The Listening Project

Fi Glover presents four conversations between strangers.

This week: Rob and Richard talk through the pros and cons of taking strike action; Tracey and Fenella share their experiences of loneliness and the ways they’ve learnt to deal with it; a special 10th anniversary conversation between ten year old boys Jesse and Roan, both born in 2012 when The Listening Project was first broadcast, talking about what they think is going to happen in the next 10 years; and mums Helen and Fabienne share two very different experiences of parenting and home schooling.

The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation lasts up to an hour and is then edited to extract the key moments of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in this decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Mohini Patel