Rethink podcast

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Season 3 of the smash hit FX/Hulu show “The Bear” roared to life just days ago, but Will Poulter (the actor who plays fan-favorite Luca) and 2014 F&W Best New Chef Dave Beran had been prepping for weeks. Poulter — like his co-star Jeremy Allen White — staged with Beran at his Santa Monica restaurant Pasjoli to learn how to accurately portray a professional chef onscreen. The lessons went so well, Beran says he’d hire Poulter as a cook — even despite a messy mishap with a pastry bag. The two dished all about getting kitchen culture right on and offscreen, what it takes to be at the top of your craft, and the pure magic of a great restaurant service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices…

Rethink

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Professor Ben Ansell asks some of the world's sharpest minds about the latest thinking, and what it might mean for policy and society.

98 епізодів

#BBC #BBC Radio

Rethink

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updated 6 днів тому

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Professor Ben Ansell asks some of the world's sharpest minds about the latest thinking, and what it might mean for policy and society.

98 епізодів

#BBC #BBC Radio

All episodes

1
Rethink... productivity 28:39

6 днів тому28:39

28:39

The UK government has made growth its key mission. But solving the British productivity puzzle is not a new priority - it’s been on the agenda for successive governments. Getting productivity up is crucial to sustain higher living standards. The more productive we are, the better off we'll be. But the UK has experienced significantly slower productivity growth than comparable countries since the global financial crisis in 2008 and by some measures, Britain has been going through its worst period for productivity growth since the Napoleonic Era. Britain’s productivity lags that of many of our major trading partners, including France, Germany and the USA and that’s despite British workers spending longer in the office. According to the ONS, the French can work four days and achieve roughly as much as the British do in five. What are the factors behind the UK’s chronically weak productivity growth, what are other countries doing better? How can we increase Britain’s productivity? Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Farhana Haider Contributors: Margaret Heffernan, Professor of Practice in Management at the University of Bath, writer and former CEO. Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Gareth Davies, Head of the National Audit Office. Leslie Perlow, Professor of organisational behaviour at the Harvard Business School and founder of the Crafting Your Life special project. Rethink is a BBC co-production with the Open University…

1
Rethink...the civil service 28:15

13 днів тому28:15

28:15

Across many countries, civil services, once seen as the backbone of stable governance, are facing growing scrutiny. Long viewed as the impartial and efficient machine of government, the role of civil servants is now being questioned as political polarisation intensifies and trust in traditional institutions declines. In the UK, the United States and other democracies, critics question its effectiveness, arguing that the civil service has become opaque, unwieldy and inefficient, and process is getting in the way of outcomes. The modern British civil service emerged in the 19th century, and was designed to carry out the day-to-day tasks of government in an unbiased and professional manner. However, is a bureaucracy that was created and designed more than a century ago still fit for purpose - or are we witnessing a turning point in its role in modern governance? Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Eleanor Harrison-Dengate Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors: Gus O’Donnell, former Cabinet Secretary, 2005 - 2011 Jennifer Pahlka, former United States government’s deputy chief technology officer Aaron Maniam, scholar at the Blavatnik School of Government, and former Singaporean civil servant Hannah White, Director and CEO of Institute for Government Joe Hill, Policy Director, Reform Rethink is a BBC co-production with the Open University…

1
Rethink...social housing 28:27

20 днів тому28:27

28:27

For most of this century, the UK has had a housing shortage, but for one section of society, that shortage has become a crisis. Prices have risen so much that people who need social housing are completely locked out of the private renting market, and owning a home for many is only a pipe dream. And when politicians speak about "affordable homes", these are also out of reach for many people. "Affordable" means homes available at 80% of the market rate. Typical social housing rents are much lower- around 30% of the full rate. And this type of home is in very short supply. In 1980, there were around seven million dwellings in the social rent sector, largely owned by councils. Today that's just over four million, the majority of which are owned by housing associations instead. To the average person, the answer seems simple - just build more homes. And that’s being done, but not enough are being built - only around 10,000 social homes are constructed each year - far lower than the estimated 90,000 we need every year. So how can we speed up the process to help the million households in England currently sat on council waiting lists? Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Ravi Naik Contributors: Anna Minton, Reader in Architecture at the University of East London and author of the book "Big Capital, Who is London For?" Jasmine Basran, Head of Policy at the homelessness charity Crisis. Richard Hyde, founder of Thinkhouse.org, an open library of housing research, and chair of Solihull Community Housing. Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester. Graham Kauders, commercial director at EDAROTH, an AtkinsRéalis company. Rethink is a BBC co-production with the Open University…

1
Liberalism 29:35

16 weeks тому29:35

29:35

Across the West, the long-established liberal order appears to be struggling to adapt to the economic and social challenges of the 21st century. As a result, traditional politics is being rejected by voters at the ballot box, increasingly usurped by narratives once considered too radical for the mainstream. In Europe, right wing populists and the far-right are in the ascendancy in countries such as France, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. Across the Atlantic, Donald Trump has returned to the White House for a second term. The roots of political liberalism can be traced back to the 18th century, with much of the modern liberal world order emerging out of the end of World War II. But as similar patterns emerge across numerous democracies, could we be witnessing the end of liberalism? Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Ben Cooper Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors: Jon Cruddas, author and former Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham Edmund Fawcett, political journalist and author Sarah de Lange, Professor of Political Pluralism at the Department of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam Catherine de Vries, Professor of Political Science at Bocconi University Michael Gove, Editor of The Spectator and former Conservative MP for Surrey Heath…

1
Rethink... the global economy 28:37

17 weeks тому28:37

28:37

You would be forgiven for thinking that inflation, interest rates, GDP and tariffs drive the global economy. But there are a whole set of interconnected underlying systems that work quietly in the background to keep economies running smoothly. It's not just countries that rely on them, but individuals as well. These systems allow workers to get paid, banks to make transfers, and the free-flow of information on the internet. These immaterial systems have a presence in the physical world, from fibre optic cables to the servers that host our data. Building and maintaining this infrastructure, and everything else that makes up modern civilisation requires a constant and reliable supply of raw materials. But in this globalised world, both the underlying systems online and the supply chains in the material world have pinch points - places where if just one thing gets squeezed, then there are immediate and dramatic effects on the economy. And whoever controls those pinch points wields a vast amount of power. In this episode of Rethink, Ben Ansell explores those pinch points, how the USA and China are realising their power, and what this means for the UK. Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Ravi Naik Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors: Henry Farrell, SNF Agora Professor of International Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and co-author of Underground Empire. Abe Newman, professor in the School of Foreign Service and Government Departments at Georgetown University, and co-author of Underground Empire. Ed Conway, economics and data editor of Sky News and author of Material World.…

1
Rethink...medical data 28:32

18 weeks тому28:32

28:32

Sir Keir Starmer says that the NHS is well placed for an AI revolution in health care. The Health Secretary Wes Streeting says it could lead to huge advances in health care, from patient passports, which enable doctors to easily access a patient's full medical history, to early intervention - being able to assess a child's risk of disease from birth. The NHS has a vast pool of information about our health, and unlocking its power is a noble aim: but can everything really be thrown straight into an AI, which will then pump out answers? Inputting it presents a mammoth task; NHS data is in many places, the bits of information are not always compatible, nor are they easily accessible. Also, medical records are hugely sensitive and private, so what safeguards need to be put in place before data researchers and medical tech companies can be given access? What will be the most likely, realistic and achievable benefits of using AI in our healthcare system, and - if the NHS gets this right - what are the potential rewards for patients? Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Ravi Naik Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors: Dr Jess Morley, postdoctoral research associate at the Yale Digital Ethics Centre Professor Andrew Morris, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and Director of HDR UK, the national institute for health data science Michael Shenouda, Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Medical Officer at Open Medical, and board member for the ABHI, The Association of British HealthTech Industries Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation…

1
Rethink... crime prevention 28:13

19 weeks тому28:13

28:13

In 2024, more than two million crimes went unsolved in England and Wales, with police unable to identify a suspect. That figure has increased by 180,000 since 2022, despite there being 86,000 fewer crimes in the same period. So with detection rates down, and constant financial pressures on the police services across the UK, should crime prevention play a greater role in policing? Targeting preventable crimes and the people most likely to commit them, a process called "focused deterrence" is being trialled at five sites in England. Police services already have better intelligence resources available than in any time in history, and they are also working with care services and other agencies to flag up potential problems. How could crime prevention be taken further? Would a more academic approach to policing result in knowledge being spread more quickly, and how could police be better prepared for emerging crimes as society and technology change? Ultimately, could it lead to lower crime rates and financial savings, and is there any evidence to suggest it does either? Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Ivana Davidovic Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors: Katrin Hohl, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at City University Alexander Murray, Threat Leadership at the National Crime Agency and the Chair of the Society for Evidence Based Policing Alex Sutherland, Professor in Practice Criminology & Public Policy at Oxford University Dr Rick Muir, Director of the Police Foundation…

