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BBC Radio 4


Best-selling author Matthew Syed explores the ideas that shape our lives with stories of seeing the world differently.


Sideways

From a very young age, Holly Mathieson showed remarkable ability at the piano. With the support of her concert pianist grandmother, she nurtured a rare talent for music, and later explored ballet and choral singing as well. A path toward excellence in classical music opened before her and, for nearly 20 years, she followed it diligently as an internationally renowned conductor.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, she realised it was time to reclaim a life that had been defined by her abilities rather than by her choices.

Matthew Syed, himself a national table tennis champion at just age 10, explores our relationship with talent and the pressures - both internal and external - to fulfil it. Through Holly Mathieson’s story, he asks whether we own our talents or whether they own us. He considers why it is that gifted people are seldom allowed to walk away from their abilities without the accusation and condemnation that they are wasting their lives, remaining trapped by the idea that they owe it to the world to fulfil their potential.

With Holly Mathieson, psychologist and author Pippa Grange and Elizabeth Anderson, philosopher at the University of Michigan. 

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten
Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Design and Mix: Mark Pittam
Production Coordinator: Joe Savage
Theme music by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

86. The Talent Trap

Almost twenty years ago, an armed man stormed a small Amish school in Pennsylvania. It was a horrific attack in which he shot at ten girls. He then turned the gun on himself. The attack claimed the lives of five young girls and severely injured five others, including one who remained profoundly disabled for the rest of her life, and died at the age of just 23. Within hours, the affected Amish community took the most extraordinary steps to extend compassion to the family of the gunman. And it set off a life-altering process for Marie, his wife. 

Matthew Syed follows Marie’s inconceivable journey navigating the complexities of forgiveness. He delves into Amish theology to understand how forgiving is a frequently misunderstood discipline, embedded in the collective identity of the Amish community, and considers how their approach to forgiveness challenges conventional wisdom. 

Matthew also hears from one of the foundational figures in forgiveness science on the tangled journey of forgiving oneself. This is something Marie found herself grappling with after going through a process of forgiving her husband for things she would never fully understand. It prompts Matthew to reflect on the quiet and rippling power inherent in the many acts of forgiveness that emerged from a day of unimaginable tragedy.

Featuring Marie Monville, speaker and author of the memoir One Light Still Shines: My Life Beyond the Shadow of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting; Steven Nolt, Professor of History and Anabaptist Studies at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania, and co-author of Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy; and Everett Worthington, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University and a leading researcher in the psychology of forgiveness.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Vishva Samani
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Designer: Mark Pittam
Production Coordinator: Joe Savage
Theme by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Featuring archive from: 

CBS News Special Report, October 2, 2006 

Meyer, Jack, Amish neighbour speaking to Associated Press, “Amish urge forgiveness after school shootings,” Associated Press, October 3, 2006; copyrighted by Associated Press (AP)

85. The Hands of Forgiveness

A morning routine. A cup of tea brewing. Toast almost ready. It’s Monday, and a young man is getting ready to leave for work, when there’s a knock at the door. Two police officers stand outside with news that will change his life - he’s under arrest.

He’s stunned. There must be a mistake. What has he done? “I’m afraid we can’t share that information yet,” one of the officers says. He’s never been in trouble with the law. But now he is - and no one will tell him why.

Matthew Syed invites us to confront the absurd - the moments when life stops making sense, when there’s nothing to grasp or explain. He asks whether we have grown used to the absurdity woven into our lives and whether there is a way to push against it.

With author Michael Foley, Professor of Anthropology Nina Holm Vohnsen (University of Aarhus) and Mathijs Bal, Psychologist and Professor of Management (University of Lincoln).

With special thanks to Tom Wright and Joe Savage. 
 
Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten
Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Design and Mix: Mark Pittam
Production Coordinator: Joe Savage
Theme music by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

84. Absurdity on Toast

Every week, podcaster Curt Jaimungal immerses himself in big ideas and complex theories to prepare for long, in-depth interviews with some of the world’s leading thinkers on his show Theories of Everything. His guests are wide-ranging - renowned physicists, mathematicians but also philosophers - investigating questions of existence and the nature of reality. He takes it very seriously, as part of a wider quest to find a worldview. But one day, he’s shocked to discover he feels disorientated by what he’d previously considered a mere intellectual exercise. 

Matthew Syed asks whether certain ideas and practices are riskier, perhaps more dangerous to explore than others. He discovers ideas around selfhood in particular can send people into a spin and traces the history of when practices based on self-observation became popularised in western societies, often outside of their intended context. He assesses the dangers of ‘ontological whiplash’, a term podcaster Curt gives to the experience of constantly going from one set of ideas to another. And he receives sound advice from his old friend Dr Iain McGilchrist - a psychiatrist, philosopher, and bestselling author - on how best to maintain a sense of equilibrium when exploring questions of the self and consciousness. 

