Sideways

Historian and leather and kink activist Vi Johnson likes to be called Mama Vi. At 75, within her community, she’s become a fiercely protective figure, looking after not only the people who make it what it is, but also its culture and history. As a leader of a community that has long existed at the margins, she has witnessed many attempts to erase its history; some obvious, others far more insidious. Driven by ignorance, by hate, or even by the impulse to hide parts of themselves. For our 100th episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed asks how a community survives when the evidence of its existence is threatened? From book burnings to records quietly discarded, the past is shaped not only by what we choose to remember, but by what we allow to disappear. With activist Vi Johnson; Richard Ovenden, Director of the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford and author of Burning the Books: A History of Knowledge Under Attack. And sexologist Toni Solenne.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Editor: Katherine Godfrey Production Manager: Joe Savage Sound Design and Engineering: Daniel Kempson Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Everything fell apart for 17-year-old Ben West on the night his brother took his own life. In the years since, Ben has become a remarkable mental health campaigner. From fleeting online encounters to acts of unexpected kindness, he credits strangers with helping him navigate grief and driving forward a campaign that has gone on to influence national policy. In this episode, Matthew Syed considers the power in all of us to help people we have never met.

If you are suffering distress or despair, details of help and support are available at www.bbc.co.uk/actionline.

With contributions from Ben West, mental health campaigner and founder of reasonstostay.org; Dr Gillian Sandstrom, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Sussex and author of Once Upon a Stranger: The Science of How Small Talk Can Add Up to a Big Life; and Professor Adam Joinson, Director of the Institute for Digital Security and Behaviour at the University of Bath.

Featuring archive from the 10 Downing Street social media video, ‘PM meets Ben West on World Mental Health Day’, 10 October 2019.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Vishva Samani Editor: Katherine Godfrey Production Manager: Joe Savage Sound Design and Engineering: Daniel Kempson Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

It’s a cold morning in Euston Station in London and professional violinist Min Kym is about to get on a train to Manchester to play a concert. With her is her 300 year old, £1.2 million Stradivarius, one of the most valuable and precious types of violin in the world. More than that, this is Min’s Strad - it fits just right for her, it’s her constant companion across the world, it’s a relationship, a love. Until… it disappears.

Matthew Syed considers what we value and why.

With musician and composer Min Kym; Kathryn Graddy, the Fred and Rita Richman Distinguished Professor in Economics at Brandeis University; Claudia Fritz, researcher at La Sorbonne University, Paris; and Bruce Hood, Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Bristol.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Editor: Katherine Godfrey Production Manager: Joe Savage Sound Design and Engineering: Nicholas Alexander Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

At some point in our lives, all of us will face difficult news. That was the case for Canadian academic Kate Bowler. She was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, at just 35. When the news hits, the support she receives is overwhelmingly positive. But as well intentioned as those responses are, Kate becomes trapped in a role she doesn’t want to play.

Matthew Syed asks why we reach for positivity so quickly in the face of suffering and where that instinct comes from.

With contributions from Kate Bowler; Dr Stephanie Alice Baker, Professor of Sociology at City St George's, University of London and social psychologist Pr Batja Mesquita, from Leuven University.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Editor: Katherine Godfrey Production Manager: Joe Savage Sound Design and Engineering: Nicholas Alexander Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Matthew Syed follows the extraordinary journey of a French scientist who found signs of learning, problem-solving and remembering - in a blob of slime. Not the Ghostbusters kind, but in a slime mould. It's a single celled, brainless organism that has become a bit of a star in France for its unexpected capabilities.

In this episode, Matthew considers the intelligence that lies in unexpected places, beyond the confines of a brain.

With contributions from Audrey Dussutour (Research Director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, CNRS), Dr. Pamela Lyon (Independent Researcher and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide), and Dr. Michael Levin (Vannevar Bush Distinguished Professor of Biology and Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University and faculty member at the Wyss Institute at Harvard.)

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Vishva Samani Editor: Katherine Godfrey Production Manager: Joe Savage Sound Design and Engineering: Nicholas Alexander and Daniel Kempson Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Rob Broderick aka ‘Abandoman’ grew up surrounded by classic comedies like Laurel and Hardy, and with a teacher mother who inspired his fascination with wordplay. When Rob discovers freestyle rap as a teenager, all these influences coalesce to inspire him to step into the world of stand up comedy.

Only Rob doesn’t want to hone a rigid ‘tight ten’ of material. In fact, Rob doesn’t want to prepare anything at all - he steps out on stage and improvises everything - no script whatsoever.

Matthew Syed uncovers the remarkable neurological processes that take place when we improvise and allow our inner critic to take a back seat.

With contributions from hip-hop musical comedian Rob Broderick (Abandoman); Professor Charles Limb, Chief of Otology, Neurotology and Skull Base Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco; Professor Keith Sawyer, creativity researcher based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and George Lewis, composer, technologist, musicologist and professor of music at Columbia University.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Vishva Samani Editor: Katherine Godfrey Production Manager: Joe Savage Sound Design and Engineering: Nicholas Alexander Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Featuring archive from Abandoman performing on The Al Porter Show, produced by Kite Entertainment for RTÉ2 and broadcast on 24 December 2015; Abandoman performing on The Deirdre O'Kane Show, produced by Kite Entertainment for Sky One and broadcast in November 2022; and Professor Charles Limb’s personal recording of his 2008 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study on jazz improvisation.

David McGurk had a childhood love of action figures. Something that he and Matthew Syed, and probably most of us, share. But David and his brother went a step further - they started making their own makeshift figures from soap and cheap glue.

But it wasn’t until family tragedy struck as an adult that the memory of his brother’s creativity returned and inspired David to become a professional miniature figure-maker, with a quirky eye for his subject matter.

From miniature busts of emperors, to the mystery of tiny canoes in the British Museum, Matthew Syed uncovers the big messages and emotions that can be distilled in the tiniest of objects.

With contributions from artist David McGurk; Jack Davy, anthropologist and a curator at the Natural History Museum in London; and Lambros Malafouris, Professor of Cognitive and Anthropological Archaeology at the University of Oxford.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Editor: Katherine Godfrey Production Manager: Joe Savage Sound Design and Engineering: Nicholas Alexander Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Featuring archive from: Mattel’s He-Man, Skeletor, and Castle Grayskull 1984 TV advert

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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)

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.

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.

Anna Go-Go has always defied expectations - she was a drummer (still rare for a woman), then a comedian and now a mass Go-Go dance instructor - always with her beloved cats by her side. But when she turned 40, she noticed people’s attitudes changed towards her. They saw her as an older woman living alone with cats and really began to treat her like a ‘crazy cat lady’.

The idea of a woman living alone with cats has caused cultural panic for centuries. In 2021 when US vice-president JD Vance was a Senate candidate, he described how his country was run by a bunch of ‘childless cat ladies’ - miserable at their lives and the choices they made. The comments went viral and were heavily criticised but they also drew attention to the modern-day use of the cat lady trope.

In this episode, with the help of history and science, Matthew Syed explores how and why this centuries-old shaming tactic has travelled through time and still echoes today.

With performer, mass dance master and author of Cat Lady Manifesto, Anna Go-Go; Dr Corey Wrenn, Lecturer of Sociology at the University of Kent; historian and author of the book Catland, Kathryn Hughes; and evolutionary biologist at Washington University in St Louis and author of The Age of Cats, Professor Jonathan Losos.

