Episodes
The Great Divide
March 16, 2023
Is the wealth divide in Britain getting better or worse? Will the chancellor’s budget make any difference? Phil and Roger talk to Pat Thane, professor of Contemporary History at King's College London about our divided nation.
Work in Progress
March 9, 2023
Work patterns shifted after COVID lockdowns, but is the impact long lasting? Phil and Roger ask management expert Clare Kelliher how the world of work is changing, and will we ever reach the 15 hour week promised by John May…
Hong Kong - Is the Shine Coming Off The Pearl Of The Orient?
March 2, 2023
It's masks off in Hong Kong, but with a more authoritarian China will the city ever return to its former glory?
Shaken. Can science predict the next big earthquake?
Feb. 23, 2023
Earthquakes aren’t easy to predict. Mark Allen from the University of Durham explains why.
Going Wild
Feb. 16, 2023
Alastair Driver is director of ReWilding Britain, former Head of Conservation for the Environment Agency - leads Phil and Roger through the case for letting and helping nature rebuild our countryside.
Whatever happened to COVID?
Feb. 9, 2023
Is COVID over? No. Prof Paul Hunter from the Uni of East Anglia says its here to stay and that was clear from the onset.
Ukraine - the Endless War?
Feb. 2, 2023
Stefan Wolff, professor of international security at the University of Birmingham says there will be no quick wins in the war for Ukraine
Should the government spend its way out of the doldrums?
Jan. 26, 2023
The UK government has racked up a record deficit in December. Should it be worried? Financial writer Frances Coppola talks about how modern monetary theory should be key to the government’s approach right now.
Up the workers!
Jan. 19, 2023
Placards, donkey jackets and pickets gathered round braziers. The unions are back in the news. But is there a better path to effective industrial relations?
Conservative Blues
Jan. 12, 2023
Is the party over for the Tory party? Is the problem deeper than a succession of poor leaders?
Cyber War - Lost In Action?
Jan. 5, 2023
Whatever happened to cyber-wars? Wasn’t the future of fighting supposed to be keyboard warriors and hacks of government systems? Yet, in Europe’s first major war since 1945, we’re back to trenches and tanks, missiles and min…
The Crystal Ball
Dec. 29, 2022
In a special New Year episode, Phil and Roger quiz Martin Raymond, co-founder of The Future Laboratory, about what 2023 holds for the UK and the world. The most likely tech developments, the next health emergency, what busin…
Faithless
Dec. 22, 2022
What is the meaning of Christmas in a country where religion is losing popularity?
Fixing the productivity gap
Dec. 15, 2022
The UK has a productivity problem. When it comes to how much output we each produce the UK is well behind our northern European counterparts, and its going from bad to worse. COVIDA hasn’t helped. According to the Office of …
Say what?
Dec. 8, 2022
To what extent can we say what we want online, and what's the role of the online media giants in patrolling our opinions, however horrible our ideas might be?
Scots on the Rocks
Dec. 1, 2022
Has the Supreme Court issued the death knell for Scottish independence, or provoked more antagonism?
Good COP, bad COP?
Nov. 24, 2022
After 27 COP meetings, has anything actually been achieved. Phl and Roger talk to journalist Lucy Siegle, just back from Sharm El-Skeikh
Goodbye To The Good Friday Accord?
Nov. 17, 2022
Is there an anwer to the Irish border question? Phil and Roger talk to Katy Hayward from Queen's University Belfast.
Degree of Doubt
Nov. 10, 2022
Prof Chris Millward joins Roger and me to discuss whether the government is right to expect more vocational oriented degrees and adds some better dieas about how to improve further education.
Ready for Sunak’s Bitter Pill?
Nov. 3, 2022
In a couple of weeks Jeremy Hunt, this month’s Chancellor, will present his Autumn Budget, heavily overseen by Rishi Sunak, our latest Prime Minister. So what can we expect? The noises from Downing Street are suggesting we h…
Breaking China
Oct. 27, 2022
Can the West prise themselves away from a reliance on China? Do they need to?
Police Emergency
Oct. 13, 2022
This week Phil and Roger stop and search the police service, with the help of Rick Muir from the Police Foundation
What's the prescription for the NHS?
Oct. 5, 2022
Something has to change at the NHS, but what? We talk to Tim Gardner at the Health Foundation.