1
Rethink: is big tech stealing your life? 28:33

20 weeks тому28:33

28:33

Rethink examines emerging issues in politics, society, economics, technology and the UK's place in the world, and how we might approach them differently. We look at the latest thinking and research and discuss new ideas that might make the world a better place. In this episode, we consider the changing relationship between the public and big tech companies. Big technology companies have given us incredible social media and online services, that came with a price - our data. They used it to target advertising and to learn about our likes and dislikes, and the vast majority of us couldn't have cared less about giving up this information. But Artificial Intelligence products have changed the game, from chatbots that can hold human-like conversations, to Generative AI that can write prose or create a picture from a simple text prompt. And these unthinking machines require endless amounts of data to train them. Some companies have been quietly changing their terms and conditions to access our social media and messages for AI training. Privacy regulators in the UK have called a halt to this so far, but US consumers don't have that protection. Developers have also been scraping the internet, gathering both free and copyrighted material, and leading to legal actions in both the USA, the EU and the UK. Copyright holders are concerned about a lack of payment or licencing deals, and also that AI imitates their content, putting them out of work. The Government has now launched a consultation to try to balance up the needs of AI and the creative industries. But with some companies refusing to pay for content, creators have a new tool at their disposal - a program that makes stolen pictures poisonous to AI. Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Ravi Naik Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors: Ben Zhao, Neubauer Professor of Computer Science at University of Chicago Jack Stilgoe, Professor in science and technology studies at University College London, where he researches the governance of emerging technologies Justine Roberts, CEO and founder of Mumsnet. Cerys Wyn Davies, Partner at Pinscent Masons solicitors, specialising in IP and Copyright. Neil Ross, Associate director of policy for Tech UK…

1
Rethink... museums 29:02

21 weeks тому29:02

29:02

The UK has many world-leading museums that inspire wonder and fascination in their visitors. Many were originally created to display artefacts from empire or house the collections of their wealthy Victorian founders but recent decades have seen museums finding innovative ways to challenge what a modern museum can be. However, in tough economic times many museums are facing serious challenges. The sector is having to make the case for why museums should receive public money when there’s a lot less to go around. They are also facing criticism about who visits them, who curates them, and what objects they collect and display. What are museums for? Who are they for? And how can they teach us about our past whilst remaining relevant and exciting for today’s visitors? Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Viv Jones Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors: Sara Wajid, co-CEO of Birmingham Museums Trust Tony Butler, Director of Derby Museums Trust Stephen Bush, columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times…

1
Rethink… political labels 28:50

22 weeks тому28:50

28:50

At the last General Election Britain’s traditional parties of left and right, Labour and the Conservatives, collectively amassed their lowest vote share ever - well under 60%. Three out of seven Brits voted for Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party or one of Britain’s many regional or nationalist parties. Does this result suggest that British politics is now too complicated to be understood by the labels left and right? In Europe, some new parties like the German Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance have been labelled both far left and far right. Many similar parties seem to be having success by suggesting that they’re throwing off old political labels and offering something radically new in their place. Studies say voters struggle to place policies along a left/right spectrum, and many don’t define themselves along left/right lines. So how can we have a shared political sphere if we can’t agree on terms? Are our political labels of left and right outdated? Are they due a rethink? Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Viv Jones Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors: Sara Hobolt, Sutherland Chair of European Institutions at the London School of Economics and Political Science Claire Ainsley, Director of the Project on Center-Left Renewal at the Progressive Policy Institute. and previously the Executive Director of Policy to Sir Keir Starmer Giles Dilnot, Editor of Conservative Home and previously special advisor to James Cleverly at the Foreign Office and Home Office…

1
Rethink... energy 28:53

33 weeks тому28:53

28:53

Rethink considers how we might take a different approach to issues that affect all of us, asking some of the brightest minds what we could do to make the world a better place. This week, we're rethinking energy. The massive rise in the price of wholesale gas in 2022, and the subsequent rise in our household energy bills highlighted the need for the UK to have a secure, reliable and cheap energy supply. So what choices do we have? UK fossil fuel reserves are dwindling, but we have offshore wind, and sunshine in the south. Renewable power is also cheaper than fossil fuels. In the first three months of 2024, the UK's wind, solar and other forms of renewable power generated just over half of our energy and by the end of September, coal had been phased out completely. But there is still a long way to go before the UK is self-sufficient. It can take as long as 15 years to connect a renewable power plant to the National Grid. A nuclear power station hasn't been completed in the UK for nearly 30 years Do we have enough power storage for cloudy or windless days? And industry and homes are still reliant on gas. So how to we need to rethink energy to keep the lights on, charge our many devices and power our electric vehicles in the future? And if we get it right, what will be the rewards for everyone? Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Ravi Naik Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors: Aoife Foley, Professor & Chair in Net Zero Infrastructure at the University of Manchester. Emma Pinchbeck, Chief Executive, the Climate Change Committee. Sam Richards, a former special advisor on energy to Boris Johnson, and now the Chief Executive of campaign group Britain Remade. Andrew Crossland, Associate Professor in practice at the Durham Energy Institute.…