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

Movie stuntman Brian Hite often experiences a dramatic slowing down of time while performing complex stunts in a matter of seconds, like car hits - entering the fabled place often described by top sportspeople as “the zone”. It’s something Matthew’s experienced himself during his professional table-tennis career. Brief, heightened moments in which the ball feels larger, the racquet becomes an extension of the body, and everything slows down.

These intense slow-motion experiences are generally explained as a trick of memory. But could they be something more - could it be that time is less rigid than we think? After all, modern theories of physics already challenge our everyday experience of time. Civil engineer Philip Wade experienced time in slow-motion twice while on holiday skiing too. It was so powerful, it set him on a path of meditation, and entirely changed his perspective on time.

Delving into new scientific theories and transpersonal psychology, Matthew Syed examines these experiences more deeply and asks whether such encounters suggest the way we think of time itself is an illusion.

With professional stuntman and sports performance psychologist Dr Brian Hite; Transpersonal Psychologist at Leeds Beckett University and author of the book Time Expansion Experiences, Dr Steve Taylor; Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Queen Mary University of London, Bernard Carr; and spiritual guide Philip Wade, creator of The Living Soul App.

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

Few people you’ll come across on the street look like Ryan Emans. His body is heavily modified, from head to toe - including a tongue split that gives it a forked, snake-like shape. These changes weren’t accidental or something he was born with, Ryan chose each modification deliberately as a way to make his outer self reflect who he truly is inside.

Many of us see the body as our only true property. While not everyone chooses to modify their body as radically as Ryan, we find meaning in believing it is ours and ours alone. But our relationship with our bodies raises a deeper question - one that blurs the boundaries of what we consider the self. Is my body me, or is my body mine?

In this episode, Matthew Syed dives into the notion of body ownership and explores what it really means to live in and with our bodies.

With mental health nurse Ryan Emans, political theorist Professor Anne Phillips, and neuroscientist Professor Heather Iriye.

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

Identical twins Matthew and Michael Youlden invented their own private language as toddlers. They’ve gone on to become accomplished multi-linguists, but kept up their childhood invented language and still use it today.

Matthew Syed explores the extraordinary human capacity to invent new systems of communication and considers whether language can penetrate and shape the way we see the world.

He discovers the fascinating process involved in developing fictional languages with language creator Jessie Peterson. She invented ‘Firish’ (or Ts'íts'àsh), which is spoken by the animated fire beings in Disney’s Elemental. Matthew also hears about the life-changing effect the ancient language of Sanskrit had on an American Professor. Through their stories, Matthew rethinks his own feelings towards the relationship between language and thought.

With identical twins ‘Superpolyglot Bros’ Matthew and Michael Youlden; Professor of Psychology and Director of the Twin Studies Center at California State University Fullerton, Dr Nancy Segal; professional language creator Jessie Peterson; and Varun Khanna, Professor of Classics at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania.

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

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, one man declared the use of weapons to defend his nation as morally wrong. He faces years in prison for his views. He’s a pacifist, and believes that war is not justified under any means - a view Matthew Syed’s own grandfather held in the Second World War.

In this final episode of Chasing Peace, a special three-part mini series of Sideways, Matthew Syed scrutinises the arguments of people who are radically committed to non-violent solutions to conflict.

Persuading fellow young Palestinians that there’s a peaceful solution to the Israel-Gaza conflict is a daily, monumental challenge for Palestinian peacebuilder Wasim Almasri. Within his community, it's almost transgressive to consistently advocate a non-violent way forward - and he can understand why. He discusses a pioneering project he trialled that used AI to enable anonymous digital dialogues to help both sides find common ground.

Matthew contemplates whether there’s any possibility of clinging on to the idea of peace - when it feels like the most impossible option.

With Ukrainian conscientious objector and Executive Secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, Yurii Sheliazhenko; Rachel Julian, Professor of Peace Studies at Leeds Beckett University; third-generation Palestinian refugee and Director of Programmes of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, Wasim Almasri; and Lisa Schirch, Professor of the Practice of Technology and Peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Vishva Samani Editor: Hannah Marshall Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Uganda, in the mid-1990s - 35-year-old Betty Bigombe is sent by President Yoweri Museveni to the north of the country to open peace talks with rebel groups. Her mission: to stop the violence by negotiating with those behind thousands of deaths and horrific massacres. But to bring peace, she might have to compromise - and that might mean offering concessions or even immunity to people who have perpetrated unimaginable crimes. Could Betty end the suffering without sacrificing justice?

Stopping violence through a ceasefire is one thing. Securing a peace that prevents future conflict is quite another. A true, lasting peace demands more than just halting the guns; it requires getting all the elements right to avoid reigniting old wounds. But in order to get there, we might have to explore challenging avenues.

In the second episode of Chasing Peace, a special three-part mini series of Sideways, Matthew Syed explores whether lessons from past efforts can guide us toward a peace that lasts. Should we rethink how we engage with those labelled as ‘the bad guys’? Where does justice fit into a successful peace process?

With former Uganda peace negotiator Betty Bigombe, preventive diplomacy expert Gabrielle Rifkind, Professor of International Relations Oliver Richmond and International Center for Transitional Justice Deputy Executive Director Anna-Myriam Roccatello.

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

It’s December 2008. Wasim’s newborn daughter Yuna urgently needs care. He has no choice but to navigate the flames engulfing the streets of Gaza to find a doctor. In that harrowing moment, Wasim feels a profound injustice. This is not the future he wants for Yuna - or any other child. Despite the disheartening decades of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, on that day, Wasim still resolved to dedicate his life - to peace.

With conflicts and wars flaring across the globe, many of us struggle to believe that true, global peace is possible. If anything, it feels more elusive than ever. But if Wasim’s story shows us anything, it’s that even in difficult circumstances, we haven’t given up on the hope of peace.

In this first episode of Chasing Peace, a special three-part mini-series of Sideways, we explore whether humans are truly capable of peace, or if the dice were stacked against us from the very beginning.

With peace activist Wasim Al Masri, anthropologist Dr Douglas Fry, Professor of International Relations Oliver Richmond, and former Uganda peace negotiator Betty Bigombe.

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

Is true peace actually possible?

As wars rage around the globe, peace can seem like a fleeting ideal, rather than something humanity can ever actually achieve. Some people hold onto it as a real possibility, a deeply human endeavour still worth striving for. Others see it as a fragile ideal, repeatedly shattered by harsh realities. One thing is certain: peace is fleeting, and that’s painfully clear in 2025, as new , new conflicts flare up and old ones intensify.

This tension between hope and reality defines how we understand peace today. And as peace scholar Johan Galtung argues, true peace is more than just the absence of war; it’s the presence of deeper global harmony. But by that standard, has the world ever truly known peace?

In Chasing Peace, a special three-part miniseries of Sideways, we confront a fundamental question: is true peace possible? And if it is, what does it take to achieve and sustain? Through voices of peacebuilders, negotiators, scholars, and unconventional thinkers, we explore whether hope for a peaceful future can endure in a world marked by escalating conflicts.

Listen to Sideways first on BBC Sounds.

In a theatre in Buenos Aires, six veterans from opposite sides of the Falklands War united to re-enact their experiences of the conflict in front of hundreds of people. The play was called Minefield, and it was an ambitious experiment by the Argentinian theatre director, Lola Arias.

Former Royal Marine Dr David Jackson was one of the veterans who flew across the world to act out his memories of war alongside men he’d fought against over three decades earlier. There were hundreds of people watching, including mothers who had lost their sons in the conflict.

