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Society & Culture

The Reith Lectures

by BBC Radio 4
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Latest episodes

  • 4. Fighting for Humanity in the Age of the Machine

    December 16, 2025 · 57 min

    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…

  • 3. A conspiracy of decency

    December 9, 2025 · 57 min

    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…

  • 2. How to start a moral revolution

    December 2, 2025 · 58 min

    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…

  • 1. A Time of Monsters

    November 25, 2025 · 58 min

    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…

  • Moral Maze debate: Rutger Bregman’s call for a moral revolution

    November 25, 2025 · 57 min

    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…

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  • Can we change violent minds?

    December 17, 2024 · 58 min

    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…

  • Does Trauma Cause Violence?

    December 10, 2024 · 58 min

    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…

  • Aren't they all evil?

    December 3, 2024 · 58 min

    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…

  • Is Violence Normal?

    November 26, 2024 · 58 min

    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…

  • 4. The Future of Prosperity

    December 20, 2023 · 58 min

    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…

  • 3. The Future of Solidarity

    December 13, 2023 · 58 min

    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…

  • 2. The Future of Security

    December 6, 2023 · 58 min

    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…

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About the show

Significant international thinkers deliver the BBC's flagship annual lecture series