AntiSocial

Just a few years ago the gender gap in book publishing was seen as an issue to address, with many publishing houses focussed on boosting women authors. Has it all gone too far? Are men, especially straight, white men, now being locked out of telling their stories? And what might that mean for society? Presenter: Adam Fleming Producers: Nik Sindle, Lucy Proctor, Tim Gillet Editor: Richard Vadon

A new law to bolster workers' rights by making it an employer's job to prevent staff being harassed by customers and clients, as well as fellow colleagues, has been criticised by some as an attack on free speech. Opponents worry that harmless banter - in pubs, for example - might need to be monitored as a result of this new legislation. That's denied by the government. The word ‘banter’ has seen a...

An extension of workers' rights, designed to further protect them from harassment on the job, has been criticised as an attack on free speech. The Employment Rights Bill, first tabled in October 2024, would make it an employer's responsibility to prevent harassment of their staff by customers, clients and members of the public, as well as fellow colleagues. Some argue the bill, which is not yet la...

Government ministers have been trying to promote grit among young people in England as part of proposals to improve young people's mental health and increase school attendance. 'Grit' is the latest in a lengthy line of interventions from education secretaries who've been keen to emphasise the values they think children should be learning in school. Dr Lydia Marshall, head of research at the educat...

The government has launched a new initiative to help teachers address a crisis in mental health among young people and a sharp drop in school attendance since the pandemic. The Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says she wants schools to teach children greater "grit and resilience" to handle "life's ups and downs". It's the latest in a long line of interventions from education secretaries seek...

In the last few weeks Adam has been noticing things popping up on his social media timeline tagged with the word “Yookay”, which is supposed to be a reference to how UK is pronounced in a multicultural London accent. The content is a combination of pictures of streets or public transport and sometimes videos. So what's going on? I spoke to Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan, analyst at the thinktank th...

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.