

AntiSocial
BBC Radio 4
Peace talks for the culture wars.
In an era of polarisation, propaganda and pile-ons, AntiSocial offers an alternative: understanding, facts, and respect. Each week, Adam Fleming takes on a topic that's generating conflict on social media, blogs, talk shows and phone-ins and helps you work out what the arguments are really about.
In an era of polarisation, propaganda and pile-ons, AntiSocial offers an alternative: understanding, facts, and respect. Each week, Adam Fleming takes on a topic that's generating conflict on social media, blogs, talk shows and phone-ins and helps you work out what the arguments are really about.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 28, 2025 • 5min
How much would reparations for slavery cost?
The comedian Lenny Henry in a new book has backed calls for the UK to pay more than £18 trillion in compensation for its role in the transatlantic slave trade. It's a figure that some people think is absurdly high. It comes from a report written by an economic consultancy called The Brattle Group. They tried to quantify the impact of slavery on black people in North and South America, and the Caribbean. Adam Fleming speaks to one of the co-authors, Mary Olsen.

Oct 24, 2025 • 54min
Racism and reparations
Sir Lenny Henry has called for the UK government to pay £18tn in slavery reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade, and argued that every black Briton also deserves compensation. The comedian, co-author of a new book titled The Big Payback, says the payments would help repair damage caused in parts of the Americas, especially the Caribbean, and argues slavery has contributed to modern day racism and poorer outcomes for black people in the UK. Opponents have argued it's unfair to hold modern Britons responsible for past wrongs and called the £18tn figure absurd and divisive - we find out where that figure came from, and what calculations went into it. Many in this debate point out that, although Britain profited from slavery, it also abolished it - we look at the reasons behind that shift and what it meant for slaves and slave owners. Plus, reparations used to be all about wars - how else have they been applied throughout history?Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producers: Simon Tulett, Mike Wendling, Natasha Fernandes
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Studio engineer: Andrew Mills

Oct 21, 2025 • 6min
How right-wing activists use 'Western civilisation'
When an art exhibition featuring stickers made to look like graffiti opened in Canterbury Cathedral, there was a surprisingly loud reaction from right-wing activists in the US - even JD Vance, the American vice-president, chimed in. Many on the political right see cathedrals, churches, and monuments in Europe as a grand cultural heritage which they feel they have to defend. And many of Donald Trump's supporters believe that Britain is under attack from multiculturalism, and that the UK is a country in decline because of its alleged failure to uphold Western values. The BBC's Mike Wendling, who’s written books investigating the US far-right, explains to Adam Fleming how the concept of the "decline of the West" has crossed the Atlantic.

Oct 17, 2025 • 1h 1min
Graffiti, church, and Western civilisation
An art exhibition in Canterbury Cathedral has enraged traditionalists who believe that it doesn’t fit with the holy site’s beauty or the church’s mission. The works consist of a set of temporary vinyl stickers with questions like “Why did you create hate when love is by far more powerful?” and “Does our struggle mean anything?” The questions for God were devised after artist Alex Vellis and curator Jacquiline Creswell consulted a series of marginalised groups.
The organisers say the stickers were tested to make sure they did not damage the cathedral’s ancient walls. But they have faced criticism on artistic grounds and questions about the appropriateness of the art and the values behind it.
Among the outraged were Vice President JD Vance, who called the stickers “ugly”, and Elon Musk, who called it an affront to western civilisation
They in turn were faced with supporters of the exhibition who argued it reflected the church’s mission and spread a message of inclusiveness and tolerance.
Art has always been intrinsically tied to religion and the Anglican Church, so how far back does this culture war battle really go – and why did political leaders in America jump into the controversy?
Presenter: Adam Fleming
Production team: Natasha Fernandes, Ellie House, Mike Wendling
Studio manager: Andy Mills
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Richard Vadon

Oct 14, 2025 • 6min
The politics of anger
Are middle aged white men angry and if so why and how does that affect our politics? Professor of political science at the University of Manchester, Rob Ford, speaks to Adam Fleming about what is driving this anger from financial insecurity to broader social and cultural attitudes. He covers everything from the motte-and-bailey fallacy to measuring how tolerant someone is based on whether they’d be happy if a family member brought someone with a different political belief home.

Oct 10, 2025 • 54min
Angry middle-aged white men
Football pundit and former Manchester United star Gary Neville posted a video that he pitched as a call to national unity. But was greeted by a wave of online vitriol for one line in which he blamed “angry middle-aged white men” for creating political division.
Many middle-aged white men took to social media – to deny they are angry, to describe their anger as justified, or to call Neville’s comments the out-of-touch ramblings of a “champagne socialist”.
But the footballer has his supporters too, with some saying he put his finger on a specific group that has been pulling at the fault lines of British politics by hoisting flags and protesting against immigration.
What do polling and history tell us about the political divides within our society – and when it comes to our political divisions, who’s really to blame?
Presenter: Adam Fleming
Production team: Emma Close, Natasha Fernandes, Mike Wendling
Studio manager: Andy Mills
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Richard Vadon

Oct 7, 2025 • 6min
A potted history of patriotism
Patriotism is a concept that’s been used throughout history. From rallying the troops in wartime to acting as the “glue” that brought revolutionaries together in 18th Century France; the idea of loving one’s civilisation and supporting its values, dates all the way back to Ancient Greece.
Georgios Varouxakis, professor of the history of political thought at Queen Mary University of London, runs Adam Fleming through a potted history of patriotism and how it’s evolved over time.

Oct 3, 2025 • 54min
What is patriotism?
It seems like everyone wants to be a patriot this week, from Prime Minister Keir Starmer to people hoisting flags up British lampposts. But what does patriotism really mean?At the Labour Party conference there was lots of talk of 'progressive patriotism' - a definition of the term that emphasises Britain's tolerance and multiculturalism. Others invoke patriotism when seeking a return to the past. Others reject the word entirely because of its links to nationalism.We find out why Keir Starmer and the Labour Party are trying to formulate 'progressive patriotism', examine the history of the concept going back to the ancient Greeks, and ask what polling tells us about how patriotic British people feel.Presenter: Adam Fleming
Production team: Lucy Proctor, Natasha Fernandes, Mike Wendling, Tom Gillet
Studio manager: Andy Mills
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Bridget Harney

Aug 19, 2025 • 7min
Where does the UK house asylum seekers?
When people come to the UK seeking asylum they’re supposed to be placed in homes all over the country while their claims are processed – not hotels. Jonathan Darling, professor of human geography at Durham University, tells Adam Fleming where this policy of dispersal came from, how it’s evolved, and why it’s broken down.

14 snips
Aug 15, 2025 • 51min
Asylum hotels
In this discussion, Poppy Coburn, Deputy Comment Editor at The Telegraph, and Zoe Gardner, an independent researcher and immigration campaigner, dive into the heated topic of asylum seekers housed in hotels. They explore the complex public perceptions around safety and migration, scrutinizing the narratives of crime statistics that often vilify these vulnerable populations. The conversation also sheds light on the evolution of the asylum system in the UK and the urgent need for clearer policies, advocating for a more compassionate approach to immigration.


