Radical with Amol Rajan

Amol runs through your questions with the Times columnist James Marriott. They take on whether we could use technology to encourage people to do more reading, pessimism on social media, and whether we risk changing our sense of what it means to be human when we lose our connection to imaginary worlds in books. James’s Radio 4 series ‘How Reading Made Us’ is available now on BBC Sounds. GET IN TOUC...

This week, the columnist and writer James Marriott argues that reading is essential to the rise and fall of liberal democracy. He proposes that reading helps the spread of information, encourages critical thinking, and forces people to structure their ideas logically. But he’s concerned the shift from deep reading to digital skim-reading - driven largely by screens - is weakening our ability to th...

Yale political theorist and author of Politics Without Politicians, Professor Hélène Landemore, answers your questions about her radical vision for replacing electoral politics with citizen‑led democracy. She answers questions on app‑based referendum systems, how to persuade politicians to embrace open democracy, and why ‘de‑bundling’ policies could lead to decisions that better reflect the public...

In this week’s episode, Amol sits down with Yale political theorist and author of ‘Politics Without Politicians’, Professor Hélène Landemore, to discuss her argument to revive citizen‑led governance. She explains why she believes our current electoral systems fall short of representing the full diversity of the population and lays out a practical roadmap for what she calls an “open democracy.” Hél...

Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan, neurologist and author of The Age of Diagnosis, answers your questions about her book, what it means for women who are under-diagnosed and how she deals with criticism of her work. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Monday and Thursday. Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BB...

Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan thinks that we are getting diagnosis wrong. In this episode the neurologist and author of The Age of Diagnosis explains how advances in screening have led to certain diseases being over-detected and why she thinks giving a condition a label can sometimes do more harm than good. And Amol asks about some of the criticism she’s faced since her book was published last year. GET I...

Simukai Chigudu, author of ‘Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire’ and associate professor of African politics at Oxford University, answers your questions about statues, reparations for slavery and decolonising the curriculum. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and you can also watch them...

Is removing statues and decolonising the curriculum the answer? A member of the first generation born after the end of colonial rule in Zimbabwe, Simukai Chigudu came to the UK as a teenager and later became one of the founding members of a campaign to try to get the statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes moved from Oriel College in Oxford. Now an associate professor of African politics at the Univers...

Leading pollster James Kanagasooriam answers your questions about how his idea of agency could advance social mobility, how it might be used by politicians and whether there are any reasons to be cheerful at a time of global instability. He also explains how voters might be influenced by the reporting of opinion polls. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of R...

On this week’s episode, leading pollster James Kanagasooriam explains how a sense of powerlessness amongst voters is shaping politics. His research suggests that people who feel like they have control over their lives are more likely to vote for traditional parties whereas those who don’t tend to vote for populists promising to change the status quo. So what can we learn from this and how could th...

Ed Davies, research director at the right-leaning anti-poverty think tank Centre for Social Justice, answers your questions about modern family life and relationships. He also discusses why young men are falling behind in work and education, how economic pressures are reshaping marriage rates, and why he argues that we need to re-prioritise social connection and community. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp:...

Marriage rates in the UK have fallen to historic lows, but what are the consequences? Ed Davies, research director at right‑leaning anti‑poverty think tank the Centre for Social Justice, explains what has led to this shift and argues that it has caused a decline in family stability with profound consequences for society. To deal with it he says we need to modernise marriage and adopt a range of po...

MasterChef winner and founder of Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca, Thomasina Miers, answers your questions about the quality of kids’ meals in restaurants, how to make hospitality an attractive career and whether cooking should be made a compulsory part of the curriculum in schools. She also tells Amol about the virtues of worm salt! GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk...

The UK is one of the world’s largest consumers of ultra-processed foods, so Wahaca restaurants founder Thomasina Miers thinks the government should cut the taxes of businesses that serve healthy alternatives. In fact, she challenges the idea that ultra‑processed products should be called ‘food’ at all. From social canteens that teach people to cook simple meals to zero percent business rates for g...

Founder of the tech driven social enterprise Zero Gravity, Joe Seddon answers your radical questions about boosting social mobility in the UK and helping talented young people from low opportunity areas realise their potential. Amol and Joe explore how volunteering can become a powerful engine for skill building, discuss the rise in youth unemployment, and unpack Joe’s prediction that the next 15...

Joe Seddon, founder of Zero Gravity, thinks “geography is destiny in the UK” which is why he has built a tech platform to do something about it. In this week’s episode, Amol and Joe dig into the barriers facing young people across the country, from stalled social mobility to uneven access to opportunity. Growing up in a single‑parent household in Morley, West Yorkshire, he went on to study at the...

Tech entrepreneur and founder of tailoring and repair company SOJO Josephine Philips answers your questions on fast fashion, manufacturing and scaling the repair economy. She also discusses how big retailers are beginning to invest in repairs, the craft of making a garment and why we need to invest more in manufacturing clothing in the UK. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bb...

The fashion industry is the world’s second‑largest contributor to carbon emissions, surpassed only by agriculture. With such a significant impact on the climate, the question is: what can we actually do about it? Tech entrepreneur and founder of SOJO, Josephine Philips, wants you to stop throwing clothes away and think about what you’re buying. In her conversation with Amol, they explore the wider...

Social psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation Jonathan Haidt answers your questions on social media bans for under‑16s, the influence of YouTube, and the risk of restricting access to certain online platforms. He also talks about Donald Trump’s second presidency and how technology is changing the nature of political debate. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co....

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt is at the forefront of the campaign to ban social media for under-16s and end what he calls “phone-based childhoods”. His book, The Anxious Generation, sparked a global reckoning that has led countries like Australia and Spain to introduce laws restricting access to social media platforms. He spoke to Amol ahead of a meeting with UK health secretary Wes Streeting...

Panos A. Panay, president of the Grammy Awards and Recording Academy, answers your questions about how governments can better support musicians and whether an AI-free music platform could exist in the future. He also explores whether royalties paid to artists’ estates could be redirected to help fund the next generation of musicians. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.u...

Executive producer and son of John le Carré, Simon Cornwell, speaks to Amol about how The Night Manager was revived a decade after its first season and how his father’s work was reimagined for a new generation. They also discuss the shifting realities of producing for linear TV versus streaming, the risk of losing distinctive British storytelling, and whether there should be a ‘streamers’ tax’. An...

As president of The Recording Academy, which organises the Grammy Awards, Panos A. Panay is grappling with how artificial intelligence and streaming is transforming the music industry, often at the expense of artists. A former agent who worked with the likes of Leonard Cohen and Nina Simone, Panos tells Amol about his love of music and how that led to him becoming one of the most influential figur...

Louise Allen answers your questions about the rewards and challenges of being a foster carer. She also discusses reports that a new government strategy will back a scheme that helps foster carers expand their properties to give more young people a home. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and you can also...

As the government prepares to introduce a strategy to boost fostering in England, Amol speaks to foster carer and author Louise Allen about the crisis in the system and what it will take to fix it. At the end of March 2024 there were 83,630 children in care in England, of whom 56,390 were being fostered, but there is a shortfall of around 6,000 foster carers nationwide. In this episode Louise expl...