1
Rethink...care 28:52

34 weeks тому28:52

28:52

The care system in Britain is creaking at the seams. People who need care aren't receiving it - or if they do it's untenably expensive. There aren’t enough staff for care homes, and unpaid family carers often burn out looking after their loved ones without support. Successive governments have recognised it’s a problem, but they haven’t been able to fix it. Rachel Reeves is just the latest in a long line of chancellors to back away from care reform. How can we reform the care system so it works better for everyone involved? And crucially - how can we pay for it? In this edition of Rethink we look at some of the big ideas that could revolutionise social care in this country. We look at the arguments for a National Care Service to match the National Health Service. We hear about new technological fixes, from robots in care homes to smaller scale initiatives to help with medication or paperwork. Or maybe we all need to think about the whole system differently - and all care for each other a little more. Contributors: Sir Andrew Dilnot, head of the 2011 government review on Funding of Care & Support Kathryn Smith, chief executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence Ben Cooper from the Fabian Society, co-author of their report Support Guaranteed: The Roadmap to a National Care Service Hilary Cottam, designer, social activist and author of Radical Help: How We Can Remake the Relationships Between Us and Revolutionise the Welfare State Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Lucy Burns Editor: Clare Fordham…

1
Rethink...pricing 28:43

35 weeks тому28:43

28:43

Rethink looks at the issues of our time, and considers how we might approach them differently. Scrutinising the latest thinking and research, we look at what this might mean for policy and society. In this episode: the cost of living has been high, but all too often, we also pay a premium. It's because of dynamic pricing, drip pricing and now personalised pricing. Dynamic pricing is why, after queuing for hours, Oasis fans were offered tickets that were considerably more expensive than the ones advertised. It's also why do you can be offered different prices each time you try and book an airline ticket, or a hotel online. Big data means that companies can figure out exactly what you are willing to pay online and can shift the price you face to match that. AI data-gathering software is causing cartel-like behaviour amongst competitors, who can draw similar conclusions about their market, and set similar prices. The depth of information available to companies means that they know the price a market will bear, rather than how much customers can afford and regardless of interest rates set by central banks. Regulators are playing catch-up, but what other strategies could be used to combat anti-competitive pricing led by algorithms? And what needs to change to ensure buyers can work out if they're getting a fair deal? Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Ravi Naik Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors: David Dayen, writer and journalist, and the executive editor of The American Prospect magazine. Tom Smith, partner at Geradin, and former Legal Director at the UK Competition and Markets Authority. Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, Professor of consumer psychology at Anglia Ruskin University. Martyn James, consumer rights campaigner and journalist.…

1
Rethink... immigration 28:45

36 weeks тому28:45

28:45

Rethink looks again at the issues of our time, and considers how we might approach them differently. Scrutinising the latest thinking and research, we look at what this might mean for policy and society. In this episode, we’re looking at one of the most divisive issues of our time – immigration – and in particular, how we can change the discourse around migration. Polling from the British Social Attitudes survey suggests that the UK is now more divided on immigration, by age, education, and political party, than at any time since 2011. But polling also indicates that there are large areas of agreement between people who are pro-immigration and others who are immigration-sceptic. A majority of people think net immigration is too high. A majority also believe that Ukrainian refugees, Afghans who helped UK forces, Hong Kong Chinese, doctors, nurses and care workers should be allowed to come to the UK. And most people agree that crossing the channel in small boats is not a good idea. So if a majority of people agree on these issues, how have we become so tribal? Why have politicians of all flavours failed us over the decades? How can get them to be more honest about the trade-offs that come with every immigration decision that's made - and how can we change the political discourse? Presenter: Ben Ansell Producer: Ravi Naik Editor: Clare Fordham Contributors: Sunder Katwala, Director, British Future Alan Manning, Professor of Economics at the LSE and former chair of the Migration Advisory Committee Dr Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory in Oxford, and a current advisor to the Migration Advisory Committee Robert Colvile, Director, the Centre for Policy Studies…

1
Rethink... wealth 27:49

37 weeks тому27:49