Advertise on podcast: The Reith Lectures

Rutger Bregman's 2025 Reith Lectures, called "Moral Revolution", explore the moral decay and un-seriousness of today's elites, drawing historical parallels to past eras of corruption that preceded transformative movements especially the 19th Century campaign to abolish slavery. In his series, he argues that small, committed groups can spark moral revolutions, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and long-term vision. In this fourth and final lecture, he zooms out to reflect on humanity’s strange historical trajectory, warning of the existential risks posed by unchecked tech and AI. He urges privileged individuals to take on an active role in shaping a better future. The Reith Lectures are presented by Anita Anand who chairs a Q & A. The programme was recorded in front of an audience at Stanford University in Silicon Valley, USA. The researcher was James Bonney and the series is produced by Jim Frank. The Editor is Clare Fordham. The programmes are mixed by Neil Churchill.

Dutch historian Rutger Bregman's 2025 Reith Lectures, called "Moral Revolution", explore the moral decay and un-seriousness of today's elites. He argues that small, committed groups can spark moral revolutions, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and long-term vision. In this third of four lectures, Bregman argues for a new "realist utopia," calling for people to join what he labels" a conspiracy of decency." He says that in the face of rapid technological change, we need to promote ideas like Universal Basic Income, fairer taxation and responsible tech regulation. The Reith Lectures are presented by Anita Anand who chairs a Q & A. The programme was recorded in front of an audience in Edinburgh. The series is produced by Jim Frank. The Editor is Clare Fordham. The programmes are mixed by Neil Churchill.

Dutch historian Rutger Bregman gives the second of his 2025 Reith Lectures, called "Moral Revolution." History, he says can be "a reservoir of hope." He outlines how small groups of people have changed the course of history such as Elizabeth Fry, who brought compassion into the prison system; Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragettes who won the vote for women and Norman Borlaug, whose Green Revolution saved millions from famine. And he argues that this is as relevant now as it ever was: that small groups of committed citizens can still change the world. The Reith Lectures are presented by Anita Anand and the programme was recorded in front of an audience in Liverpool, who asked questions afterwards. The series is produced by Jim Frank. The Editor is Clare Fordham. The programmes are mixed by Neil Churchill.

Rutger Bregman's 2025 Reith Lectures, called "Moral Revolution", explore the moral decay and un-seriousness of today's elites, drawing historical parallels to past eras of corruption that preceded transformative movements especially the 19th Century campaign to abolish slavery. In his series, he argues that small, committed groups can spark moral revolutions, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and long-term vision. Bregman advocates for a new "realist utopia" in the face of rapid technological change, promoting ideas like Universal Basic Income, fairer taxation and responsible tech regulation. Finally, he zooms out to reflect on humanity’s strange historical trajectory, warning of the existential risks posed by unchecked AI and urging privileged individuals to take on an active role in shaping a better future. The Reith Lectures are presented by Anita Anand who chairs a Q & A. The programme was recorded in front of an audience in London. The series is produced by Jim Frank. The Editor is Clare Fordham. The programmes are mixed by Neil Churchill.

The Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, whose BBC Reith Lectures start this week, is calling for a moral revolution to change our societies for the better, charting how small groups of committed people – abolitionists, suffragettes, and temperance activists – have brought about positive social change. Politics, Bregman argues, is in trouble in an age of apathy and backsliding democracy: “The moral rot runs deep across elite institutions of every stripe”, he says, “if the right is defined by its shameless corruption, then liberals answer with a paralyzing cowardice”. So where might our moral salvation come? What are the deep values that underpin our contrasting political worldviews – left and right – and which should we look to prioritise now? Does any part of the political spectrum have the greatest claim to morality? Chair: Michael Buerk Panel: Matthew Taylor, James Orr, Mona Siddiqui and Tim Stanley. Witnesses: Tim Montgomerie, Eleanor Penny, Joanna Williams, Paul Mason Producer: Dan Tierney.

