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BBC Radio 4
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  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Reactive features from Radio 4, exploring what's really happening behind the headlines and unearthing untold stories, both at home and abroad.

  1. FEB 8

    Trump and Greenland: How MAGA went Arctic

    Why does President Trump really want to takeover Greenland? The Arctic territory is rich in vital minerals and oil, and it hosts an important American military base as the race for dominance in the wider Arctic heats up between China, Russia and the USA. While the issue has become suddenly urgent, it's a proposal that has been years in the making - and drill down beneath Trump's recent stated reason of 'security' and the reasons why he wants it as the 51st state are less clear. A financier-turned-MAGA operative, the small print of the right-wing wish list Project 2025, and a penchant for big places on maps might better explain the recent diplomatic crisis, as the Make America Great Again project evolves into an idea to Make America Bigger. The Coming Storm's Lucy Proctor delves into the backstory to Trump's insistence on acquiring Greenland. Produced and presented by Lucy Proctor Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Sound engineer: Andy Fell

    28 min

  2. FEB 1

    RAAC and Ruin

    Between the 1950s and 1990s the material known as RAAC, Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, was used mostly in flat roofing, but also in floors and walls. It offered a cheaper alternative to standard concrete, but the discovery of its short lifespan has meant serious problems. It made the headlines when it was found in schools and hospitals, but it has been used in housing as well. A political storm is brewing in Scotland after thousands of homeowners have been told their properties are no longer safe because of RAAC. Some are living on ghost estates under threat of demolition. Others have even been forcibly removed. Local authorities are offering a percentage of the market value before the faults were identified, but homeowners say this will leave them homeless and in debt, paying mortgages on rubble. Karin Goodwin investigates the human cost of a flawed building material. Presenter: Karin Goodwin Producers: Liza Greig and Halina Rifai Executive Producer: Mark Rickards A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

    28 min

  3. JAN 25

    The Price of Meat

    Buy a pack of beef in the supermarket and you’ll find it’s increased in price by 52% in five years. Try and trade down to some chicken and you’ll find it’s nearly doubled in just two years. Make a product unaffordable- whether that’s cigarettes, brandy or steak- and you inevitably open up the door to smugglers. Evidence isn’t hard to find with Dover Port Authority offering up just one snapshot. In September 2025 they seized 20 tonnes of illegal meat, compared with just 1.3 tonnes in September 2022. Extrapolate the numbers with unchecked cargoes and the UK’s other ports and it’s clear that hundreds of tonnes of illegal meat are reaching our shores every month. This isn’t just a tax issue with cheeky smugglers making a few quid as they sell a roasting joint in a local pub. It’s a major risk to the UK economy. Some of the meat is coming from areas suffering from African Swine Fever or Foot and Mouth disease. There’s no way that this meat could enter Britain legally because of the fear of these diseases reaching the UK. The last major Foot and Mouth disease outbreak in the UK in 2001 led to the slaughter of 6 million cattle and sheep and nauseating pyres of animals burning beside the M6. Charlotte Smith travels to Romania to trace some of the many routes that meat can take to enter the UK and talks to customs and food standards officials in search of a solution to this significant risk to public health and to the UK's food and farming economy. Producer: Beatrice Fenton

    28 min

  4. JAN 18

    Inside ARIA

    ARIA is the UK government’s bold new bet on science and technology. Its mission? To chase breakthroughs so radical they could spawn trillion-pound industries and reshape everyday life. The Advanced Research and Invention Agency was created to be fast-moving - exempt from the usual public sector bureaucracy. No slow funding rounds. No rigid procurement rules. Just speed, agility, and a mandate to take risks. It's backed by MPs across the political spectrum - but is it a smart use of public money? The idea came from Dominic Cummings, inspired by America’s 'DARPA' - the agency behind the internet, GPS, and personal computing. ARIA launched in 2022 and has already sunk millions into 12 audacious programmes: from designing crops with massively synthetic genomes to building robots on entirely new principles, and developing cutting edge neurotechnologies for psychiatric illness. Evan Davis goes inside ARIA to meet the people steering this high-stakes experiment and explore the frontier science they’ve chosen to back. Can ARIA deliver world-changing innovation - or will it prove an expensive gamble? Presented by Evan Davis Produced by Ilan Goodman and Sophie Ormiston Research by Tabitha Taylor Buck

