The Why Factor

Why do tens of millions of women all over the world choose to walk around in high heels? Where did the fascination with elevated footwear come from and what do they tell us about class, power and sex? It may surprise many to hear that high heels were first worn by men.(Image: Photograph taken of a woman in heels by Maria Pavlova - Getty)

Solitude - time on our own – has had a bad press. It’s certainly becoming more common in many parts of the globe, as seen in the increasing numbers choosing to live alone. But it’s easily confused with loneliness, or demonised as weird or threatening in the form of ‘the loner’. So how far can or should we pursue solitude? How does it relate to our hyper-connected world? We hear from a ‘semi-hermit’ on how she lives her life, a survivor of solitary confinement who also feared compulsory company, a champion of ‘the loner’s manifesto’ and an expert on global solo living.(Image: A lonely man watches the sun-rise as he sits on top of a mountain. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Secrets have become harder to conceal and easier to divulge with the availability of online blogs and other social networks sites as well as open office settings. Secrets can be used as weapons. They represent power, they can generate fear. In the shadowy world of espionage and in our ordinary lives secrets are a currency. But why do we have secrets? And what are the consequences either for holding onto a secret or for giving it away?(Image of a woman holding a finger to her mouth. Credit Getty Images)

Dr Michael Mosley, a self-proclaimed 'proud pessimist', says that given a choice he would prefer to be an optimist, as pessimism affects his relationships and optimists tend to live longer. So he recently agreed to try and convert his darker outlook on life to a brighter one. Over seven weeks, his brain was manipulated by psychologists at Oxford University for a BBC documentary in order to try to turn Dr Mosley into an optimist. He reports back on the success or otherwise of the experiment. But do we have a choice? Ros Taylor says we do. Once a pessimistic average opera singer, she realised that her real passion in life was psychology. She retrained to become a clinical psychologist and claims to have taught herself to become a 'pragmatic optimist'. Mike Williams puts optimist Ros Taylor up against pessimist Michael Mosley to ask if the glass should be half-full or half-empty and why should we care?(Image: A glass of water on a wooden table. Credit: Getty Images)

We all do it… don’t we? If your answer is no perhaps you’re doing it right now. Many psychologists argue that learning to lie is an important stage for children. As early as two, children who are more developmentally advanced are much better liars. For some people, lying is something they can’t stop doing. We hear from someone whose life spiralled out of control due to her addiction to lying. But is every lie bad? The concept of a ‘white lie’ is one we teach our children from an early age but different societies socialise their children to tell different sorts of lies. East Asian societies might be more aware of a ‘blue lie’ for example.Mike Williams explore how different cultures define telling the truth and what that shows us about our societies.(Image of a hand held on top of a bible.Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

The Manifesto of Futurism written in 1909 declared that “the splendour of the world has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed!” And the addiction has taken hold. So what is it about speed? A desire to lose control, a suppressed childishness or just the reality of 21st Century urban life? And what would the speed merchants of 1909 in their 190 km per hour roadsters make of today’s rocket propelled cars trying to reach 1600 km per hour? Mike Williams meets the students of the Bloodhound club at Heathland School west London, Wing Commander Andy Green preparing himself to attempt a new land speed record in Bloodhound SSC and experiences a bit of speed for himself on the Mercedes Benz World test track.(Image: RDC 500 mile motor race at Brooklands race track in Weybridge, Surrey 1929. Credit: Getty Images)

Why do humans bully, why do some do it and others allow it? Are bullies born or do they learn their bullying? Mike Williams speaks to anthropologist Christopher Boehm about links between the bullying behaviour of our ape ancestors and our own behaviour. He also speaks to author Helene Guldberg about the challenges defining the term as well as performance poet Shane Koyczan about his experience being both bullied and being a bully.(Image of a teenage boy bullying another boy. BBC Copyright/Corbis Royalty Free)

#*?@! %$&@*! Why do a few, select words have such power to shock and offend? With help from swearing historian Melissa Mohr, Mike Williams traces the history of taboo language from Roman times to the present day and hears how cultural taboos have shaped offensive language down the centuries. He talks to American psychologist Professor Tim Jay about why we swear and discovers that children start using profane language at a much earlier age than you might imagine. And he meets psychologist Dr Richard Stephens who persuades him to take part in two swearing experiments, one of them rather painful, with some surprising results.(Picture: A teenage boy in a hoodie making an offensive gesture, censored. Credit: BBC)

Burial is a practice that’s been carried out for centuries by different cultures and religions around the world – but why do we do it? Mike Williams goes to a Jewish cemetery where Mitzi Kalinsky from the Jewish Joint Burial Society explains the reasons behind their burial practices. He talks to Caitlin Doughty, an American mortician who is trying to revolutionise burial practices in the US and considers what he would like to happen to his body, after he dies.(Image: Gravestones in a cemetery. BBC copyright)

Why do we look back and yearn for the past, longing for some golden age when society was supposedly simple, innocent and kind? Why do we recall sweet memories of our youth? And the bitter-sweet memories of love and loss?Mike Williams speaks to a social psychologist who reveals that looking to the past can protect us in a number of surprising ways. He hears from a woman from the former German Democratic Republic who waxes nostalgic about life there. And he meets a man born in the 1970s who spends most of his time living in the 1940s.(Image of holiday makers waving at the seaside in 1930. Credit: Getty Images)