In her final lecture, the forensic psychiatrist Dr Gwen Adshead, assesses how we deal with violent offenders and asks is it time for a re-think? The UK has more than 70 people on whole life tariffs, at incredible expense – all to appease a sense of revenge, she says. Dr Adshead assesses the effectiveness and impact of therapeutic interventions with offenders in prisons. And she asks if the public needs to change their minds about violent perpetrators. The programme is recorded in Bergen, Norway – a country which has a long tradition of rehabilitating violent offenders. The Reith Lectures are presented and chaired by Anita Anand. Producer: Jim Frank Editor: Clare Fordham Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Additional Research by James Bonney and Debbie Richford

How best do we understand how to manage powerful emotions such as rage, fear and shame? With very rare access, Forensic Psychiatrist Dr Gwen Adshead gives her third Reith Lecture inside HMP Grendon, where she talks to prisoners and staff, and asks the question: “Does trauma cause violence?” Does being a victim of violence in some circumstances make you more likely to become a perpetrator of violence? Was WH Auden right when he wrote in 1939 ‘Those to whom evil is done do evil in return’? The Reith Lectures are presented and chaired by Anita Anand. Producer: Jim Frank Editor: Clare Fordham

In her second Reith Lecture, Dr Gwen Adshead asks if there’s such a thing as “evil.”? In a career spanning nearly 40 years the forensic psychiatrist has heard many of her patients ask: “ I have done evil things but does that make me evil.”? Dr Adshead says that we have often confused “evil” with mental illness. She argues that we all have capacity for “evil” and says we need to find ways to cultivate societal and individual “goodness.” The programme is recorded at the V&A in Dundee in front of an audience. The Reith Lectures are presented and chaired by Anita Anand. Producer: Jim Frank Editor: Clare Fordham

In her 2024 Reith Lectures, Dr Gwen Adshead, addresses four questions that she has most commonly faced in her work as a therapist with violent perpetrators in secure psychiatric units and prisons: Is Violence normal? What is the relationship between trauma and violence? Is there such a thing as Evil? Can we change violent minds? In this first lecture, using data and real-life stories from nearly 40 years’ experience as a forensic Psychiatrist working inside institutions such as Broadmoor, she asks if violence is normal. Is violence unnatural? Or is it normal because, deep down, we are all capable of cruelty and can experience, even briefly, the urge to hurt others? What then are the tipping points, what are the factors that drive some to kill? The programme was recorded at Broadcasting House in London in front of an audience and is presented and chaired by Anita Anand. Producer; Jim Frank Editor: Clare Fordham

This year's BBC Reith Lecturer is Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, Oxford University and author of “Why Politics Fails.” In four lectures called “Our Democratic Future,” he asks how we can build a politics that works for all of us with political systems which are robust to the challenges of the twenty first century, from climate change to artificial intelligence. In this fourth and final lecture, recorded in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States, he interrogates a crucial question: can we continue to grow our economies without despoiling the earth? Focusing on the existential threats created by our own innovation - from climate change to out-of-control artificial intelligence – Ansell asks whether our politics is up to the task of supporting sustainable growth. The Reith Lectures are chaired by Anita Anand and produced by Jim Frank. The Editors are China Collins and Clare Fordham, and the co-ordinator is Brenda Brown. The series is mixed by Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill.

This year's BBC Reith Lecturer is Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, Oxford University and the author of "Why Politics Fails." He will deliver four lectures in a series called “Our Democratic Future.” The series asks how we can build a politics that works for all of us with systems which are robust to the challenges of the twenty first century, from climate change to artificial intelligence. In this third lecture, recorded in Sunderland, Professor Ansell explores whether we can develop a shared sense of belonging in today's polarised societies. How can we ensure that we look after the less fortunate in an economy that seems only to reward the 'already haves'? Ansell addresses the challenges posed by technologies that enrich a small elite and privatise solidarity with bespoke healthcare and benefits that might undermine collective solidarity. And he assesses how policy reform - from universal basic income to civic nationalism - might help renew our communities. The Reith Lectures are chaired by Anita Anand and produced by Jim Frank. The Editor is China Collins, and the co-ordinator is Brenda Brown. The series is mixed by Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill.

This year's BBC Reith Lecturer is Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, Oxford University. He will deliver four lectures called “Our Democratic Future.” In his series Professor Ansell asks how we can build a politics that works for all of us with systems which are robust to the challenges of the twenty first century, from climate change to artificial intelligence. The lectures build on his recent book Why Politics Fails, which identifies a series of traps that prevent us from attaining our collective goals and presents solutions to help us overcome those traps. In this second lecture called 'The Future of Security', recorded in Berlin in front of an audience, he asks whether citizens of wealthy countries have been lulled into a false sense of security about threats from abroad and at home. It examines how we can control the security technologies of tomorrow, from facial recognition to autonomous weapons. And Ansell suggests how we can develop technologies powerful enough to protect us without exploiting us. The Reith Lectures are chaired by Anita Anand and produced by Jim Frank. The Editor is China Collins, and the coordinator is Brenda Brown. The series is mixed by Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill.

This year's BBC Reith Lecturer is Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, Oxford University. He will deliver four lectures called “Our Democratic Future,” asking how we can build a politics that works for all of us with systems which are robust to the challenges of the twenty first century, from climate change to artificial intelligence. In this first lecture, recorded at New Broadcasting House in London in front of an audience, Professor Ansell asks whether we are in a 'democratic recession', where longstanding democracies are at risk of breakdown and authoritarianism is resurgent. And he examines how resilient democracies are to the challenges of artificial intelligence, social media and if they can effectively address core challenges from climate change to inequality. The Reith Lectures are presented by Anita Anand and produced by Jim Frank. The Editor is China Collins. Reith Co-ordinator is Brenda Brown. The series is mixed by Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill.

In the last in a series of four lectures examining what freedom means, the foreign affairs and intelligence expert Dr Fiona Hill gives her BBC Reith Lecture on Freedom from Fear. Dr Hill is one of the world’s leading experts on Russia, and served as director for European and Russian affairs on President Trump’s National Security Council, and in senior intelligence roles for both Presidents Bush and Obama. She will talk about the fear she felt growing up as teenager in the Cold War and living with the threat of nuclear war. Then, she says, the culture of fear was about the Soviet Union, a largely unknown enemy. 40 years later, have we come full circle? She also analyses Russia's war in Ukraine, and what it means for the world. The programme and question-and-answer session is recorded at Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC in front of an audience. The presenter is Anita Anand. The year's series was inspired by President Franklin D Roosevelt's four freedoms speech of 1941 and asks what this terrain means now. It features four different lecturers: Freedom of Speech by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Freedom to Worship by Rowan Williams Freedom from Want by Darren McGarvey Freedom from Fear by Fiona Hill Producer: Jim Frank Sound Engineers: Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Hugh Levinson

Author and musician Darren McGarvey gives the third of four BBC Reith Lectures on the theme of liberty, addressing "Freedom from Want." McGarvey argues that the present system isn't working for many but that it is incumbent on citizens to confront that and rise to the challenge of what inequality means. Individuals, he says, need to take personal responsibility and reject the apathy which many working-class communities experience. The lecture and question-and-answer session is recorded in Glasgow in front of an audience. The presenter is Anita Anand. The year's series was inspired by President Franklin D Roosevelt's four freedoms speech of 1941 and asks what this terrain means now. It features four different lecturers: Freedom of Speech by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Freedom to Worship by Rowan Williams Freedom from Want by Darren McGarvey Freedom from Fear by Fiona Hill Producer: Jim Frank Sound Engineers: Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Hugh Levinson