The Progress Jury

The Progress Jury talks about why university education was expanded in the UK and the ramifications. Get ready for politics, psychology and reality meeting intention. From opening doors for young people to losing hope and moving goalposts, this podcast asks whether the same barriers that existed career-wise when less that 10% of people went to university still exist now - but have left generations...

There is a lot of outrage about 'cultural appropriation' - from music drawing heavily on cultural influences to designers stealing ethnic minority designs and even fusion food in the spotlight. The recent removal of 'national' weeks from The Great British Bake Off prompted the Jury to discuss this sensitive issue. Whilst out and out stereotyping and ripping off the intellectual pro...

In this lively podcast episode, we venture into the heart of a timeless inquiry: Is the desire to have children human nature? Delving into the realms of biology, psychology, and culture, we unravel thelayers that surround this profound question. The Jury debates the fast changing attitudes to having children and the interesting dilemmas this throws up in terms of finances, demographics, gender dyn...

After the conviction of UK nurse Lucy Letby for the murder of 7 babies, The Progress Jury debated the argument for and against capital punishment. Are some people so evil that the death penalty is a fitting punishment?

Does life need more challenge? As technology has improved we arguably have less challenge in our life now. Does this mean we end up bored, deskilled and unable to cope much? Or is it that we are constantly evolving to accommodate new ways of living. The balance between the pros and cons of an easy life (through technology) is debated by The Progress Jury

In the first of The Progress Jury polls we ask "Should we Have Universal Basic Income?" Yeah, a wedge of free money, each and every month, whether you work or not! Does it bring equality, economic resilience, freedom fron worrying about money and the potential for a more creative society? OR Who would pay for it? Would it foster laziness, scams and, most importantly, just cancel itself o...

As work changes, what are the pros and cons? This time The Progress Jury talk about people taking control of their work/life balance in the face of the disappearance of job security. This episode is also shared on the new podcast focused on retraining for a new work landsape - "Retrain Revolution" - please visit and subscribe for retraining related news and guest discussion.

How the UK news networks dealt with two sea disasters - the Titan implosion and the loss of a migrant ship in the Mediterranean. This is a discussion about how our human instinct for the novel and curious leads us to binge on the bizarre.

We are told that we can be 'authentic' and look how we like now...so why do we still spend so much time and money on our appearance? Is not caring how you look healthy anyway? Lockdown showed us just how important it is to care about ourselves - including appearance. What about confidence? Is insecurity about the way that you look tied to less security, or even less intelligence? This VERY...

Are we victims of society - or do we just like to have a good moan about how hard done by we feel that we are? The Progress Jury takes apart this topic apart, talking about whether people really hide behind a victim label rather than get their act together; how the world paints some groups as victims in order to perpetuate stereotypes and how collaboration could be the way forward in addressing th...

Is objecting to people having a platform for views you don't like just childish and immature? Is it legitimate or is it dangerously curtailing free-speech and debate? The Progress Jury discusses the no-platforming of people (mainly about the transgender debate in this case).

As the equality gap between the generations has grown, so has the animosity towards 'boomers' from some young people. The Progress Jury talks about why this is, is it ok to hate people who have 'stolen your future'. Listen to our chat, with a backdrop of football and folk songs!

Artificial intelligence is for real. It is hard to comprehend just how much it can do...or how many jobs it can replace! The Progress Jury talks about the impact and their attempts to chat with Chat. Can it find you a girlfriend, do your homework or be your therapist? Expect the usual banter, observations and furious disagreements - we all get on despite our differences.

Extinction Rebellion to animal rights, local politics to Black Lives Matter - we love a good protest! The Progress Jury talks about whether people who protest are self-indulging or saving the earth. Some surprising views on the #ClimateCrisis, #Vegans, #Tories and #Brexit. What could go wrong? #activists #extinctionrebellion #animalrights #protests #societyandculture #polarization #podcast

Some guys are feeling a bit hard done by. Women are apparently taking their jobs Men no longer feel they have a purpose as the main breadwinner Men are worried about the rules of how to talk to and engage with women for fear of offending The Progress Jury meet and talk about the dilema of being a man and wonder if it is all to do with adjusting to a new and much needed reality.

The Progress Jury is a group of people, of various backgrounds and opinions who meet in a bar to discuss the topics of today. They are unashamedly not experts. In this episode we talk about: Woeful experiences on dating apps? Are the old ways of dating better? Is what we think of as 'love' different now? Plus a whole lot more: are people too fussy, dating scams, arranged marriage and incel...

The rise of irregular migration to the UK, especially by people crossing the English Channel in small boats, creates moral and economic dilemmas. The Progress Jury met to talk about why this is such an inflammatory topic. Amongst heated debate and lots of opinion they asked: Should we limit economic migrants who don't qualify for work visas? Do limited resources mean we should put British peop...

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Ultra-Low Emissions Zones and now 15 minute cities. The Progress Jury talks about the highly-charged issue of the battle against the car in the UK. Are measures against the car helping to save the world, or reducing freedom for the most vulnerable and inconvenience for many. Listen on to find out what the Jury feels about what is going on locally in Birmingham and natio...

Working from home, remote work, hybrid work...it saved economies during the pandemic and are here to stay. How do the pros and cons measure up? Is flexibility of remote work at the price of wellbeing? Join The Progress Jury as members discuss this major shift in our working lives.

Going out with the lads/guys/ladies/lasses etc - is this actually holding us back from understanding each other and propping up dated stereotypes? The Progress Jury sits around a pub table on a rainy day to talk about the good and bad of going out in single gender groups.

Delivery apps - do they deliver freedom or are they turning us into a nation of lazy incompetents missing out on the simple pleasure of making an effort to do something? Members of the Progress Jury made the trek in blizzard conditions to join the debate and give their opinion.

The Progress Jury talks about whether public sensitivity about offending people has gone too far. One one side there's a legitimate interest in reducing offensive talk and on the other whether our definition of offensive has gone from legitimate to absurd. Has moral outrage killed humour? Listen on and find out what The Progress Jury found our (including that the Irish Centre has a pub quiz every...

With the chance of buying your own home now ruled out for lots of people, let alone living the lifestyle that social media glamorises, many of us are turning to desperate measures. Nyla and guests talk about the growing problem of extreme risk-taking becoming an accepted way of living. From crypto schemes to Only Fans and social media scams, The Progress Jury talks about the way that people are ta...

With Covid turning education on its head, I talk to Dr Tony Breslin about what he has discovered about schooling during the pandemic and its aftermath. We look at lockdown education through the lens of different groups of kids, whilst Tony reminds us that the gap between the best achieving schools and the worst is not getting narrower – it is growing wider. Find out how personalised education, mor...