granting votes to future generations is explored as well.

In the last in a series of four lectures examining what freedom means, the foreign affairs and intelligence expert Dr Fiona Hill gives her BBC Reith Lecture on Freedom from Fear. Dr Hill is one of the world’s leading experts on Russia, and served as director for European and Russian affairs on President Trump’s National Security Council, and in senior intelligence roles for both Presidents Bush and Obama. She will talk about the fear she felt growing up as teenager in the Cold War and living with the threat of nuclear war. Then, she says, the culture of fear was about the Soviet Union, a largely unknown enemy. 40 years later, have we come full circle? She also analyses Russia's war in Ukraine, and what it means for the world. The programme and question-and-answer session is recorded at Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC in front of an audience. The presenter is Anita Anand.The year's series was inspired by President Franklin D Roosevelt's four freedoms speech of 1941 and asks what this terrain means now. It features four different lecturers: Freedom of Speech by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Freedom to Worship by Rowan Williams Freedom from Want by Darren McGarvey Freedom from Fear by Fiona HillProducer: Jim Frank Sound Engineers: Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Hugh Levinson

Darren McGarvey discusses poverty and activism in Glassgoed, highlighting the responsibility of society in creating a fairer society. He emphasizes the importance of individuals taking action and explores the appropriation of personal responsibility by political ideologies. The speaker reflects on the care system and the need for dialogue, and emphasizes the importance of hope and urging politicians to broaden their perspectives.

Rowan Williams cyn Archesgob Cymru a Chaergaint yn traddodi ei ddarlith Reith i'r BBC yn y Gymraeg gan drafod ffydd a rhyddid. Yn ôl yr Arglwydd Acton, yr awdur ar ryddid o'r 19 ganrif a ddyfynnir yn y ddarlith, rhyddid crefyddol yw sail pob rhyddid gwleidyddol. Mae Rowan Williams yn cymhwyso hyn yng nghyd destun De Affrica, y gwrthdaro yn y ddadl gyfoes am erthylu ac amryw bynciau eraill. Dadleuir fod rhyddid i addoli yn gorfod cynnwys y rhyddid i fynegi argyhoeddiadau yn ogystal a'r rhyddid i gyd-gyfarfod.Recordiwyd y fersiwn Saesneg o'r ddarlith a sesiwn cwestiwn ac ateb o flaen cynulleidfa ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe gydag Anita Anand yn cyflwyno. Cyflwynir y ddarlith yn y Gymraeg gan John Roberts. Araith yr Arlywydd Franklin D. Roosevelt yn 1941 ar y pedwar rhyddid yw’r ysbrydoliaeth ar gyfer darlithoedd Reith 2022 gan holi pa mor hanfodol yw'r pedwar rhyddid heddiw. Traddodir pedair darlithydd yn Saesneg. Darlith Rowan Williams yn unig sydd wedi ei recordio yn y Gymraeg. Trafodir: Rhyddid i lefaru gan Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Rhyddid i addoli gan Rowan Williams, Rhyddid rhag angen gan Darren McGarvey, Rhyddid rhag ofn gan Fiona Hill. Cynhyrchydd y gyfres: Jim Frank Cynhyrchydd y fersiwn Gymraeg: John Roberts (Cwmni Tonnau Cyf.) Peirianwyr sain: Rod Farquhar, Neil Churchill a Gareth Turrell Cydlynydd cynhyrchu: Brenda Brown Golygydd: Hugh Levinson

Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, gives the second of the 2022 Reith Lectures, discussing faith and liberty. In his lecture, he cites Lord Acton, the 19th Century thinker on freedom, who said that religious freedom is the basis of all political freedom. Williams addresses this with reference to South Africa and today's controversies around the abortion debate. He argues that for religious believers, freedom of worship must mean the freedom to express conviction, not just the freedom to meet. The lecture and question-and-answer session is recorded at Swansea University in front of an audience. The presenter is Anita Anand.The year's series was inspired by President Franklin D Roosevelt's four freedoms speech of 1941 and asks what this terrain means now. It features four different lecturers: Freedom of Speech by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Freedom to Worship by Rowan Williams Freedom from Want by Darren McGarvey Freedom from Fear by Fiona HillProducer: Jim Frank Sound Engineers: Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill Production Coordinators: Brenda Brown Editor: Hugh Levinson

Best-selling Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gives the first of four 2022 Reith Lectures, discussing freedom of speech. She argues that it feels like freedom of speech is under attack. Cancel culture, arguments about “wokeness" and the assault on Salman Rushdie have produced a febrile atmosphere. Meanwhile autocrats and populists have undermined the very notion of an accepted fact-based truth which lives above politics. So how do we calibrate freedom in this context? If we have the freedom to offend, where do we draw the line? This lecture and question-and-answer session is recorded in London in front of an audience and presented by Anita Anand.The year's series was inspired by President Franklin D Roosevelt's four freedoms speech of 1941 and asks what this terrain means now? It features four different lecturers. In addition to Chimamanda, they are: Freedom of Worship by Rowan Williams Freedom from Want by Darren McGarvey Freedom from Fear by Fiona HillProducer: Jim Frank Sound Engineers: Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Hugh Levinson

Stuart Russell suggests a way forward for human control over super-powerful artificial intelligence. He argues for the abandonment of the current “standard model” of AI, proposing instead a new model based on three principles - chief among them the idea that machines should know that they don’t know what humans’ true objectives are. Echoes of the new model are already found in phenomena as diverse as menus, market research, and democracy. Machines designed according to the new model would be, Russell suggests, deferential to humans, cautious and minimally invasive in their behaviour and, crucially, willing to be switched off. He will conclude by exploring further the consequences of success in AI for our future as a species.Stuart Russell is Professor of Computer Science and founder of the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence at the University of California, Berkeley.The programme and question-and-answer session was recorded at the National Innovation Centre for Data in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Presenter: Anita Anand Producer: Jim Frank Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Hugh Levinson.

Professor Stuart Russell explores the future of work and one of the most concerning issues raised by Artificial Intelligence: the threat to jobs. How will the economy adapt as work is increasingly done by machines? Economists’ forecasts range from rosy scenarios of human-AI teamwork, to dystopian visions in which most people are excluded from the economy altogether. Was the economist Keynes correct when he said that we were born to “strive”? If much of the work in future will be carried out by machines, what does that mean for humans? What will we do? Stuart Russell is Professor of Computer Science and founder of the Centre for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence at the University of California, Berkeley. The lecture and question-and-answer session was recorded at Edinburgh University. Presenter: Anita Anand Producer: Jim Frank Editor: Hugh Levinson Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound: Neil Churchill and Hal Haines