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Radical with Amol Rajan

Radical with Amol Rajan

Podcast | United Kingdom | Centre
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Amol Rajan speaks with pioneers and innovators about radical ideas reshaping how we live, work, and govern—from BBC Radio 4 and Sounds.

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Discussions from Radical with Amol Rajan

Geopolitics

Is Britain's Military Still Fit For Purpose? (Your Radical Questions with Brendan Simms)

Brendan Simms is Professor of the History of International Relations at the University of Cambridge and the author of The Return of the Great Powers. He challenges the widespread belief that Britain is in terminal decline, arguing that the UK remains one of the world’s four true Great Powers. In the main episode, Brendan explained why Britain’s resources, global reach, reputation and resilience still give it significant international influence. He also argued that great power politics has ret...

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Geopolitics

Influence After Empire: Is Britain Still a Great Power? (Professor Brendan Simms)

Is Great Britain really still great? Is it in decline, or has the UK underestimated its own status in the world? In his latest book The Return of the Great Powers, Brendan Smith, Professor of the History of International Relations at the University of Cambridge, challenges one of the most deeply rooted current assumptions in British public life and argues that the UK is still a significant player on the world stage. While much of the national conversation focuses on economic stagnation, geopo...

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Environment

Britain's Lost Species: Should We Resurrect Our Extinct Wildlife? (Derek Gow)

This week, John Burn-Murdoch speaks with Derek Gow, the British farmer, conservationist, author and rewilding pioneer who has become one of the UK's most outspoken advocates for large-scale species reintroductions. From his farm in Devon, Derek breeds native British animals, including species that have been absent from the UK for centuries. His goal is to demonstrate what is possible when conservation ambition matches the scale of the ecological challenges we face. A passionate supporter of r...

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Politics

Should Politicians Have to Pass Competence Tests? (Your Radical Questions with David Runciman)

David Runciman, podcaster and former politics Professor, answers Your Radical Questions. In the main episode, David argued that lowering the voting age to six is a true expression of universal suffrage and could help reinvigorate our stagnant democracy. Now, our listeners challenge him on whether kids would just vote how their parents tell them, and whether there’s any evidence or precedent to support his radical proposal. Plus, should knowledge and competence be rewarded in our democratic sy...

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Politics

Votes for Six-Year-Olds: Could Child Suffrage Revive Democracy? (David Runciman)

This week, guest presenter Sophia Smith Galer speaks to David Runciman, a podcaster and former politics academic, about his radical proposition to lower the voting age to six. It’s a position that has been met with laughter, scorn, and even anger, but he believes it’s not just in accordance with our democratic principles - it could also help give our stale and fractious democracy a much-needed shot in the arm. David talks us through the history of the arguments about suffrage (some of which h...

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Culture

Is Christianity Becoming Countercultural Again? (Your Radical Questions with Lamorna Ash)

Writer Lamorna Ash, author of Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever, answers Your Radical Questions. In the main episode, Lamorna told James Marriott what she discovered while travelling around Britain and meeting young Christians across the religious and political spectrum. Now, you ask her why some people under 40 are finding faith in older and more ritualistic churches, and whether Christianity is beginning to feel countercultural. Lamorna is also challenged on whether Christianity offers genuin...

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Culture

Gen Z and God: Is the Church Answering Young People's Prayers?

This week, James Marriott speaks to the writer Lamorna Ash about her journey through the changing world of British Christianity. Raised with little religious belief, Lamorna spent a year visiting churches, festivals, monasteries and Christian communities across the country. What began as an investigation into why young people were rediscovering faith gradually became a much more personal search for meaning and belief. James and Lamorna discuss the decline of organised religion, the loneliness...

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Environment

Could Climate Engineering Do More Bad Than Good for the Environment? (Your Radical Questions with Professor David Keith)

Professor David Keith, one of the world’s leading researchers in geoengineering, answers Your Radical Questions. In the main episode, David told Gabriel Gatehouse why deliberately reflecting a small amount of sunlight away from Earth could slow global warming. Now, you ask him whether we could ever know the unintended consequences before trying it, and whether sunlight reflection could be stopped safely once it had begun. David’s also challenged on whether carbon capture and carbon removal ge...

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Environment

Engineering the Climate: Can Injecting Chemicals in the Sky Help Save the Planet? (Professor David Keith)

What if the answer to climate change is not only to cut carbon emissions, but to make the Earth more resilient using tech? Professor David Keith is one of the world’s leading researchers of geoengineering which aims to do just that. Efforts to capture carbon are already underway, but Professor Keith is particularly interested in sunlight reflection - the controversial idea of cooling the planet by reflecting the sun’s rays back into space. To do this, he wants to release sulphur high into the...

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Culture

The Best of Radical with Amol Rajan

On Amol’s last day as the host of Radical, he shares five conversations that really stand out. Matt Clifford, Emma Grede, Jacob Dunne, Katherine Burbalsingh and James Marriott. Next week, Gabriel Gatehouse speaks to Professor David Keith about geoengineering, deliberate large-scale interventions in the Earth’s climate system designed to fight human-caused climate change. If you have a question for Professor David, get in touch: - WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 - Email: [email protected] Episodes of ...

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Education

Why Do People Pretend to Be Working Class? (Your Radical Questions with Sophie Pender)

Sophie Pender, founder of The 93% Club, returns to answer your questions on class, privilege and education. In the main episode, Sophie told Amol why she thinks Britain needs to stop talking politely about social mobility and confront the power of private schools. Now, listeners ask whether class identity has become too slippery, whether people downplay their own privilege, and whether support for state-school students risks helping those who are already advantaged. Sophie also discusses orac...

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Education

We Need to Talk About Class: Is It Time to Abolish Private Schools? (Sophie Pender)

Sophie Pender grew up on council estates in North London, became the first in her family to go to university, trained as a corporate lawyer - then walked away from a six-figure salary to fight Britain’s class problem. She’s the founder of ‘The 93% Club’, a network for state-educated students and professionals, named after the proportion of people in Britain who go to state schools. But Sophie argues that “social mobility” has become too polite a phrase for something much deeper: how much clas...

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