Sideways

From being told to stand in a dustbin in primary school because he struggled to spell, to earning 16 graduate degrees from some of the world's most prestigious universities, Benjamin Bolger's extraordinary journey is one of academia's most unconventional success stories. In this series finale of Sideways, Matthew Syed follows Benjamin's remarkable path to explore what it really means to pursue kno...

Historian and leather and kink activist Vi Johnson likes to be called Mama Vi. At 75, within her community, she’s become a fiercely protective figure, looking after not only the people who make it what it is, but also its culture and history. As a leader of a community that has long existed at the margins, she has witnessed many attempts to erase its history; some obvious, others far more insidiou...

Everything fell apart for 17-year-old Ben West on the night his brother took his own life. In the years since, Ben has become a remarkable mental health campaigner. From fleeting online encounters to acts of unexpected kindness, he credits strangers with helping him navigate grief and driving forward a campaign that has gone on to influence national policy. In this episode, Matthew Syed considers...

It’s a cold morning in Euston Station in London and professional violinist Min Kym is about to get on a train to Manchester to play a concert. With her is her 300 year old, £1.2 million Stradivarius, one of the most valuable and precious types of violin in the world. More than that, this is Min’s Strad - it fits just right for her, it’s her constant companion across the world, it’s a relationship,...

At some point in our lives, all of us will face difficult news. That was the case for Canadian academic Kate Bowler. She was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, at just 35. When the news hits, the support she receives is overwhelmingly positive. But as well intentioned as those responses are, Kate becomes trapped in a role she doesn’t want to play. Matthew Syed asks why we reach for positivity...

Matthew Syed follows the extraordinary journey of a French scientist who found signs of learning, problem-solving and remembering - in a blob of slime. Not the Ghostbusters kind, but in a slime mould. It's a single celled, brainless organism that has become a bit of a star in France for its unexpected capabilities. In this episode, Matthew considers the intelligence that lies in unexpected places,...

Rob Broderick aka ‘Abandoman’ grew up surrounded by classic comedies like Laurel and Hardy, and with a teacher mother who inspired his fascination with wordplay. When Rob discovers freestyle rap as a teenager, all these influences coalesce to inspire him to step into the world of stand up comedy. Only Rob doesn’t want to hone a rigid ‘tight ten’ of material. In fact, Rob doesn’t want to prepare an...

David McGurk had a childhood love of action figures. Something that he and Matthew Syed, and probably most of us, share. But David and his brother went a step further - they started making their own makeshift figures from soap and cheap glue. But it wasn’t until family tragedy struck as an adult that the memory of his brother’s creativity returned and inspired David to become a professional miniat...

Matthew Syed introduces the new series of Sideways through the story of an incredible being that has no brain but exhibits intelligent qualities that challenge centuries of dominant thinking about what a 'mind' actually is. This is one of eight new episodes in a series of extraordinary stories about seeing the world differently, stories which help us understand the ideas that shape our lives. From...

From a very young age, Holly Mathieson showed remarkable ability at the piano. With the support of her concert pianist grandmother, she nurtured a rare talent for music, and later explored ballet and choral singing as well. A path toward excellence in classical music opened before her and, for nearly 20 years, she followed it diligently as an internationally renowned conductor. But when the COVID-...

Almost twenty years ago, an armed man stormed a small Amish school in Pennsylvania. It was a horrific attack in which he shot at ten girls. He then turned the gun on himself. The attack claimed the lives of five young girls and severely injured five others, including one who remained profoundly disabled for the rest of her life, and died at the age of just 23. Within hours, the affected Amish comm...

A morning routine. A cup of tea brewing. Toast almost ready. It’s Monday, and a young man is getting ready to leave for work, when there’s a knock at the door. Two police officers stand outside with news that will change his life - he’s under arrest. He’s stunned. There must be a mistake. What has he done? “I’m afraid we can’t share that information yet,” one of the officers says. He’s never been...

Every week, podcaster Curt Jaimungal immerses himself in big ideas and complex theories to prepare for long, in-depth interviews with some of the world’s leading thinkers on his show Theories of Everything. His guests are wide-ranging - renowned physicists, mathematicians but also philosophers - investigating questions of existence and the nature of reality. He takes it very seriously, as part of...

As a young girl, Djamila Azzouz loved performing - musical theatre, choirs. She loved nothing more than the thrill of entertaining an audience. But in her teenage years, mental health issues made her shy away from a career that would put her in the spotlight. When even singing itself became difficult, she found a surprising alternative: screaming. But as a woman, her raw, unfiltered expression oft...

It’s 5 pm, and 4-year-old Aqeela, his sister Londie, and three of their siblings scuttle under a tent they’ve made in the boys’ bedroom. It’s time for “The Story”. For weeks, they play out missions and tasks given by an old, wise Kung Fu master. Their mission? Save the world. It’s a story of responsibility, purpose and rewards. Years later, when Aqeela finds himself part of a gang war in South Los...

Simon Burrell always imagined he’d be a dad one day. But as the years pass, it’s something he dismisses. Simon is gay, single and approaching 50. But then, an honest conversation with a friend resurfaces that deep, buried desire to parent a child. And Simon goes to extraordinary lengths to make it a reality. Matthew Syed follows Simon’s unconventional journey to single fatherhood, explores why mal...

Joshua Brown, a respected neuroscience professor at Indiana University was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in 2003. It was devastating news, Joshua was only 30, and a new father. And so, with nothing to lose, he and his wife pursued an unconventional path - especially for a scientist. Together with their newborn daughter, they travelled across America, praying for a miracle. Matthew Syed...

Sideways returns with eight new stories of seeing the world differently and the ideas that shape our lives. Stories about everything from miracle healing and science, to the evolution of women's screams, explored through heavy metal music, to why male broodiness shouldn't be overlooked. Listen to the latest series of Sideways first on BBC Sounds. Presenter: Matthew Syed Producers: Julien Manuguerr...

In 2014, Lydia Laurenson moved to San Francisco. As she struggled to find her place and her people in a new city, one mysterious invitation changed everything. After a compelling - if slightly bizarre - induction, she was welcomed into a secretive and exclusive group called The Latitude. Their aim? To experience life more creatively. There’s something undeniably powerful about being chosen. For ce...

Anna Go-Go has always defied expectations - she was a drummer (still rare for a woman), then a comedian and now a mass Go-Go dance instructor - always with her beloved cats by her side. But when she turned 40, she noticed people’s attitudes changed towards her. They saw her as an older woman living alone with cats and really began to treat her like a ‘crazy cat lady’. The idea of a woman living al...

Movie stuntman Brian Hite often experiences a dramatic slowing down of time while performing complex stunts in a matter of seconds, like car hits - entering the fabled place often described by top sportspeople as “the zone”. It’s something Matthew’s experienced himself during his professional table-tennis career. Brief, heightened moments in which the ball feels larger, the racquet becomes an exte...

Few people you’ll come across on the street look like Ryan Emans. His body is heavily modified, from head to toe - including a tongue split that gives it a forked, snake-like shape. These changes weren’t accidental or something he was born with, Ryan chose each modification deliberately as a way to make his outer self reflect who he truly is inside. Many of us see the body as our only true propert...

Identical twins Matthew and Michael Youlden invented their own private language as toddlers. They’ve gone on to become accomplished multi-linguists, but kept up their childhood invented language and still use it today. Matthew Syed explores the extraordinary human capacity to invent new systems of communication and considers whether language can penetrate and shape the way we see the world. He dis...

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, one man declared the use of weapons to defend his nation as morally wrong. He faces years in prison for his views. He’s a pacifist, and believes that war is not justified under any means - a view Matthew Syed’s own grandfather held in the Second World War. In this final episode of Chasing Peace, a special three-part mini series of Si...

Uganda, in the mid-1990s - 35-year-old Betty Bigombe is sent by President Yoweri Museveni to the north of the country to open peace talks with rebel groups. Her mission: to stop the violence by negotiating with those behind thousands of deaths and horrific massacres. But to bring peace, she might have to compromise - and that might mean offering concessions or even immunity to people who have perp...