    28 min

  5. JAN 4

    Highways to Hell

    Alex Forsyth emerges from traffic jam Britain to ask why roadworks take so long and cause so much disruption to our daily lives. Are there better ways to manage the necessary maintenance of our roads and associated infrastructure? And why do Britons spend so many hours stuck in jams or creeping along the highways every year? Presenter: Alex Forsyth Producer: Jonathan Brunert

    28 min

  6. 12/21/2025

    Left Out: the political radicalisation of young women - and the silence surrounding it

    At the 2024 general election, something remarkable happened: young voters broke away from the political mainstream, but in opposite directions. Young men moved to the right, while young women swung just as strongly (if not, more) to the left. While the shift among young men dominated headlines and airwaves, sparking endless commentary and think pieces, the shift among young women was largely ignored, reduced to vague notions of idealism or climate anxiety. No analysis. No research funding. No curiosity. Presented by Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff, Left Out asks what we’ve missed by overlooking this political awakening and what it reveals about gender, power and a media landscape that still treats young men as serious voters, and young women as a footnote. It explores whether this quiet revolution signals a deeper cultural realignment. We hear directly from women aged 17-24 about what matters to them, why their political views are shifting, how conversations with their male peers often unfold and what they need to hear and see from politicians. Backed by the latest polling data, and with insights from academics, MPs and leading pollsters, Left Out investigates how social media is shaping the political consciousness of Britain’s youth, as well as the many other forces behind a growing polarisation between genders. It asks what happens when young men and women enter adulthood holding such opposing worldviews - in their careers, relationships and family lives. And we question how our politics might change if mainstream parties and media organisations fail to respond to this growing chorus of young women who have found their voice - and their power. A 2 Degrees West Production for BBC Radio 4

    29 min

  7. 12/07/2025

    Are You Ready?

    We face an increasing range of threats as a nation – from climate change to pandemics and artificial intelligence – and yet, emergency preparedness is seen as a thing of the past that belonged to an era of civil defence and nuclear war. But as the frequency and severity of extreme events begins to test the ability of emergency services and the government, what is the role of individuals in responding to and recovering from disasters? Emergency planner and disaster recovery expert Lucy Easthope assesses the state of national resilience today, and by exploring the history of preparedness – from the Second World War to the modern prepper movement – she asks what lessons can be learned. She finds out how we can break down the mental and practical barriers to resilience, as well as the challenges of creating a culture of preparedness when the threads that connect us as a society are frayed, but she discovers how vital it is that we start regaining these tools, skills and knowledge before the next disaster. Presenter: Lucy Easthope Producer: Patrick Bernard Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    28 min

  8. 11/30/2025

    Four Months in Gaza

    A raw and intimate perspective on the terror, anger, and hope of living through war. As bombs hit ever closer to her home in central Gaza, Hanya Aljamal spots her elderly neighbour tending to his garden. “He's been raking the earth,” she says, “prepping the soil for new seeds. Given everything that's already happening, it's quite interesting seeing him do that right now. I mean, if grandpa thinks it's a good time to put seeds in, then I don't know, maybe there's hope.” In audio diaries sent from her balcony over four months, Hanya sees impromptu volleyball matches, flying shrapnel, and a hastily constructed tent village as Israel expands its military action. But after she questions whether she will live to see the end of the conflict, a fragile peace is finally agreed and Hanya’s personal situation changes dramatically. Producer/presenter: Simon Maybin Editor: Clare Fordham Sound mix: Gareth Jones Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

    28 min
See All (38)

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About

Reactive features from Radio 4, exploring what's really happening behind the headlines and unearthing untold stories, both at home and abroad.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    38
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    Currently

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