All Consuming

Charlotte and Amit dive into the story of microwaves and ask if they have enough power for a comeback. Around nine out of ten of us have a microwave in the UK, making it a trendy gadget. But most of us use it for reheating food or zapping a microwave meal. Amit Katwala and Charlotte Stavrou find out if we are missing a trick by not incorporating microwaves further into our cooking and delve into w...

It’s not an understatement to say that microchips are now everywhere - from phone chargers to our beloved pets, there’s probably a microchip embedded within. But who invented them and how do they dictate computing power? Amit Katwala and Charlotte Stavrou dig their hands into a bowl of microchips for this episode of All Consuming. They meet Ken Shirriff, a former engineer at Google, who explains t...

Around 70 million pairs of denim jeans are sold every year in the UK. They come in a dizzying array of shapes and styles, but the essentials haven’t changed since they were first conceived in the Californian gold rush 150 years ago. Charlotte Stavrou and Amit Katwala continue their exploration of our culture of consumption by unpicking our abiding love affair with denim. Mohsin Sajid, denim design...

Charlotte Stavrou and Amit Katwala take a deep dive into the world of Board Games - from the Ancient Egyptian game of Senet to more recent classics like Monopoly and Catan. Along the way, they talk history with Dan Jolin, the co-founder of the board game magazine Senet, meet the acknowledged master of the modern strategy game Reiner Knizia who has invented over 800 games, and learn the tricks of t...

With over 90% of our photos now captured on phones, Charlotte Stavrou and Amit Katwala go in search of what cameras mean today and how they have evolved since their origins in the 19th century. Ruth Quinn, curator of photography and photographic technology at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, shines a light on how photographic cameras were born out of a Victorian fascination with...

Amit Katwala and Charlotte Stavrou explore our unending appetite for manicures and find out that it's much more than just a buff and cuticle pushback. Gel, acrylics, French tips - there's a seemingly endless list of services that can be applied to our fingertips. But some salons have taken nail art to the next level as Charlotte found out when she visited NUKA nails in West London. While manicures...

From the running boom at the end of the 19th century to a lockdown-inspired desire to lace up, running shoes have evolved to fit the shape of our lives for over 150 years. Charlotte Stavrou and Amit Katwala explore how they keep pace with trends, innovations, and even our ambitions. Thomas Turner, author of The Sport Shoe: A History from Field to Fashion, reveals the role of Victorian periodicals...

Charlotte Stavrou and Amit Katwala go mushy for houseplants in this episode of All Consuming where they explore our culture of consumption. Philodendrons, Hoyas, Monsteras - the list of plants available to consumers is now almost endless and these green companions became a crucial part of our home during lockdown when we craved the outdoors. In recent years, our love for houseplants has seen the p...

From the first spectacles that perched on noses around 750 years ago to AI-enhanced glasses for the visually impaired, we have been harnessing science - and design - to help us see for centuries. Charlotte Stavrou and Amit Katwala peer into the wonders of glasses that bring the world into focus for an estimated 4 billion adults around the world. We visit the UK’s largest collection of eyewear - th...

Did you know there was a time when you could only buy green tea in the UK? Tea is now a staple product for most of us, but it has a long and complicated past. In this episode of All Consuming, Charlotte Stavrou (née Williams) and Amit Katwala steep themselves in the intriguing history of tea. They talk to advertising expert Paul Feldwick to get the inside story of how chimps were used to advertise...

Charlotte Stavrou and Amit Katwala return for a second series of investigations into the products that have changed the world. Coming to BBC Sounds weekly from 20 July 2023.

All Consuming hosts Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala talk to presenter Greg Foot about the return of Sliced Bread, his Radio 4 series which explores promising sounding wonder products and sees whether their claims stand up to scrutiny. You can listen to the series by searching for Sliced Bread on BBC Sounds.

From an illusive science fiction dream in the 1980s, to very real headsets in homes across the world today - virtual reality is making a genuine impact on our lives and social interactions. Amit Katwala and Charlotte Williams immerse themselves in the virtual world to find out where the innovative technology is leading, checking in on today’s prototypical “metaverse” and VR’s growing influence on...

Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala trace the sometimes shocking truth behind the history of the light bulb, following its evolution from carbon spitting hazard to energy efficient LED. We hear from media historian Markus Krajewski about how a cartel of companies conspired to limit the lifespan of light bulbs in the first known example of ‘planned obsolescence’. Nobel prize winning physicist Hiros...

The average cost of a funeral in the UK is just over £4000 - and can be a lot more. Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala explore how social and financial pressures are changing the way we do funerals, as more and more people turn to cheaper greener alternatives. They trace the history of the funeral and its many associated traditions with funeral historian Dr Helen Frisby, and unpick so-called fune...

Batteries are everywhere in modern society. They’re in our phones, laptops and cars, or inside the classics - like torches, portable radios, or TV remotes. They’re inside drones probing deep beneath the ocean or providing juice to the Mars rover. In an electrifying episode of All Consuming, Amit Katwala and Charlotte Williams explore the history of the energy storage devices that changed the world...

Amit Katwala and Charlotte Williams explore the world of e-cigarettes and vapes, tracing their extraordinary growth and asking whether they’re life savers or something more insidious. We hear from Time journalist Jamie DuCharme, author of the book Big Vape, about the rise and fall of the e-cigarette firm Juul who recently paid out over $430 million after being accused of targeting teenagers with i...

In recent years our supermarket shelves have undergone a transformation. Sections once devoted solely to meat and animal products have been partitioned to include a new plant-based category, with everything from spins on classics like tofu and seitan, to modern products like Quorn and the lab-designed Impossible and Beyond burgers. In this episode of All Consuming, Charlotte Williams gives you som...

Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala explore how Britain went soft on toilet paper. 1-ply, 2 ply, 3 ply, quilted - there’s a lot of choice when it comes to choosing what toilet paper to buy. But soft toilet tissue is a relatively new invention. Our lavatorial habits have evolved over time and author Sophia Gholz gives us the lowdown on how pottery, magazines and corn cobs were all at one time used...

Much has been written of Vinyl’s resurgence - it’s the format that refuses to die, electrifying fans young and old across the decades. But, we’ve often forgotten about the Lennon to vinyl’s McCartney - the venerable turntable. In this episode of All Consuming, hosts Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala get into the groove to find out why turntables just keep spinning us around. We unearth the histo...

Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala explore the burgeoning non-alcoholic drinks market and its origins, dating all the way back to the Middle Ages. In a whistlestop tour through history, they trace the influence of the Temperance Movement in the US on drinking habits and examine how attitudes to wellness and mental health have shaped the market today. Producer: Candace Wilson A Whistledown product...

From the artisans of Ancient Egypt, to the revolutionary parfumiers of Renaissance France and the designers working digitally in the dungeons of petrochemical labs, perfume is one of the most available and affordable luxuries. Initially exclusive to the halls of royalty, it's now available for £15 from your local chemist - the perfume industry continues to grow with our consumer culture. Are you s...

From turntables to funerals, Charlotte Williams and Amit Katwala reveal the truth behind what we’re all consuming.