A Point of View

Mar 28 2025 785 ep. 9 mins 53k
A Point of View Podcast artwork

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.

  Society & Culture  News
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Our Revels Now Are Ended

Mar 28 2025 10 mins  
Howard Jacobson reflects on the radio essay, after almost two decades of A Point of View.With nods to Clive James, body-pierced baritones and with a plentiful supply of svelte notebooks, Howard explains why he believes the radio essay is 'more than words on paper'...why it captures the 'frolicsome spirit of truth'. And, Howard writes, 'at a time when we no longer have the concentra

How History Begins Again

Mar 21 2025 10 mins  
The celebrated American theorist, Francis Fukuyama, in his book 'The End of History and the Last Man' argued that US-style liberalism was the ultimate destination for all mankind, 'the final form of human government'.John Gray explains why he believes his prophecy has been turned on its head. 'As in the past, many human beings will live under tyrannies, theocracies, and empires of

Elbows Up: Canada v Trump

Mar 14 2025 10 mins  
After Donald Trump proposed that Canada could be consumed as America's 51st State, Adam Gopnik reflects on his homeland's history with the United States and Canada's new-found patriotic toughness - and how it differs from nationalism. 'It’s is only a little startling, though very Canadian, to find the new motto 'elbows up' radiating everywhere in Canada,' Adam writes, referring t

Leaning In to Social Media

Mar 07 2025 10 mins  
Zoe Strimpel explains why she's decided to lean in to social media, and not worry about how much time she spends scrolling.Despite ongoing concerns about its impact on our brains, Zoe says she's personally found the algorithm benign, offering her endless information about food and cooking."I have come to the conclusion that for a grown woman with many cares, it's mostly beneficial,

Tractors in Whitehall

Feb 28 2025 10 mins  
As farmers prepare for another march at Whitehall in protest at the government's inheritance tax plans, Michael Morpurgo discusses the growing divide between city and countryside. 'The family farm, still at the heart of rural England,' writes Michael, 'is under threat, more than ever'. Michael reflects on how, during World War Two, we needed to produce all the food we could in orde

Print the Legend

Feb 21 2025 10 mins  
Tom Shakespeare explores the pitfalls of dramatised history and its influence on real life - but confesses to his own minor role in rewriting the past. "We turn to stories when the reality we desire fails us," he writes, "but if the legend is not based in fact, then history is in deep trouble, and so are we all." Producer: Sheila Cook Sound: Peter Bosher Production Co-ordinator: Ge

The Joy of Archives

Feb 14 2025 10 mins  
From sacks of correspondence belonging to a well known author to archives from the Battle of Waterloo (and the odd wooden leg), Sara Wheeler reflects on the joys of Britain's personal archives. 'I have loved almost every day I have ever spent in an archive,' Sara writes, 'and not just because dead people are so easy to get along with.' But she fears that idiosyncratic borough and c

Geese, Aristotle and Migration

Feb 07 2025 10 mins  
Walking along the muddy tracks of the River Ouse near her home a few days ago, Rebecca Stott reflects on migration. She contemplates the lives of the Canada geese that frequently fly over her home, as well as Aristotle's own studies of bird migration - and his extraordinary life as a migrant - while considering the historic links between the migration of people and human progress.

The Overwhelm

Jan 31 2025 10 mins  
The 'overwhelm' - noun, not verb - has been around 'since at least 1596', AL Kennedy discovers.She looks at the reasons why the word is making a comeback - and she has some advice for those who also feel lost in 'the overwhelm.'Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

On Hyperbole

Jan 24 2025 10 mins  
Remember the days, Howard Jacobson implores us, when we got on fine with 'very'? Today, Howard argues, 'very’ is not ‘very’ enough for the times we live in.' In its place, 'incredible' and other supersized words, spreading 'verbal chaos.' Howard reflects on the dangers of over-inflated language, 'where words prance about without their clothes, shouting obscenities.'Producer: