Reasons to be Cheerful with Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd

Apocalypse (not) now: is AI an existential threat?

Depending on who you speak to, AI is either going to plunge us into the abyss or improve every aspect of our lives immeasurably. The hype around AI can be disorientating, so let the RTBC team steer you away from the grim end-of-humanity inevitabil…

Reasons Revisited: Beyond GDP

Stop the press! We're bringing you an extra dose of RTBC each week, as we dig back into our audio archives and brief you on a big idea that's having a moment. This week the UK's GDP estimates showed the economy shrunk in July, sparking f…

It's fun to stay at the YHA: who gets to access the outdoors?

We’re back! Over the summer the Youth Hostel Association announced it was selling off some of its properties in a bid to stay afloat. It seems like a cruel irony at a time when many of us had reconnected with nature over the lockdowns. The ch…

Loss, love and a calling to nature: Ben Goldsmith

Ben Goldsmith’s daughter Iris was killed in a tragic accident when she was only 15 years old. Hopeless in grief and searching for answers, he turned to nature in his darkest moments to find a way through. Ben speaks movingly about his grief for Ir…

The hidden story of Chinese food: Fuchsia Dunlop

Crispy duck, chow mein, and sweet & sour pork. Many of us have a narrow understanding of Chinese food, its rich history, and the sophisticated culinary culture surrounding it. Chef and author Fuchsia Dunlop is on a quest to show us that there'…

How to fix the broken food system: Henry Dimbleby

The global food system is one of the most destructive industries on earth. Of course, we all need to eat. But is there a way of doing so that doesn’t come at a cost to our health and to our planet? If that's all sounding a bit heavy, then ste…

What about men?: Caitlin Moran

Is the patriarchy also screwing over men too? Caitlin Moran thinks so. Twelve years on from the publication of her hit book ‘How to Be a Woman,’ the journalist and author turns her attention to men, and why she thinks the lack of an equi…

How to end our very British culture war: Sunder Katwala

If you need some optimism about the future of Britain, a place that currently feels like it’s riven with political polarisation, prejudice and the aftermath of Brexit, Sunder Katwala is here to remind us that there is a way out of this. His propos…

Throwing shade: why you’ll never take trees for granted again

Hello! Join Ed and Geoff as they go down to the woods today. And boy, are they sure of a big surprise. It turns out Britain only has 2.5% of the ancient woodland it once had! These hubs of biodiversity are hugely important for tackling the nature …

Fields of Dreams: how music festivals moved from the margins to the mainstream

Hello! Last year, around six million people went to a music festival in the UK. Long gone are the days of hippies at Woodstock or even jumping the fence at Glastonbury: festivals are everywhere, and they're big business. The upside is there’s real…