Reading Our Times

“Follow the science” we have been told – many times – over the last year. It makes good sense…and yet, there are times in history when societies have followed the science – or at least the science of the times – and it has led them into some very troubling places. And there are signs we may be doing so again. In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to the science writer and broadcaster Angela Saini about her book Superior: The Return of Race Science: https://www.waterstones.com/book/superior/angela-saini/9780008293864.

“It seems, just now,/ To be happening so very fast.” So wrote Philip Larkin in 1972 of the loss of the English countryside. Fifty years later, we might say the same thing of the whole world – not only in terms of environmental crisis but of technological progress, with artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and cybernetics promising to change our world – and ourselves – beyond recognition. It just seems to be happening so very fast. Some are excited about the prospect, some see only doom, and most of us are simply confused. In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to cosmologist, BBC Reith lecturer, and Astronomer Royal Martin Rees about his book On the Future: Prospects for Humanity

War seems to be omnipresent in human history and despite the number of people who have argued that the world is getting ever more peaceful, it remains a reality for millions of people today. Margaret MacMillan is Emeritus Professor of International History at the University of Oxford and a world–renowned expert on history and international relations. Nick Spencer speaks to her about her book 'War: How conflict shaped us' which looks at how humans have fought and made peace with one another for millennia, and explores what this says about who we are.

In the first series of Reading Our Times we looked at meritocracy, secularism, dementia, liberalism and much else besides. In this series, we’ll be talking to Margaret MacMillan about war, to Angela Saini about race, to Alexandra Aikhenvald about the origins and the end of language, to Rowan Williams about spirituality, Martin Rees about the future of humanity, and John Gray about cats and the meaning of life. So tune in and join us for the second series of Reading Our Times starting on 25th May.

Liberalism and religion have had an intimate and sometimes tempestuous relationship over the years. In recent decades, a number of people have claimed that liberal political theory doesn’t really understand religion, and that religion in liberal societies suffers as a consequence. 'Liberalism’s Religion', an award winning book by Cécile Laborde, Nuffield Chair of Political Theory at the University of Oxford, explores the way in which liberalism conceives of and deals with religion, and argues that the dominant ‘liberal–egalitarian’ approach toward religion is misguided and in need of revision.

We live in an age of ever expanding law and of rampant political cynicism. Perhaps the two are connected? Nick Spencer talks to former BBC Reith lecturer and the Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Sumption about his book 'Trials of the State: Law and the Decline of Politics' which argues that our growing inclination to turn to the law to resolve our problems may, in fact, be making our public life worse. Unfortunately we were hampered by the tech in this episode, and despite the sterling work of our expert producer Phil in post–production, Jonathan’s voice remains accompanied by tiny electronic crickets. If you are finding it difficult to listen, you can read the transcript of the conversation here: https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2020/12/01/is-the-law-damaging-our-politics

Iain McGilchrist, a former Consultant Psychiatrist and author renowned for his insights on the brain's influence on culture, discusses how our divided brains shape our understanding of the world. He explores the distinct functions of the left and right hemispheres and their impact on historical cultural narratives. McGilchrist also delves into the shift from interconnectedness to individualism, the importance of human connection in a digital age, and the need for a balance between materialism and spirituality for genuine fulfillment.

The concept of ‘rights’ tends to provoke a strong response from people today: some hold them in quasi–religious esteem, while others consider them responsible for selfish individualism and social fragmentation. Nick Spencer talks to Nigel Biggar, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford, about his new book 'What’s wrong with rights?', which takes a critical look at the language, logic and implementation of rights today.

Levels of inequality, particularly in the West, have been growing steadily over the last 50 years, and they seem likely to accelerate in the wake of Covid–19. Why is this? Why was the 20th century so good as equalising wealth and income, why is the 21st century different, and what should we do about it? Nick Spencer talks to the economist, Thomas Piketty – whose books Capital in the 21st century and Capital and Ideology have changed the debate on the subject – about inequality, solidarity, and the dangers of treating property as if it were sacred.

Approximately 850,000 people in the UK today are living with dementia – and that number is just set to grow. But what actually is dementia? What does it do to us? And what does it say about us, and in particular about our humanity? In the third episode of Reading Our Times, Nick Spencer talks to novelist and journalist Nicci Gerrard about her experience of her father’s dementia and the moving and poignant book she wrote about it, 'What Dementia Teaches Us About Love'.