The play took a risk - it was opening up a part of history that people still didn’t agree on. But in the process, it ended up forging connections between groups that had once been divided.

Matthew Syed explores the power and potential of re-enactment, and asks what happens when we try to bring the past back to life.

With veteran, counsellor, and academic Dr David Jackson; director and writer Lola Arias; researcher, educator and humanitarian aid worker Dr Nena Močnik; and Professor of Modern Culture and Media at Brown University, Rebecca Schneider.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Caroline Thornham Editors: Georgia Moodie and Hannah Marshall Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

After the break up of the Soviet Union in the 90s, the problem of street children in Ukraine began to grow. Pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko started taking them off the streets in the now devastated city of Mariupol and adopting them. The 56 year-old is now father to over 40 kids, serves as a military chaplain on the frontline and continues to adopt throughout the war.

Matthew Syed asks whether it’s possible to truly love so many children. He hears from a biologist about the scientific limits of love and an anthropologist about the unique ways in which humans can grow and flex their love, almost like a muscle. He also delves into his mother’s deeply personal experience of raising a non-biological child, relates expert analysis to her complex emotions and questions whether human beings really do have the capacity for limitless love.

With Ukrainian pastor and military chaplain Gennadiy Mokhnenko, anthropologist and author Dr Anna Machin, biologist Dr Liat Yakir and Matthew’s mum, Dilys Syed.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Vishva Samani Editor: Georgia Moodie Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Tempting fate is often seen as a fine line between courage and foolishness. It’s rooted in the belief that pushing certain boundaries or showing too much confidence might invite some kind of cosmic retribution.

Even those who don’t believe in fate hesitate to take chances, driven by an instinctual fear of what might go wrong. Matthew Syed explores why we’re both drawn to and wary of tempting fate, and why our minds often trick us into a bit of magical thinking.

By unpacking the dynamics of hubris, overconfidence, and the possibility of universal retribution, we explore whether challenging fate is a self-defining act - or a dangerous game.

With pilot Amelia Rose Earhart, professor of Behavioural Science Jane Risen and philosopher Simon Critchley.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Series Editors: Georgia Moodie Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Amy Kurzweil’s dad is a famous inventor, futurist and pioneer in the field of AI. In 2015, she discovers his aspiration to make an AI chatbot of her late grandfather, Fred. Fred was a musician who dramatically escaped the Holocaust, but he died before Amy was born. Matthew Syed delves into Amy’s fascinating journey with her father to build the ‘Fredbot’ and have an online conversation with the grandfather she never met.

He also hears from Lynne Nieto, who worked with her late husband to make an interactive AI video of him before he passed away. Today, she struggles to engage with it.

The idea of using AI to simulate conversations with the dead troubles Matthew and raises all sorts of ethical questions. With the help of experts, he discovers how similar concepts were once debated by ancient Chinese philosophers and explores how digital ghosts could affect the grieving process.

With cartoonist and writer Amy Kurzweil; Alexis Elder, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota Duluth and author of the forthcoming book The Ethics of Digital Ghosts: Confucian, Mohist, and Zhuangist Perspectives on AI and Death; grief therapist and author of The Loss Prescription, Dr Chloe Paidoussis-Mitchell; and Lynne Nieto.

Featuring references to the graphic novel Artificial: A Love Story by Amy Kurzweil, published in 2022 by Catapult Books.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Vishva Samani Series Editor: Georgia Moodie Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

The passing of time brings inevitable change - corrosion, disintegration and, eventually, disappearance. While the certainty of this process may seem like cause for despair, Matthew Syed explores the beauty that can be found in the process of decay.

American composer William Basinski, watching his old reel-to-reel tapes disintegrate into a masterpiece of ambient music, discovered how even decay can lead to something unexpectedly profound.

In Detroit’s abandoned neighbourhoods, the ruins tell a story of transformation, where the decline of once-thriving industry serves as both a stark reminder of impermanence and a catalyst for reflection and artistic expression.

With composer William Basinski, cultural historian Professor Dora Apel, Detroit artist Scott Hocking, and religion professor Ankur Barua.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Series Editors: Georgia Moodie and Max O'Brien Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

When David Wright went to Iraq as an 18-year-old soldier - he had no idea the battlefield would become a place where he’d enter deep states of bliss. For decades, David remained silent about the intense joy he experienced alongside the horrors of war.

Matthew Syed ponders the extraordinary possibility of experiencing joy while suffering and hears more about the remarkable potential of the brain to respond to trauma in unexpected ways. He discovers how others too, like actor Renu Arora, experienced something similar when she was hit by a bus - and considers how such stories might help us shift our perspective on pain.

With ex-soldier David Wright, actor/singer/writer Renu Arora, neuroscientist Dr Andrew Newberg, Director of Research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital in Philadelphia and Dr Steve Taylor, lecturer at Leeds Beckett University in transpersonal psychology and author of the book Extraordinary Awakenings.

Featuring an excerpt sung by Renu Arora from the RSC Enterprise performance recording of Anything Could Happen from The Magician’s Elephant. Music by Marc Teitler and lyrics by Nancy Harris.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Vishva Samani Series Editors: Georgia Moodie and Max O'Brien Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson Theme Music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In 2020, a curious trend went viral on social media, especially among teenagers and young adults. As much of the world stayed at home to curb the spread of COVID-19, Reality Shifters began claiming they could move from one reality to another, referencing multiverse theory.

Beyond the actual possibility of switching between realities, this craze raised intriguing questions about the fabric of the reality we experience. Philosophers and scientists have long speculated about the existence of multiple realities. Today, Matthew Syed explores the blurry line between what we perceive as reality and what may lie beyond it, inviting us to question the very nature of existence.

With Reality Shifter Kristin Dattoo, clinical psychologist Professor Eli Somer, neuroscientist Professor Anil Seth, and theoretical physicist Professor Ulf Danielsson.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Series Editors: Georgia Moodie and Max O'Brien Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Geoffrey Hinton's work laid the foundation for today's artificial intelligence systems. His research on neural networks has paved the way for current AI systems like ChatGPT.

In artificial intelligence, neural networks are systems that are similar to the human brain in the way they learn and process information. They enable artificial intelligence to learn from experience, as human beings would.

But Geoffrey Hinton has warned that machines could one day outsmart humans. He has even warned that autonomous weapons could be active on the battlefields of the future. In this final episode of 25 Years of the 21st Century, Matthew Syed interviews Professor Hinton.

Historian and author Margaret MacMillan and Baroness Joanna Shields also join Matthew in discussion. Baroness Shields has been working in the field of technology for forty years, holding senior roles at both Google and Facebook. She was the UK’s first Minister for Internet Safety and Security. She’s also a Conservative life peer in the House of Lords. Does she agree with Geoffrey Hinton's concerns for the future?

For 25 Years of the 21st Century, is this the age of artificial intelligence?

Production team Editor: Sara Wadeson Producers: Michaela Graichen, Marianna Brain, Emma Close Sound: Tom Brignell Production Co-ordinators: Janet Staples and Katie Morrison

Archive Steve Jobs launches the Apple iPhone, 2007

As we swipe to find love and consult chatbot therapists, Matthew Syed asks how technology has altered the way we approach dating, friendship and community.

It’s not all technology, though. Key changes in social trends, medical innovations, demography and economic factors have also played a part in how people live. How have relationships changed in the past 25 years?

Contributors Margaret MacMillan, Emeritus Professor of International History at the University of Oxford and author of several acclaimed books. Meghan Nolan, an Irish novelist and journalist based in New York. Sarah Harper, Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford and a fellow at University College.

Production team Editor: Sara Wadeson Producers: Emma Close, Marianna Brain, Michaela Graichen Sound: Tom Brignell Production Co-ordinators: Janet Staples and Katie Morrison

Archive Steve Jobs launches the Apple iPhone, 2007

Is this the age of outsourcing?

This is not a show about call centres in India. Rather, it's a look at a much deeper shift in who we are, how we think, and where value is created. In some ways, it's the most dizzying and philosophical shift of all.

In this episode, we attempt to understand outsourcing at the macro level - how corporations have outsourced so much that they’ve become hollow. And we look at the micro level - how we've outsourced our minds and memories to technology.

Contributors Margaret MacMillan, Emeritus Professor of International History at the University of Oxford and author of several acclaimed books. James Williams is an author and technology advisor. He worked for Google for more than 10 years where he received the Founders Award for his work on search advertising. He's the author of Stand Out of Our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy. John Key is author of The Corporation in the 21st Century. He's a visiting professor at the London School of Economics and a columnist for the Financial Times.

Production team Editor: Sara Wadeson Producers: Emma Close, Marianna Brain, Michaela Graichen Sound: Tom Brignell Production Co-ordinators: Janet Staples and Katie Morrison

Archive Steve Jobs launches the Apple iPhone, 2007

Have we lost faith in institutions, politicians - and even money?

Some people say there is an onslaught of misinformation and a battle for truth. So who do we trust now?

In this series, we’re remembering some of the big events of this century and asking how they’re shaping us.

Matthew is joined by Margaret MacMillan a historian and author, Rachel Botsman the author of three books on trust and Helen Margetts, a Professor of Society and the Internet at the University of Oxford.

Production team Editor: Sara Wadeson Producers: Marianna Brain, Emma Close, Michaela Graichen Sound: Tom Brignell Production Co-ordinators: Janet Staples and Katie Morrison

Archive Steve Jobs launches the Apple iPhone, 2007

In this series, we’re remembering some of the major events of this century and asking how they’re shaping us. This programme is all about war and conflict: from the events of September 11th 2001, to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. We're also looking at artificial intelligence on the battlefield. Where might that take us?

Matthew is joined by historian and writer Margaret MacMillan, former Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Nick Carter and author, Professor Anthony King.

Production team Editor: Sara Wadeson Producers: Marianna Brain, Emma Close, Michaela Graichen, Arlene Gregorius Sound: Tom Brignell Production Co-ordinators: Janet Staples and Katie Morrison

Archive Steve Jobs launches the Apple iPhone, 2007

Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention.

In this final episode, he considers where our media consumption might be headed. Many are concerned about smartphone addiction and a disintegration of public discourse, but others see a brighter future and our current times as a turning point to a world where the capacities of technology are used to benefit of society.

Matthew speaks to a former tech engineer who has become a philosopher and activist on attention, a historian who believes that our current era has many precedents, a psychologist who is wary of headlines about collapsed attention spans and a behavioural economist who can see a way that our society will adapt to the digital world.

Contributors:

James Williams, author of Stand Out of Our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy Matthew Sweet, Historian and Broadcaster Professor Pete Etchells, Psychologist, Bath Spa University and author of Unlocked: The Science of Screen Time and How to Spend it Better Michael Muthukrishna, Associate Professor of Economic Psychology and author of A Theory of Everyone: The New Science of who we are, how we got here and where we are going.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Sam Peach

Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention.

In this episode Matthew traces the inexorable rise of shortform video and investigates its success. He asks what the increasing popularity of this type of media might mean for our attention and finds out about the people using for purposes that may have surprised Neil Postman.

Apps such as Tik Tok, Youtube and Snapchat are ubiquitous and for many have become the chief way that they consume media. What does watching shorter videos mean for the content, and how do these apps change our habits and possibly, our brains?

The popularity of this medium has driven traditional institutions that are concerned with public affairs to embrace shortform video. So what's the result? Matthew finds out.

Contributors:

Dr Zoetanya Sujon, University of the Arts London Dave Jorgenson, Senior Video Journalist, Washington Post. Communications and Media Society, University of Liverpool

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Sam Peach

Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention.

In this episode, Matthew analyses the medium through which we consume so much our media, the smartphone, and asks how whether it changes the nature of how we read, watch and interpret the world around us.

Matthew looks into the culture of smartphone use around the world and finds out what we can interpret from the growing use of the devices, particularly among younger generations. He looks into the technological advancements in the smartphone that have driven the most change, and considers how information consumption on a phone changes our approach to attention as opposed to the television or a book.

Contributors:

Gloria Mark, Chancellor's Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine and author of Attention Span: Finding Focus for a Fulfilling Life Daniel Miller, Professor of Anthropology, University College London

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Sam Peach

Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention.

In this episode, Matthew looks into history to uncover different approaches to focus. He finds out where the idea of 'attention' came from, whether there has always been a fear that humanity's ability to focus was declining, and what the historical relationship of technology to distraction has been.

He hears from the historian of science D Graham Burnett. Burnett has explored different philosophies of attention across the ages and is an advocate for a change in behaviours regarding our attention today. Professor Nilli Lavie, of University College London's Attention Research Laboratory, provides an insight into modern scientific views of attention.

Matthew looks for answers in a community renowned for their ability to focus...monks. Historian Jamie Kreiner has uncovered how early Christian monks thought about distraction in her book 'The Wandering Mind'. Jamie reveals that there is more to connect the monks of the first millennia with our technological world today than we might think.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Sam Peach

Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention.

In this first episode, he seeks answers in the work of the media theorist and educator Neil Postman. Forty years ago Postman wrote 'Amusing Ourselves To Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business'. Postman feared that the rise of television had created a world where the image became more important than information, and that democracy was in danger to becoming entertainment.

Postman cited the author Aldous Huxley as a key influence. Huxley's novel 'Brave New World' depicts a World State where citizens are engineered to focus on pleasure rather than the challenges of life and society. Huxley feared that tyranny may appear not through censorship, but due to "man's almost infinite appetite for distractions."

Matthew speaks to Andrew Postman, Neil Postman's son, and Aldous Huxley's biographer Uwe Rasch, to ask what the ideas of the two writers might mean for us today, in a world where media and entertainment are at our fingertips 24/7. Has the prophecy of either Postman or Huxley come to pass?

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Sam Peach

We all know the power of a great love story. In films, literature, television - a “happy ending” is shorthand for the main characters coupling up at the end. But are these romantic aspirations really a key ingredient for a happy and fulfilled life?

Matthew Syed explores the idea that you can be long term single, and happy.

Social scientist Bella DePaulo always knew that marriage wasn’t for her. At 70 years-old, she is happily single, and always has been. She’s spent her career researching, writing and speaking on the single experience, in an effort to dismantle the conventional wisdom that a happy, fulfilled life, means a coupled-up one.

Matthew speaks to Yale sociologist and PhD candidate Hannah Tessler about her research into the complex, expansive relationship networks of single people.

We also hear from David Bather Woods, an Associate Professor from the University Warwick, who explains how a philosophical parable about porcupines, dating back to the 1830s, influenced contemporary understandings of the choice to live a single life.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Leona Hameed Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme Music: Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In the 1960s and 70s, Maisie Barrett and Noel Gordon were two black British children wrongly labelled as “educationally subnormal”. They were sent to schools where children were never taught to read or write.

