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A Point of View

Latest episodes

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Jul 24, 2020 • 10min

A Hazy Shade of Winter

"Once in a blue moon," writes Rebecca Stott, "new technologies become available that make it possible to open up ancient, long-shelved historical mysteries." Rebecca tells how modern science has explained the events of 536 AD when the sun 'disappeared' and a devastating pandemic followed. And she ponders what scientists - hundreds of years from now - will be able to tell about our current pandemic and our environmental crisis. Producer: Adele Armstrong
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Jul 17, 2020 • 10min

Legacy Bottle Opener

Will Self on why a novelty bottle opener - with little plastic seahorses floating in an acrylic handle - is his idea of a perfect inheritance. "The security that financial inheritance may convey is merely relative - and divisive," he writes. So, instead, Will suggests leaving behind something ordinary....and useful. Producer: Adele Armstrong
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Jul 10, 2020 • 9min

Coronavirus and Convention

"In the absence of sports, sports radio thrives," writes Adam Gopnik, "and churns and heaves and roils on a diet of pure abstraction, stays awake all night on the caffeine of accelerated nothingness."Adam examines the American fascination with call-in shows about sport - and the paradox that although they have absolutely no sport to talk about right now, the shows have never been more argumentative or more alive. Producer: Adele Armstrong
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5 snips
Jul 3, 2020 • 9min

Why Black Lives Matter

This podcast explores the UK's response to Black Lives Matter, highlighting the importance of depersonalizing systemic racism and calling for greater participation from white individuals. It discusses the misinterpretation of the movement and examines structural racism in education and professions, and the impact of Black Lives Matter on institutions.
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Jun 26, 2020 • 9min

A Word of Advice

"There is a piece of advice that my white British friends seem never to receive but which I have had the good fortune to be given on many occasions - 'If you don't like it here, you can always leave'". Zia Haider Rahman reflects on what lies behind the comment. Producer: Adele Armstrong
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Jun 19, 2020 • 9min

The end of university as we know it?

Mary Beard asks if the iconic university lecture might have had its day, in the aftermath of the pandemic. "I reckon that over my career I've done getting on for 2000 of them....I doubt I'll be doing another before I retire."Producer: Adele Armstrong
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Jun 12, 2020 • 9min

Inside Out

"It seemed to occur to nobody in the Cummings hunt that the greater good would almost certainly have been served by down-playing the story". David Goodhart examines the accountability and transparency requirements of modern institutions and the impact they've had on the government's handling of the pandemic. Producer: Adele Armstrong
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Jun 5, 2020 • 10min

I Like It Here

"I put myself under lock and key a week before everyone else after a clammy jogger in a pink velveteen suit panted in my face in Hyde Park". Howard Jacobson takes a wry view of life under lockdown. Producer: Adele Armstrong
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May 29, 2020 • 9min

Waiting

"However different our days are, we are all waiting," writes Rebecca Stott. Via Samuel Beckett, a walk in Norfolk and a discussion of the three stages of twilight, Rebecca reflects on the waiting of lockdown. Producer: Adele Armstrong
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May 22, 2020 • 10min

In Praise of Cleaning

"Others may thrill to the serendipity of bacon-and-eggs," writes Will Self, "but it's the determinism of dustpan-and-brush that I exalt". Dusting, wiping, vacuuming and sweeping in lockdown, Will ponders the Great British Wipe-Up. Producer: Adele Armstrong

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