The Why Factor

Latest Episodes:

Why do we Behave so Oddly Inside Elevators? Sep 28, 2012

Show notes

This week, the lift - millions of us use this piece of machinery every day but barely give it a second thought.

But the lift, or elevator, is an intriguing place where strange things seem to happen to us.

In today's programme, Mike Williams looks at the history of the lift, why we seem to behave so oddly inside them and why Hollywood has made the lift such a scene of disaster.

(Image: A person walks past the 'Untitled' installation of miniature elevators by Maurizio Cattelan. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Why do we wear ties? Sep 24, 2012

Show notes

Why do we do the things we do?

Mike Williams searches for the extraordinary and hidden histories behind everyday objects and actions.

This week he looks at the paradox at the heart of the human condition - the desire to belong and to conform, but also to hold tight to our individuality.

And we see a symbol of this paradox everyday in an apparently useless piece of clothing about 150 centimetres long - the necktie.

Why do we wear ties?

(Image: Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin wearing a tie with space designs. Credit: REUTERS/Evan Vucci/Pool)

Why do we have tattoos? Sep 14, 2012

Show notes

Why do we do the things we do?

Mike Williams searches for the extraordinary and hidden histories behind everyday objects and actions. So much of what we do is assumed, it seems almost second nature. But where do those ideas, decisions and behaviours actually come from?

The series sets its own agenda and draws upon many but interconnected approaches: psychological, cultural, historical social anthropological, philosophical. It informs us about about the way we live now, about the human condition in the 21st Century.

In this first programme, Mike asks why people have tattoos.

Where do they come from and what do they say about us?

From the Maori of New Zealand to the Mexican Mafia, Mike explores the universal motivation behind why people decorate their bodies with ink.

Broadcast and podcast every Friday from September 2012.

(Image: David Beckham's tattooed bare back. Credit:ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images)