They’re just two examples of a scandal that affected hundreds of children in the UK, one that has never been officially acknowledged.

As adults, Noel and Maisie made a surprising discovery - they were both dyslexic. And with that diagnosis came a profound reimagining of themselves and what had happened to them.

Matthew Syed considers the relationship between ableism, racism and eugenics - concepts with roots that stretch back centuries and which continue to have a profound impact on society today.

With Maisie Barrett, Noel Gordon, sociologist Dr Chantelle Jessica Lewis, Assistant Professor Dr Robert Chapman, and occupational therapist Jenny Okolo.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Tej Adeleye & Tom Wright Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

As a teenager, Raven Saunders dreamt of playing basketball, but their physique led them down a different path. Exceptional strength and size destined them for shot put, ultimately earning them a place on the US track and field team.

In 2021, amid the pandemic, Raven became known for their choice of distinctive protective masks at competitions. But the day they chose to wear a mask of The Incredible Hulk, they not only captured the world's attention, but they also showed hidden parts of themselves.

Throughout history, masks have served various roles including spiritual, entertainment, and protective purposes. Since we’ve all been reacquainted with masks in recent years thanks to COVID-19, Matthew Syed explores how masks have the power to reveal more than they conceal and examines how these coverings, while ostensibly meant to protect, can also become powerful symbols of personal and cultural expression.

With American shot putter Raven “The Hulk” Saunders, mask maker and psychodrama therapist Mike Chase, and Professor of International Politics at Loughborough University Aidan McGarry.

If you are suffering distress or despair, details of help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme music by Ioana Selaru

A Novel production for BBC Radio 4.

Jen Simonic and Masey Kaplan have bonded over a mutual love for knitting for decades.

In 2022, the pair of avid knitters decided to search for strangers to help finish an incomplete blanket their bereaved friend’s mother had started. It kickstarted a movement of ‘finishers’ - people around the world who complete the half-knitted works left behind by others. Their concept challenges the idea that we are successful only when we finish what we start, an idea entrenched in our present culture.

Matthew Syed traces the psychological roots of valuing completion and explores alternative outlooks that subvert the merits of finishing. He hears remarkable stories that reveal beautiful possibilities in leaving creative work half-done and asks whether reappraising the unfinished can enable an imaginative process to unfold, connect people more deeply to one another and even ease grief.

With Loose Ends founders, Jen Simonic and Masey Kaplan, their friend Patty Gardner, artist and composer Jan Hendrickse and Nina Collins, daughter of filmmaker Kathleen Collins.

Featuring excerpts from Nafas ar Rahman, commissioned by the MUSARC Choir.

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

When astronauts journeyed to the moon in the early 1970s, few were paying attention to the psychological impact of the experience. Yet many among those who have left the Earth’s boundary say it is extraordinary and life-changing. They experience a cognitive shift known as the "overview effect".

Matthew ponders the potential of staring down at Earth for our collective good and charts how, decades on, the overview effect has found its place at the heart of space tourism. He also delves into the unlikely religious roots and moral complexity behind the billionaires striving to make it possible for humans to live in space one day.

With former NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, new astronaut Ed Dwight, Space Philosopher and author Frank White, Anthropologist of Space and Religion, Deana Weibel, Professor of Religion at Knox College Robert Geraci and former ISRO scientist, Jijith Nadumari Ravi.

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

Matthew Syed continues his four-part mini-series from Sideways examining the ethics of space exploration in a rapidly expanding era of travel and transformation.

In this episode, he explores the role and ambitions of the new actors in space exploration. More people than ever before can now aspire to travel into space with private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic. This democratisation of space allows those who can afford it to become astronauts and view our world from a different perspective.

But new actors and new purposes bring new challenges. Spacefaring billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos openly share their ambitions to settle on celestial bodies like the Moon or Mars. With a limited body of space laws, questions about land ownership and governance in space - and on Earth - arise.

With sculptor and new astronaut Ed Dwight, anthropologist Deana Weibel, NASA consultant Linda Billings and space Lawyer Michelle Hanlon.

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

Matthew Syed continues his four-part mini series exploring the ethics of space exploration, by returning to the origins of the space race, which saw America and the USSR battling for supremacy. He takes a hard look into the reasons why we go to space and whether it has really benefited all humankind.

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in July 1969, humanity as a whole felt like we’d reached a new frontier. The two astronauts left a plaque behind them, at the bottom of their lunar module. It said “we came in peace for all mankind”. But while Armstrong and Aldrin were ambassadors of the entire species, it was an American flag which was planted on the surface of the moon.

This was a time of fear of Cold War competition amidst fear of nuclear annihilation. Despite the altruistic ideals encapsulated in NASA’s motto "for the benefit of all", the geopolitical stakes of the space race were paramount. Matthew explores how this combined with America's perception of its exceptionalism and how the post-war period was filled with nationalistic ambitions and controversies.

With historians Roger Launius and Neil Maher, Science and Religion Professor Catherine Newell, Space Lawyer Michelle Hanlon and retired astronaut John Herrington.

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

Featuring archive from: Apollo moon landing archive: NASA, Apollo 11 Moonwalk - Original NASA EVA Mission Video - Walking on the Moon, 1969. Archive Rev Ralph Abernathy at Cape Kennedy. From Library of American Congress and WGBH. Extract from the 3 parts documentary series “Chasing the Moon” directed by Robert Stone for PBS, 2019. Wernher Von Braun - extract from “Disneyland, Man on the Moon” documentary produced by Walt Disney and directed by Ward Kimball, ABC tv 1955. Archive JF Kennedy at the United Nation. From the United Nations Archives. General Assembly (20 September 1963) First International crew arrives at Space Station - CNN reports, 2 November 2000. Archive Space Treaty - British Pathé, Space Treaty February 1967 NASA Artemis launch - @NASA, produced by Sonnet Apple, 2022.

In this special series from Sideways, called A New Frontier, Matthew Syed explores the most out of this world ethical questions posed by the evolution of human space exploration.

He takes us into the cosmos with stories from astronauts who’ve been there and those who can only dream of going, to explore the moral debates that have permeated space exploration since before the moon landings, and are evolving dramatically today in a new era of commercial space flight, of asteroid mining and almost daily satellite launches.

Matthew begins the series by diving into the ethics of humanity’s search for extra-terrestrial life.

In 1974, Richard Isaacman was a young graduate, studying to become an astronomer, from some of the field's biggest names - like Carl Sagan and Frank Drake. At just 21-years-old, he’s asked to contribute to humankind's first ever deliberate attempt to send a targeted radio transmission to a cluster of stars in the outer reaches of the galaxy. A rudimentary picture, designed to be intercepted and decoded by aliens.

Delving into our obsession with aliens, science fiction and the vastness of space, Matthew discovers how asking questions about space ethics can often lead us to answers that tell us much more about the ways we treat our own environment, other animals, and each other, than it does about little green men.

With former NASA astronaut John Herrington, York University astronomer Sarah Rugheimer and space ethicist, podcaster and author Erika Nesvold.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Leona Hameed Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Travel into the cosmos for a four-part series about the ethics of space exploration. Matthew Syed invites you to enter the vast wilderness of the galaxy to explore the moral dilemmas that sit at the heart of space exploration, and why they should matter to you.

