Beyond Today

Latest Episodes:

Does France have a #MeToo problem? Mar 03, 2020

Show notes

In the same week that Harvey Weinstein was convicted for sexual assaults in New York, Roman Polanski won the award for best director at the Césars, the French equivalent of the Oscars. The actor Adele Haenel, who accused a director of sexually abusing her when she was a child, denounced the decision and walked out of the ceremony. Polanski has been accused of assaulting several women, including a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

France’s #MeToo movement also criticised Polanski’s award, saying that French institutions tend to reward a person’s art over their actions and that the country is slow to listen to women.

In the episode we speak to Anne Elizabeth Moutet who signed a letter saying #MeToo had gone too far. We also speak to journalist Alice Kantor about the generational gap and why she thinks sexism is deep-rooted in French society.

Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Katie Gunning and Alicia Burrell Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Harriet Noble

Can we be green and rich? Mar 02, 2020

Show notes

In Paris in 2015 world leaders agreed on a binding commitment on climate change. They committed to keeping the increase in global temperatures to just 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Heathrow airport has been planning to expand by building a third runway. But last week environmentalists successfully challenged the third runway on the basis that it couldn’t demonstrate how the expansion of the airport was consistent with the UK government’s commitments on climate change. It’s the first major demonstration of the impact of the Paris climate accord on the UK’s CO2 emissions, and it has huge implications for future infrastructure projects.

What could the ruling mean for the future of the UK economy? We discuss with Mike Berners-Lee, a professor in the environment centre of Lancaster University, and Kingsmill Bond, an energy strategist at the financial think-tank Carbon Tracker. Presenter: Mathew Price Producers: Rory Galloway and Duncan Barber Editor: Harriet Noble Mixed by Emma Crowe

Does self-care really make you happy? Feb 28, 2020

Show notes

2020 has been quite a year, we're only two months in but have already faced an impending war between the US and Iran, deadly bushfires in Australia, and now coronavirus is spreading across the world.

So, in light of that, we thought it was time to return to an earlier episode to make us all feel better. It’s about self-care and making time for some emotional first aid.

Dr Laurie Santos is professor of psychology and cognitive science at Yale University. She was so concerned about the anxiety her students experienced she devised a course that would teach them how to be happy. Psychology and the Good Life quickly became the most popular course in the history of Yale and the online version went viral.

Now Laurie Santos has turned her research into a podcast called the Happiness Lab. She gave us her top tips were to ensure lasting happiness.

Presenter: Tina Daheley Producer: Duncan Barber Mixed by Nicolas Raufast and Emma Crowe Editor: Philly Beaumont

What’s the Harvey Weinstein story? Feb 27, 2020

Show notes

For years there were allegations that Harvey Weinstein had assaulted women. This week he was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault, including rape, and faces up to 29 years in prison. So, how did the Hollywood titan create his downfall?

The New Yorker’s Ken Auletta has been covering Weinstein since 2002, and tells us how Weinstein became one of the industry’s most influential players and how his power led to his fall from grace. Documentary maker Ursula MacFarlane spent time with many of Weinstein’s victims and explains why putting him behind bars is a new beginning for victims of sexual abuse.

Presenter: Matthew Price Producer: Seren Jones Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Philly Beaumont

What are police cameras doing with your face print? Feb 26, 2020

Show notes

Facial recognition technology is increasingly widespread. You might use it to unlock your phone or computer. It’s used in airports around the world and some shops are using the software to catch or deter shoplifters. Now it’s being used by the police in two parts of the UK. The Metropolitan Police is using live facial recognition cameras on London streets and it’s also being used by police in South Wales. The technology means that faces captured by the cameras can be checked in real time against a watch lists of suspects. But creating a face print or facial signature for everyone who passes a camera is controversial. Privacy campaigners say the technology is often inaccurate and infringes on an individual's right to privacy. The police argue that privacy concerns over the cameras are outweighed by the need to protect the public. We speak to the BBC’s home affairs correspondent, Danny Shaw about why the police want to adopt the technology. We also find out how the technology works with Maryam Ahmed, who works in the BBC’s data journalism team and has a PhD in machine learning for image analysis.

Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Katie Gunning and Alicia Burrell Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Philly Beaumont

Coronavirus: are we all going to catch it? Feb 25, 2020

Show notes

With cases of coronavirus spreading across the world, one word we’re hearing more and more is “pandemic”. If the disease is declared a pandemic it would mean that cases of coronavirus are no longer able to be traced back to the country of origin and fall outside of the control of health authorities. The World Health Organisation doesn’t consider coronavirus to be a pandemic yet, and has stated there is hope that it is controllable despite major outbreaks in Italy and Iran. But that hasn’t stopped people panicking.

In this episode BBC reporter Mark Lowen recounts going to an Italian town that has been blockaded to stop the virus. Virologist Jonathan Ball describes how the virus is caught and how it does and doesn’t affect the body, and the BBC’s health correspondent James Gallagher explains what the word pandemic really means and whether we’re all likely to get the disease.

Presenter: Tina Daheley Producers: Rory Galloway and Duncan Barber Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Philly Beaumont

Why would Facebook want to crack down on big tech? Feb 24, 2020

Show notes

Mark Zuckerberg says he wants new rules for social media.

Every year politicians and security experts meet in Munich to discuss how to keep the world safe. This year they invited Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. He told the conference governments need to create new rules for social media platforms to stop the spread of harmful content and disinformation. So why is big tech’s biggest player asking for more regulation?

The BBC’s tech reporter Zoe Kleinman came into the Beyond Today studio to talk what social media regulation might involve, and to Ali Breland, an expert on disinformation.

Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Alicia Burrell, Katie Gunning and Harriet Noble Mixed by Weidong Lin Editor: Philly Beaumont

Has Billie Eilish saved the music industry? Feb 21, 2020

Show notes

Billie Eilish is on top of the world right now. The 18-year-old recently swept the board at the Grammys, winning five awards including best new artist and song of the year. She also replaced Taylor Swift as the youngest person ever to win album of the year. She’s just performed at the Brit Awards and has written the theme for the upcoming James Bond film No Time To Die.

She seems to be a rare example of organic streaming success in the music industry, having had her big break after uploading a song on SoundCloud. But if you dig a little deeper there’s more than meets the eye. In this episode David Turner, who writes the weekly streaming newsletter Penny Fractions and works for SoundCloud, says Billie Eilish’s story is one of an industry trying to make a criticised model appear well-functioning. We also speak to the music journalist Paula Mejia about how streaming has changed our relationship with music.

Presenter: Matthew Price Producer: Duncan Barber Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Philly Beaumont

How should we react to Caroline Flack’s death? Feb 20, 2020

Show notes

Since Caroline Flack’s death by suicide last weekend, many people have been trying to make sense of it. Yesterday her family released a previously unpublished Instagram post written by Caroline Flack detailing her ‘shame’ and ‘embarrassment’ at the truth being taken out of her hands and used, she wrote, as ‘entertainment’. Some have pointed the finger at the tabloids for her fragile mental state. Others are blaming a ‘toxic’ social media culture.

In this episode, we explore this idea with entertainment journalist Scott Bryan. We also speak to writers Sophie Wilkinson and Lauren O’Neill about the world of celebrity journalism.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme you can find help on the BBC Action line here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4WLs5NlwrySXJR2n8Snszdg/emotional-distress-information-and-support

Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Lucy Hancock and Alicia Burrell Mixed by Emma Crowe

Clips: Channel 4, Flicker Productions and ITV Studios, BBC archive.

Why is No 10 hiring ‘weirdos’? Feb 19, 2020

Show notes

At the beginning of the year Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, put out an unusual job advertisement. In a blog post he asked for “super-talented weirdos” and “wild-cards”. One of the people he hired was Andrew Sabisky, a twentysomething “superforecaster”. It was later revealed that Sabisky had previously expressed extreme views on race and eugenics. He subsequently resigned.

In this episode we speak to Newsnight’s political editor Nicholas Watt who has been following the Sabisky saga. We also talk to journalist and author Matthew Syed about why hiring “weirdos” can actually be a good idea.

Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Harriet Noble, Jenny Sneesby and Lucy Hancock Mixed by Emma Crowe

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected