AntiSocial

As the Prime Minister announced reforms to the UK's immigration system, he warned that without these changes we risk becoming an "island of strangers". This has drawn criticism comparing his remarks to historical examples of inflammatory language on immigration. Others say this comparison is unfair and his comments were part of a sensible conversation about immigration. Presenter: Adam Fleming Pro...

A group of Labour MP's say they're opposed to government plans to cut the benefits paid to disabled people, with a lot of the online debate focusing on PIP - Personal Independence Payments. BBC journalist Emma Tracey presents the BBC's disability and mental health podcast, Access All, she explains what these payments are, how they can be used and who is eligible to claim.

There's a row in the Labour Party about cutting the benefits paid to disabled people. Ministers say they're trying to manage a budget that's ballooning. That's partly because of more claims from the young and from people with mental health conditions. But others say that these payments are lifelines for people with both mental and physical disabilities. Presenter: Adam Fleming Producers: Josephine...

A campaign to get verbal abuse on the agenda has sparked debate with headlines that say shouting at children is as bad as physical abuse. What does the evidence actually say about the words we use when speaking to children? Where did the phenomenon of gentle parenting come from, and how do you do it? And who decides how we treat our kids? Presenter: Adam Fleming Producers: Lucy Proctor, Josephine...

What does the Supreme Court ruling mean for trans people and single sex services? Michael Foran, lecturer in public law at the University of Glasgow, explains.

What does the Supreme Court ruling on biological sex mean for the health service? The UK’s top court says that under equality law a woman is a biological woman and a man is a biological man. It’s sparked discussion about how the NHS accommodates trans people when it comes to single sex spaces, like women-only wards. What do the judgment and equality legislation say about providing services to only...

How much leeway do judges have when sentencing? Professor Julian Roberts of the Sentencing Academy explains what guidelines judges use and how public perceptions sometimes differ from what's actually happening in the courts.

Lucy Connolly is a 42 year old woman from Northampton who is currently serving a custodial sentence for stirring up racial hatred after she posted on X on the day of the Southport attacks last year, calling for "mass deportations now" and referring to setting fire to asylum hotels. Her case has caused controversy online, with some describing her as a "political prisoner" and claiming that the just...

This month Bianca Censori, rapper Kanye West’s wife, broke the internet after appearing on a red carpet in a transparent dress. Meanwhile, artists were upset about their life drawing class being moved in North London. This prompted a conversation about public nudity and by extension, nudism. Professor Annebella Pollen is from the University of Brighton and author of Nudism in a Cold Climate, she e...

How comfortable are we with nudity and why does the naked body still have the power to shock? This month we’ve seen Bianca Censori break the internet after her red carpet appearance in a transparent dress and artists in north London upset about their life drawing class being moved. What actually happened and why were people so censorious about Bianca? Also, what is the history of nudism in the UK?...

How many people living in the UK do not speak English? This week a Member of Parliament for Reform UK posts a picture of Whitechapel train station in East London. On the entrance of the station, it has the name in English and then also Bengali. Rupert Lowe MP said: “The station name should be in English and English only” Dr Ben Brindle is a researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University...

This week a Member of Parliament for Reform UK posted a picture of Whitechapel train station in East London. At the entrance of the station, it has the name in English and then also in Bengali. Rupert Lowe MP said: 'The station name should be in English and English only.' We'll find out how the station got its bilingual sign and examine the data on immigrants' language skills. How are non-English...

When Lily Collins - the star of the American TV show Emily in Paris - announced she’d had a baby by surrogacy, a debate played out in her comments about the pros and cons of starting a family this way. Some of the criticism alleged that surrogacy is the preserve of the rich. In many countries commercial surrogacy – where the intended parents have a contract and pay a fee to the surrogate – is lega...

An online debate about whether surrogacy should be allowed was energised this week after actress Lily Collins and her partner announced they had a baby by surrogate on Instagram. In this episode, we explore what surrogacy is like when you're not a celebrity including hearing from a woman who was a surrogate for her best friend. In the UK surrogacy is legal but it can't be done for money. We assess...

As politicians weigh up what trade-offs with the natural world they’re willing to make in pursuit of growth, we look at how our understanding of our role within (or alongside) nature has shifted over time. Dr Andy Flack from the University of Bristol talks Adam Fleming through the various influences, changes and discoveries that have altered how we view our natural environment.

Do we have to choose between conserving nature and growing the economy? The Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been complaining about the £100m being spent on a tunnel to stop bats being squished by trains on the HS2 railway line. A debate about whether looking after the environment is getting in the way of developing Britain's infrastructure has ensued. Is nature conservation getting in the way of econ...

It’s a term that comes up a lot in debates about race, racism, and diversity, but it’s sometimes misunderstood and misused. Adam Fleming speaks to Ali Meghji, associate professor in social inequalities at Cambridge University, to find out what ‘critical race theory’ really means, and why some are critical of it.

Reports that psychology students at a UK university were separated by race to learn about ethnicity and "whiteness" have prompted a row over racism and mental health. Some of the sessions, The Telegraph claims, were designed for white students to take responsibility for colonialism. King's College London says the sessions have been mischaracterised and that they were open to all students. We dig i...

Several big tech bosses, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, have recently taken up mixed martial arts (MMA) and jiu-jitsu. Miles Klee, a writer at Rolling Stone magazine, has spoken to fight trainers in Silicon Valley and tells Adam Fleming what might be behind the trend.

When Mark Zuckerberg appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast last week he said that the corporate world has moved away from masculine energy and is “pretty culturally neutered.” A culture that "celebrates aggression" can be positive, he claimed. Does the workplace need more masculine energy? Do businesses need aggression and competitiveness to succeed? Presenter: Adam Fleming Producers: Josephine Casserly...

One of the central themes in the conversation around multiculturalism in Britain is religion. Within that is another debate, one about how to define Islamophobia. Adam Fleming speaks to Lizzie Dearden, journalist and specialist in extremism to learn more about why the term is disputed.

In the row about child sexual exploitation by gangs - particularly those made up of Pakistani heritage men - some people have begun to question the value of multiculturalism. Shadow Justice Secretary, Robert Jenrick, suggested the law had been applied selectively against grooming gangs "to sustain the myth that diversity is our strength." So what do we mean when we talk about multiculturalism in m...

In debates about the declining birth rate and immigration numbers, some people bring up ‘The Great Replacement’ theory. It’s especially popular with white supremacists and the far right. What do they mean, and where did the conspiracy theory come from? Adam Fleming speaks to Professor Matthew Feldman - a specialist in right wing extremism.

Deaths have outnumbered births in the UK for the first time in nearly 50 years, new figures show. Should we encourage people to have more babies? With an ageing population and not enough babies born to fully replace the older generations, some people are warning of population collapse. It was a hot subject at this year’s Conservative Party Conference - one fringe meeting discussed how to encourage...

The business of music has been radically transformed in recent decades. Anthony Hamer-Hodges, principal of the London College of Contemporary Music, explains how.