With Curt Jaimungal, creator and podcast host of Theories of Everything; Willoughby Britton, associate professor of psychiatry and human behaviour at Brown University Medical School and director of the Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at Brown University School of Public Health; Brahmacharini Shripriya Chaitanya, Hindu monk with Chinmaya Mission; and Dr Iain McGilchrist, psychiatrist, philosopher, and author of the bestselling book The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World.

Featuring excerpts from Curt Jaimungal’s Theories of Everything YouTube channel: 
Why Consciousness is Fundamental with Donald Hoffman, July 30, 2020 
Noam Chomsky: Panpsychism, LLMs, Artificial Consciousness, October 25, 2022

Rupert Spira: Non-Dualism, God, & Death, June 21, 2021
Matter and Mind: Rethinking Consciousness with Iain McGilchrist, November 26, 2024 

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Vishva Samani
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Designer: Mark Pittam
Production Coordinator: Joe Savage
Theme by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

83. Dangerous Ideas

As a young girl, Djamila Azzouz loved performing - musical theatre, choirs. She loved nothing more than the thrill of entertaining an audience. But in her teenage years, mental health issues made her shy away from a career that would put her in the spotlight.
When even singing itself became difficult, she found a surprising alternative: screaming. But as a woman, her raw, unfiltered expression often clashed with social expectations, even on the metal music scene. 

Matthew Syed explores how, throughout history, women's screams have frequently been tightly controlled, accepted only in specific contexts. And considers whether there are signs of a shift towards greater acceptance and empowerment through screaming, even in horror, where traditionally scream queens have conveyed fear, pleasure, or vulnerability.

With Ithaca’s vocalist Djamila Azzouz, vocal coach Melissa Cross, behavioural and data scientist Professor Pragya Agarwal, and Elizabeth Erwin, researcher in film and media at LeHigh University, Pennsylvania.
 
Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten
Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Design and Mix: Mark Pittam
Theme music by: Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In this episode, you heard: 

Ithaca - They Fear Us
Written by Sam Chetan-Welsh, Djamila Azzouz, Will Sweet, James Lewis, Dom Moss.
AMF Music Limited 

Ithaca - Impulse Crush
Written by Sam Chetan-Welsh, Djamila Azzouz, Will Sweet, James Lewis, Dom Moss. 

Ithaca - Cremation Party
Written by Sam Chetan-Welsh, Djamila Azzouz, Will Sweet, James Lewis, Dom Moss.
AMF Music Limited 

Ithaca - Fluorescent
Written by Sam Chetan-Welsh, Djamila Azzouz, Will Sweet, James Lewis, Dom Moss.
AMF Music Limited 

Poppy, Amy Lee, and Courtney LaPlante - End of You
Written by Moriah Rose Perreira, Jordan Fish, Amy Lee, Courtney Laplante, Mike Stringer
Sumerian Records

82. Scream Queen

It’s 5 pm, and 4-year-old Aqeela, his sister Londie, and three of their siblings scuttle under a tent they’ve made in the boys’ bedroom. It’s time for “The Story”. For weeks, they play out missions and tasks given by an old, wise Kung Fu master. Their mission? Save the world. It’s a story of responsibility, purpose and rewards.

Years later, when Aqeela finds himself part of a gang war in South Los Angeles, ‘The Story’ comes back to him at the most unexpected moment, changing the course of his life.

Throughout our whole existence, we hear and create stories. Some we forget immediately, others we keep with us forever. Matthew Syed looks at the impact one simple story can have on an individual - and sometimes many more.

With former LA gang member and social activist Aqeela Sherrills; Elander (Londie) Sherrills-Hills; Professor of Education, Psychology, and Neuroscience Mary Helen Immordino-Yang from University of Southern California; and Marshall Duke, Professor of Psychology at Emory University, Atlanta.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten
Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Design and Mix: Mark Pittam
Theme music by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Featuring archive from:

NBC News, Los Angeles - 18 February 1983 - Report by Heidi Shulmann about gang activity in LA

NBC News Special LA Riots Report - 30th April 1992 - Tom Brokaw

81. The Story My Sister Told Me

Simon Burrell always imagined he’d be a dad one day. But as the years pass, it’s something he dismisses. Simon is gay, single and approaching 50. But then, an honest conversation with a friend resurfaces that deep, buried desire to parent a child. And Simon goes to extraordinary lengths to make it a reality. 

Matthew Syed follows Simon’s unconventional journey to single fatherhood, explores why male ‘baby lust’ - the intense desire to be a parent - is often overlooked and how popular culture helps reinforce stereotypes that assume women yearn for a baby more than men. 

With Simon Burrell; Dr Robin Hadley, a researcher in male childlessness and evolutionary anthropologist; and author of the book The Life of Dad, Dr Anna Machin.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Vishva Samani 
Editor: Katherine Godfrey 
Sound Design and Mix: Mark Pittam 
Theme music by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Featuring archive from: 

Finding Surrogacy: Real Life Gay Dads, produced and directed by Andrew Webb, for ITV Meridian Broadcasting, 2000

Father of the Bride Part II, directed by Charles Shyer, written by Nancy Meyers, produced by Touchstone Pictures - a film label of The Walt Disney Company, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution,1995 

Bridget Jones’s Diary, directed by Sharon Maguire, written by Helen Fielding, Andrew Davies and Richard Curtis, co-produced by Working Title Films, Universal Pictures and StudioCanal, distributed by Miramax Films and United International Pictures, 2001 

Episode 29 Pancakes from the series Peppa Pig (Season 1), created, written and directed by Mark Baker and Neville Astley, produced by Astley Baker Davies / Hasbro Entertainment, original UK air date: 2 July 2004 (Channel 5)

80. Broody Men

Joshua Brown, a respected neuroscience professor at Indiana University was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in 2003. It was devastating news, Joshua was only 30, and a new father. And so, with nothing to lose, he and his wife pursued an unconventional path - especially for a scientist. Together with their newborn daughter, they travelled across America, praying for a miracle. 

Matthew Syed delves into instances where inexplicable recoveries have been interpreted as evidence of divine intervention. He examines the unexpected ways in which the Vatican works with scientists to deem certain events miraculous. The whole idea touches on something deeply personal to Matthew as someone who grew up in a family that believed in miracle healings. He now struggles with the idea and is a firm non-believer, but he reunites with a much-loved pastor from his childhood for a frank conversation and meeting of their two viewpoints. Through Joshua’s remarkable journey, Matthew probes at whether miracles can ever be compatible with scientific thinking. 

With Joshua Brown, Professor of psychological and brain sciences at Indiana University and Director of the Global Medical Research Institute; oncologist Dr Ranjana Srivastava; Jacqueline Duffin, haematologist, historian, and Professor Emerita at Queen’s University, Canada; and Matthew’s childhood pastor, Nigel Thompson.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Vishva Samani 
Editor: Katherine Godfrey 
Sound Design and Mix: Mark Pittam 
Theme music by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Featuring archive from the Reinhard Bonnke Legacy Collection -Something to Shout About, produced and distributed by Christ for All Nations (CfaN) ministry.

79. The Scientist and the Miracle

Sideways returns with eight new stories of seeing the world differently and the ideas that shape our lives. Stories about everything from miracle healing and science, to the evolution of women's screams, explored through heavy metal music, to why male broodiness shouldn't be overlooked. Listen to the latest series of Sideways first on BBC Sounds.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producers: Julien Manuguerra-Patten and Vishva Samani
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Design and Mix: Mark Pittam
Theme music by: Ioana Selaru
Produced by: Novel for BBC Radio 4

Sideways - Returning Soon

In 2014, Lydia Laurenson moved to San Francisco. As she struggled to find her place and her people in a new city, one mysterious invitation changed everything. After a compelling - if slightly bizarre - induction, she was welcomed into a secretive and exclusive group called The Latitude. Their aim? To experience life more creatively. 

There’s something undeniably powerful about being chosen. For centuries, secret societies have perfected a mix of mystery, camaraderie, and selectiveness. And that taps into something deeply human - the need to belong. From secret childhood clubs to private online groups, we’ve always created small, hidden worlds that feel like they’re just for us.

Today, we ask what it is about being on the inside of something hidden that makes us feel seen.
 
With writer Lydia Laurenson, Professor of History Rick Spence, and British author Tiffany Jenkins.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten
Editor: Hannah Marshall
Sound Design and Mix: Mark Pittam
Theme music by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4.

78. Hide and Seek

Matthew Syed is a former Olympic table tennis player for Great Britain. As Matthew travelled in China, competing against some of the world’s greatest players, he realised that ping pong is a game that has played a huge and fascinating role in the rise of a great power, taking us from the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 to the sporting ambitions of the country today.

Matthew begins this three-part mini series from Sideways, with the story of the rise and tragic death of Rong Guotuan - an extraordinary player and China's first world champion in any sport. 

Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai were keen ping pong players, and in the early years of the PRC the sport was a way of cementing national pride. And where better to showcase a new China and its sporting prowess than at the 1961 Beijing World Table Tennis Championships? But hidden behind the veneer of a newly built stadium and comforts for the visiting teams from all over the world, was a much darker experience for the people of China - an avoidable famine that's estimated by 1961 to have killed at least 36 million. 

Presented by Matthew Syed
Producer: Pippa Smith
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Script consultation: Dr Olivia Cheung, SOAS, University of London
Sound Design and mix: Rob Speight
Archival research: Nadia Mehdi
With thanks to Zhijie Shao from the BBC World Service and to the International Table Tennis Federation

A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

45. China's Ping Pong Power: Episode 1

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