300 episodes

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.

A Point of View BBC Radio 4

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.3 • 330 Ratings

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.

    Michael & Tony & Me

    Michael & Tony & Me

    Adam Gopnik warns of our tendency to normalise evil behaviour. What may pass for entertainment in Mafia movies, must be seen through a different lens in real life.
    "The risk of crime is not crime alone, but the abyss that opens at our feet when once we have decided that the rules that count for other people don't count for us."
    Producer: Sheila Cook
    Sound: Peter Bosher
    Production coordinator: Liam Morrey
    Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

    • 10 min
    Peak Envy

    Peak Envy

    Will Self believes we are reaching a state of 'peak envy'.
    'Is it any surprise,' Will writes, 'that in this, arguably the second century of self, when for the most part humans see nothing around them but images of those better off than themselves, envy should be quite so epidemic: a greenish toxin - the very mustard gas of modernity.'
    Producer: Adele Armstrong
    Sound: Peter Bosher
    Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
    Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

    • 10 min
    The Death and Life of Modern Martyrs

    The Death and Life of Modern Martyrs

    Sarah Dunant reflects on martyrdom past and present.
    As Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is laid to rest, Sarah looks to history to ponder what his legacy might be.
    And she turns to the work of the 19th-century philosopher Soren Kierkegaard: 'The tyrant dies and his rule is over...the martyr dies and his rule begins'.
    'History is a long game,' Sarah writes. 'And the shelf life of martyrs in particular is impressive.'
    Producer: Adele Armstrong
    Sound: Peter Bosher
    Production coordinator: Liam Morrey
    Editor: Penny Murphy

    • 10 min
    The Carnival Is Over

    The Carnival Is Over

    Following a recent incident in a London theatre where, it appears, Jewish Israelis were targeted by a comedian because they wouldn't stand for a Palestinian flag, Howard Jacobson reflects on the power of mockery and the liberation of laughter.
    'Do the best comedians truly turn the world upside down', Howard asks, 'or do they merely strap us into a fairground roller-coaster so that we can feign fear and scream in unison?'
    He argues that the norms of outrage have been jettisoned in the reaction to events in Israel on October 7.
    'Once the world is turned upside down,' he writes, 'humanity and justice fall like loose change from our pockets.'
    Producer: Adele Armstrong
    Sound: Peter Bosher
    Production coordinator: Liam Morrey
    Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

    • 10 min
    Down the Rabbit Hole

    Down the Rabbit Hole

    Rebecca Stott says the idea of 'going down a rabbit hole' is often characterised as a bad thing - here, she makes the case for what's to be gained.
    "These days we invariably use the phrase 'down the rabbit hole' to describe a negative experience...where people get lost, then become overwhelmed, ensnare themselves in conspiracy theories and can't get back out," she says.
    "But I don't believe rabbit holes are bad in themselves. If we avoid them altogether we lose the chance to experience their joy and excitement."
    She recalls her own experience of discovery - and tells the story of how Charles Darwin once spent eight years distracted by barnacles.
    Producer: Sheila Cook
    Sound: Peter Bosher
    Production coordinator: Liam Morrey
    Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

    • 10 min
    Why is my handwriting so bad?

    Why is my handwriting so bad?

    Tom Shakespeare reflects on the 'endangered skill of handwriting.'
    'The most ambitious thing I author,' writes Tom, 'is the shopping list on my fridge. And several times a week I scrawl with my index finger when something is delivered'.
    His handwriting, he says, has gone to pot. He knows he's not alone.
    So he resolves to put that right and get more practice.
    Producer: Adele Armstrong
    Sound: Peter Bosher
    Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
    Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

    • 10 min

Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5
330 Ratings

330 Ratings

LedleyKingsbackpocket ,

If only we could be spared Roger Scruton

The BBC is and must continue to be a broad church. A thought for the day is a wonderful idea and opportunity for pause and reflection in a world and media landscape that offers very little space for either.

However the dreary musings of Mr Scruton never provoke in me any feeling other than despair, or thought other than the desire that I could opt out of his pallid conservative whinnying. They compare even less favourably to the consistently brilliant surrealist whimsy of the podcasts written by Will Self. More of that please.

Jamesh147 ,

Will Self is head and shoulders above the rest

Keep it coming!

Negzilla ,

simply superb

This podcast presents views supremely illuminating and enlightening from people of superlative intelligence.

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

A Muslim & A Jew Go There
Instinct Productions
Miss Me?
BBC Sounds
The Louis Theroux Podcast
Spotify Studios
Things Fell Apart
BBC Radio 4
Young Again
BBC Radio 4
How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment

You Might Also Like

Thinking Allowed
BBC Radio 4
Analysis
BBC Radio 4
Great Lives
BBC Radio 4
Profile
BBC Radio 4
Start the Week
BBC Radio 4
More or Less: Behind the Stats
BBC Radio 4

More by BBC

Newscast
BBC News
Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley
BBC Radio 4
You're Dead to Me
BBC Radio 4
The Infinite Monkey Cage
BBC Radio 4
The Martin Lewis Podcast
BBC Radio 5 Live
Rugby Union Daily
BBC Radio 5 Live