When the space race began in the 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union dominated. Today, multiple commercial entities and many more governments vie for space in the skies above us. Now we may go to other planets not in order to bring back knowledge that will benefit humankind on earth, but potentially to stay and make a new life for the human race… out there. Exploration is turning to colonisation. In this series, Matthew Syed explores the moral underpinning of space exploration beginning with the space race and early attempts to send a message to little green men. He will ask who gets to go to space, how should we behave when we're there, and whether we have the ethical and legal framework to avoid replicating the conflicts we face on earth, up in the skies above us.

Despite all the complexities and necessary moral questions to be wrangled with in this new era, Matthew explores the profound experiences to be had by standing outside our planet. It may offer a unique vantage point to ask questions about who we are, what we owe to each other, where we’re going, and why.

Producers: Leona Hameed, Julien Manuguerra-Patten, Vishva Samani Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound design and mix: Rob Speight Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In 1984, on the eve of the Winter Olympics, Joe Boylan gets lost in a blizzard on an Austrian mountainside. Joe will have to fight with everything he has to survive and be reunited with his family. How he does it reveals often typical patterns of behaviour exhibited by lost people in similar situations.

Through the story of Joe’s extraordinary 48-hour battle against the wilderness, Matthew Syed examines the fascinating area of study called Lost Person Behaviour, which has changed the way search and rescue teams operate, world over.

Featuring Joe Boylan, Robert J Koester, mathematician and author of Lost Person Behavior, Alistair Read from Mountain Rescue England and Wales, Neil Balderson of Lowland Rescue and Maura O'Connor, science journalist and author of Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Leona Hameed Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix by Daniel Kempson Theme Tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In 1972, at the liberal Vassar College in New York, 18-year-old Rick Shenkman stood out for his unwavering support of Richard Nixon, especially as the Watergate scandal unfolded. His unconditional allegiance raises a perplexing question - why would a bright, well-educated student overlook the facts and maintain blind faith in the president?

In this episode, Matthew Syed delves into one of the most intriguing facets of human psychology - cognitive dissonance.

Conceptualised by Leon Festinger in the 1950s, cognitive dissonance refers to the mental discomfort a person experiences when they hold contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes simultaneously, or when their behaviour conflicts with their beliefs or values. While we all encounter cognitive dissonance in our daily lives, its underlying mechanisms often remain unnoticed despite their profound impact.

Featuring journalist and historian Rick Shenkman, Professor Elliot Aronson, Professor Matt Johnson and Princeton University graduate student, Logan Pearce.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson Theme Tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

As a child, Kate Ertmann starred in commercials, in soap operas and on Broadway. But acting wasn’t her first love - mathematics was. She considered it to be “a balm" for her brain. And yet societal and teenage pressures made her turn away from maths.

Growing up in Sweden, Sebastian Nillson Qvist loathed maths and found it a real struggle. But he still challenged himself to study it as part of a Political Science and Economics degree. It did not go well.

But still, maths came back into their lives.

In this episode of Sideways, we find out what led them back to mathematics and the impact it had on them. Something host Matthew Syed experienced first hand when a desire to understand inflation and economics led him back to studying for a maths A-Level in his own time and finding it actually enjoyable, rather than a chore as he had at school.

We hear how determination to dominate in the sport of darts can lead to incredible mastery of mental arithmetic from Professor Marcus du Sautoy, who also suggests a novel approach to maths education which he believes could inspire and motivate children. And Field’s Medal winner Professor Efim Zelmanov introduces us to a brilliant young mathematician who was killed in a duel 150 years ago but left behind a theory which keeps all online banking safe.

With Kate Eartmann of katelovesmath.com, Sebastian Nillson-Qvist, Professor Marcus du Sautoy - Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Professor of Mathematics, and Professor Efim Zelmanov - Field’s Medallist and Director of the Shenzhen International Center for Mathematics.

Presented by Matthew Syed Producer: Marilyn Rust Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson Theme Tune: Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

What's your name? You might think you know, but in this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed discovers the answer could be more complicated than you first assume.

That's what Hajar found out, after spending her whole life searching for a name to truly call her own.

This is the story of our names, and the influence they have over who we are and who we choose to become.

With Hajar Woodland, Eva Echo, Emilia Aldrin, David Zhu and Arjee Restar.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Leigh Meyer Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound design and mix by Daniel Kempson Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In 2020, David Gutenmacher began to buy old photographs and videos that he came across in second hand shops. He was sad about the prospect that families had been severed from their treasured memories, and so he founded the Museum of Lost Memories to try and reconnect people with their personal archives.

But when he came across a video of a family on a safari holiday he realised that finding out who was in these videos might not be all that straightforward.

Matthew Syed considers the role of photography and video in personal memory making, and how we go about using photos to leave a record of our existence on earth.

Featuring: David Gutenmacher, Founder and curator of the Lost Memory Museum Jono Marcus Linda Henkel, professor of psychology at Fairfield University

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Nadia Mehdi Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Music, Sound Design & Mix: Daniel Kempson Sideways theme by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Lee and Drew have been like brothers ever since adolescence. So when Drew betrays Lee in the heat of a tumultuous night in Glasgow, the two men find themselves entangled in a bitter grudge that went way beyond what they could imagine, as the violence and bitterness of the wrestling ring, spilled over into the real world.

Grudges are typically seen as dangerous, negative emotions. But is there a glimmer of light to be found amid the darkness of resentment? Matthew Syed questions both the hidden values and harsh consequences of grudges.

Featuring WWE superstar Drew McIntyre, ICW champion and professional wrestler Lee Greig, Pr Robert Enright from University of Wisconsin and writer Sophie Hannah.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Engineering: Daniel Kempson Theme tune by Ioana Selaru. A Novel production for BBC Radio 4.

On a summer's day in 1974, Norwegian actor Knut Risan steps up to the mic for a voiceover job. It's for a Cinderella movie that's just been acquired by the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, from the country known at the time as Czechoslovakia.

NRK want him to dub the film into Norwegian. Knut's just having fun. He's doing all the voices, even the young Cinderella. But he's about to become Norway's "Voice of Christmas" when NRK decides to put the film out as part of its festive line up.

Tři oříšky pro Popelku or, as it's often translated, Three (Hazel)nuts for Cinderella, remains an essential part of many Europeans' seasonal viewing to this day. Not least in Norway, where it is shown at 11am on Christmas Eve every year.

Knut's son, Olav, used to feel a little embarrassed around this time of year - everyone knew he was the son of the most famous voice on TV. He'd get strange looks in supermarkets. But today, and in this episode of Sideways, he reflects on the special place his father's voice occupies in Norway's Christmas and in his own family.

Through the story of a film that straddles the line between fairy tale fun and the realities of the Iron Curtain, Matthew Syed explores the origins, meaning and persistence of this cross-cultural tradition and celebrates the role of Christmas films in many families' celebrations, including his own.

Featuring musician Olav Risan and author Kathrin Miebach of the Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel website. With fairy tale expert Professor Claudia Schwabe of Utah State University and Michal Bregant, Director of Národního Filmového Archivu.

Including clips from Tři oříšky pro Popelku (Czech language version) and Tre nøtter til Askepott (Norwegian language version, featuring the voice of Knut Risan). Tři oříšky pro Popelku directed by Václav Vorlícek and starring Libuse Safránková and Pavel Trávnícek. Written by Božena Němcová (story) and František Pavlíček (screenplay), produced by Jiří Krejčík and with a score by Karel Svoboda. Distributed by Ústřední půjčovna filmů.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Amalie Sortland Series editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound design and mix: Naomi Clarke Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Cornell University is known for it's elite a cappella scene. It was even the inspiration for the hit film Pitch Perfect.

But in 2018 a new group arrived on the scene - Mediocre Melodies. This is the story of how one small group of average singers made a huge impact, as Matthew Syed explores the potential benefits of embracing mediocrity and getting comfortable with being average.

Featuring Andrew Greene & Maggie Meister of Mediocre Melodies. With Dr Thomas Curran and Dr Leonaura Rhodes.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Leigh Meyer Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Mix and sound design: Naomi Clarke Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4.

David Henty had a talent for art from a young age. He grew up poring over Hogarth drawings. For a long time, it didn’t feel like something that he could easily pursue. But after two prison sentences spent painting as much as he wanted, there was no looking back. David was set on making a living as an artist. The thing is… the only paintings he could manage to sell for any profit, were all forgeries of famous artists like Lowry, Bacon and Picasso.

Matthew Syed explores how David's copy cat approach to art allowed him to unlock his own creativity.

Matthew delves into the world of art forgery to explore how this practice blurs lines between creativity and imitation, and challenges notions of authenticity in the art world. He considers whether copying is actually a necessary step on the way to becoming skilled at a particular craft, and whether forgers - as pranksters - might even qualify as modern conceptual artists, and also ponders how the rise of artificial intelligence platforms might make forgers of us all.

Featuring: David Henty, artist and writer, Austin Kleon, artist and philosopher, Jonathon Keats, and BBC journalist and AI expert Lara Lewington.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Nadia Mehdi Series editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound design and mix: Naomi Clarke Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Violinist and composer Diana Yukawa lost her father, Akihisa Yukawa, in the Japan Air Lines Flight 123 plane crash of August 1985. The crash was just five weeks before she was born. As she grew up, Diana wanted to get to know her father.

Matthew Syed, explores the profound relationship that can exist between parent and child separated by a loss of this kind, and the role of storytelling in creating those connections.

Writer Ashley Reese’s husband, Rob, died of cancer in 2022. Ashley is planning to get pregnant with hers and Rob’s child using IVF. She is making plans for their future child to know their father.

Featuring Diana Yukawa, Ashley Reese and clinical psychologist Dr Emma Svanberg.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Amalie Sortland Series editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound design and mix: Naomi Clarke Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

After Kate and Guenther shared their first kiss on Torquay's pier in the summer of 1989, their blossoming love was soon interrupted by the distance between Yorkshire and Bavaria. Two years later, they had to let go of their early romance.

In this episode, we explore rekindled loves, for better or worse, and the challenges we can face when the ghost of an old romance resurfaces.

As Matthew Syed reminisces about his own experiences, he delves into the reasons why our first loves are unforgettable.

Featuring Professor Catherine Loveday, Jeannie Thompson, and Professor Adam Fetterman.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound design and mixing: Naomi Clarke Theme tune by Ioana Selaru

A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

When chef and independent restaurateur Davide Cerretini first opened his restaurant, it was a dream come true. But that dream quickly soured when he came head to head with ever more pushy and demanding customers. And then online reviews came along...

In this story of how one man took on his critics, Matthew Syed examines the role of online reviews - good and bad- in modern consumer culture and delves into whether the customer really is "always right".

Featuring Davide Cerretini, restaurant critic Jay Rayner, Dr Jo Cohen and Ewa Maslowska.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producers: Leigh Meyer and Pippa Smith Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound design and Mix: Naomi Clarke Sideways theme by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In 2014 Angela Maxwell was feeling stuck. She wanted something fresh, something exciting. After a chance encounter she landed upon her goal - she was going to set off on one of the largest adventures imaginable: a walk around the world. She didn't know exactly how the journey would play out, but that was part of the appeal - the whole planet was waiting for her to just take the first step.

In this episode, Matthew Syed hears from Angela about her 6 year walk around the world, from the misery of freezing cold nights, to finding beauty in solitary nights sleeping under the stars. And Angela explores her ideas about courage - after she was raped during her expedition, she chose to continue her journey around the world. Over the six years she walked, she would find deep connection to herself and to others, making lifelong friends and sinking into the places, slowly, just placing one foot in front of the other.

We hear from Susan Houge Mackenzie, a professor of psychology at the University of Otago, about the benefits of adventure to our mindset, even 'micro adventures' which take place much nearer to home, and from naturalist and conservationist Nadia Shaikh, who is a land justice activist working with the Right to Roam campaign, who makes a case that we need far greater access to nature to be able to undertake micro adventures in our local area.

Matthew considers how adventures big and small can clarify our goals for our lives, and asks us to consider whether we ought to all be heading out on adventures a little more often.

If you have been affected by sexual abuse or violence, details of help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Nadia Mehdi Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound design and mix: Rob Speight Theme tune by Ioana Selaru. A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Every Sunday afternoon for over 30 years now, Marjorie Eliot has played a jazz concert in her Harlem apartment for anyone who comes. It all began on a Sunday morning back in 1992, after she was faced with an unimaginable loss.

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed explores how music has allowed Marjorie Eliot to look for joy within the deepest of losses. And through the history of jazz itself, he tries to understand how music can become such a powerful, even transcendental force.

With actress, playwright and musician Marjorie Eliot; singer, composer, actor - and Marjorie’s son - Rudel Drears; and Dr Tammy Kernodle, musicologist and Professor of Music at Miami University in Ohio.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Jake Otajovic Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Executive Producer: Max O'Brien Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Three different women, who lead three very different lives, but all became villains...or did they?

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed explores what happens when we indulge in the darker, supposedly more "villainous" parts of ourselves. He looks at the TikTok trend for embracing your so-called villain era and what might happen when we shake off expectations and niceties.

With comedian Chelsea Birkby, musician Mala Waldron, Amanda Lovett who became part of the hit TV show Traitors, Dr Margrethe Brun Vaage, and author and executive coach Rachel Simmons.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Leigh Meyer Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound design and mix: Rob Speight Theme tune by Ioana Selaru. A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In the final episode of this mini series from Sideways, former professional ping pong player, Matthew Syed, tells the story of how ping pong fared in a more open China.

After Chairman Mao's death in 1976, his successor Deng Xiaoping introduced privatisation, contracting out, and a host of reforms that freed key parts of the economy from central control. At the same time, China's table tennis team were starting to lose their primacy in the game, with challenging new styles of play emerging from Sweden in particular. But alongside more economic freedom and openness, came a relaxation and innovation in Chinese ping pong style which ushered in a glittering new era of Olympic glory for the Chinese national team.

From a sport that brought Mao's China such national pride in the early decades of the PRC, and then laid the groundwork for the rapprochement with the United States, ping pong today is no longer the popular sport of young people in China, and the Communist Party has its sights on prestige in other sporting arenas too. As the series draws to a close, Matthew explores the changing nature of Chinese sporting diplomacy and how sport, and table tennis, are still deeply entwined with the country’s wider ambitions.

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

Former England international table tennis player, Matthew Syed, continues this three-part mini series from Sideways, with a moment that changed the course of China-US relations - when the hippie American player Glen Cowan met the world's greatest table tennis star Zhuang Zedong.

This event would usher in rapprochement between the two nations and lay the groundwork for both Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon's landmark visits to the once isolated China.

In China's Ping Pong Power, Matthew explores the vital role played by the little game of ping pong in the rise of this great power, taking us from the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, to the thawing of US-China relations during the Cold War, to Olympic glory and the sporting ambitions of the country today.

Presented by Matthew Syed Producer: Katherine Godfrey Series Lead: 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

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

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.

In this three-part mini series from Sideways, Matthew tells the stranger-than-fiction story of how this little sport transformed China’s international standing.

Available from Wednesday 5 July 2023.

There’s a story Matthew Syed likes to tell. And he’s told it a lot. It’s about a turning point in his life. It’s about learning from a failure and working hard to overcome his shortfalls and come back stronger.

Except - he’s realised he’s been getting the story wrong.

A key detail in the timeline is off. The turning point he thought was so important, might not be quite as significant after all. And the story just isn’t as neat…

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew’s exploring how we use stories to make sense of our lives, and why that means they might not always be completely accurate.

With Alexandra Georgakopoulou, Professor of Discourse Analysis and Sociolinguistics at King's College London; Robyn Fivush, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Institute for the Liberal Arts at Emory University; and best selling ghost writer Shannon Kyle.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer and Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Executive Producer: Max O’Brien Additional Production: Pippa Smith and Leigh Meyer Sound Design and Mix: Naomi Clarke A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Julie Matthias is in the middle of a regular shift at her hairdressing salon when she begins to feel really strange.

Julie is taken to hospital with the symptoms of a stroke, but doctors can find no evidence she has had one. Initially, Julie is unable to speak properly at all. But when her voice returns, friends start to notice something strange. Julie’s standard Southern British accent, typical for the Medway area of Kent where she lives, has disappeared. In its place is a new voice, a new accent, which leads strangers to think she's from another country entirely.

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed wants to understand how our accents evolve, and what happens when they change.

Charting Julie’s journey to understand the condition she has developed, and why her accent has disappeared, Matthew uncovers the intricacies of our accents and how they form a part of our identity.

Delving into our obsession with accents, and the stereotypes we associate with them, Matthew discovers how our accents change throughout our lives, and how this can impact the way we are treated. As it turns out, the accent is not just in the voice of the speaker, but crucially, in the ear of the listener too.

With Jane Setter, Professor of Phonetics at the University of Reading; Nick Miller, Emeritus Professor of Motor Speech Disorders at Newcastle University; and Alex Baratta, Senior Lecturer in Language, Linguistics and Communication at the University of Manchester.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Pippa Smith Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Naomi Clarke Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

When Kevin Burkart dove into a murky lake to find a lost wedding ring, he did it for nothing. But did he really gain something much more?

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed explores our preoccupation with rewards and their impacts.

With author and lecturer Alfie Kohn, Headteacher of Barrowford Primary Rachel Tomlinson, Felicia Schaefer and Kevin Burkart.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Leigh Meyer Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix by Naomi Clarke A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Lydia Harris has always struggled with food. For as long as she can remember, she has avoided fruit and vegetables - their texture simply disgusts her. But one day, that began to change, with a small bowl of rocket leaves.

Eating is one of the greatest pleasures in life for many of us - but, at the same time, it's an arena fraught with choice and decision. No wonder that, as creatures of habit, many of us settle staunchly upon a shopping list of likes, and a mental bank of dislikes.

But in this episode, Matthew Syed sticks his fork into the delicious world of food, reminding us that taste is malleable. With an appetite for curiosity, Matthew thinks about how we can find greater joy in our three daily meals.

With thanks to food writer Ruby Tandoh, Carolyn Korsmeyer (Professor of Philosophy at Buffalo University, New York) and Charles Spence (Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford).

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Nadia Mehdi Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Naomi Clarke Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

A musician is halfway through a public performance when they realise they might not make it to the end. Their body is fighting them, they’re in extreme pain. But stopping is not an option so they push on. No one would know.

But boy does the musician know it. When they come off stage, they are in agony. It feels like their career is at an end.

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed explores the connection between the musician and their instrument and what happens when that precious relationship is severed by injury. He considers what happens when the thing we love to do most in the world begins to hurt us, and how being unable to do it can tear at the fabric of who we are. But in experiencing that loss, how we may find new ways of understanding ourselves?

With cellist Corinne Morris, Artina McCain (pianist and Associate Professor of Piano, University of Memphis), and clarinetist Professor Dr Luc Nijs (University of Luxembourg).

Featuring recordings of Artina McCain from her album Heritage: an American Musical Legacy, performing The Vale of Dreams, composed by Charles Griffes, and Troubled Water from Spiritual Suite, composed by Margaret Bonds.

And also featuring recordings of Corinne Morris from her album Chrysalis with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, performing Siciliène, composed by François Couperin, and the final movement from Joseph Haydn's Cello Concerto No, 1 In C Major.

Mstislav Rostropovich is the solo cellist for Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer and Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Executive Producer: Max O'Brien Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

When Ben Taylor receives a Facebook message from a stranger in Liberia, asking in badly spelled English for financial or business assistance, he quickly assumes it’s a scam. But instead of just ignoring the message, he decides to find out about the person behind it.

In this episode, Matthew Syed explores what happens when you let your guard down and make a leap of trust.

With author and Oxford University trust fellow Rachel Botsman, philosopher Julian Baggini, Ben Taylor and Joel Mentee-Willie.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Eliza Lomas Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

John Nunn learnt to play chess aged four. Since before he can remember, he’s had an exceptional talent for maths. In 1970, aged just 15, he started a degree in mathematics at the University of Oxford.

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed ventures into the world of child prodigies. Often depicted as freakish talents with pushy parents, Matthew uncovers the falsehoods and fascinations associated with young brilliant minds.

Charting John Nunn’s career, from maths lecturer to chess grandmaster, Matthew explores how our performance peaks, plateaus and declines and whether age and innovation are really inextricably linked.

With Dr Ellen Winner, Professor of Psychology at Boston College and Dr Bruce Weinberg, Professor of Economics at Ohio State University.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Pippa Smith Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

It’s December 2013 and Toni Osborne is struggling, emotionally and financially. She’s five pence short of keeping her electricity on over Christmas.

As she heads out into the night to ask her local shopkeeper for help, a homeless man appears and asks for some change. This is Jack Richardson, and when she bursts into tears, it prompts him to give Toni his last five pence. This simple act of giving would alter both their lives in profound ways.

In this episode, Matthew Syed explores how the effects of a seemingly small moment of generosity can ripple outwards, with significant consequences. He considers where this impulse to give to other people comes from and why we go out of our way to help others, sometimes at a cost to ourselves.

With Felix Warneken, Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan; Dr Michael Rees, kidney transplant surgeon and founder of the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation; and psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Eliza Lomas Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In the 1970s, Sandra Bundy was working hard at her job at the Department of Corrections in Washington DC. She loved her job, but just turning up to work was becoming unbearable.

Sandra’s male supervisors kept propositioning her for sex, asking her out on dates and making inappropriate comments. When she reported the problem to her boss’s boss, he tried to proposition her too. As the situation escalated, the language of sexual violence was used.

Sandra knew what she was experiencing was wrong, but she didn’t have the words to describe what she was going through, let alone try and seek justice.

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed delves into the history of the anti-sexual harassment movement in the US in the 1970s to understand how finding the right words can help us tackle big wrongs.

He’ll discover how culture, politics and the law intersect to bring about new ideas, and how these ideas filter down into our everyday understanding of the world.

With Sandra Bundy, philosopher Miranda Fricker, social historian Linda Hirshman, lawyer Arthur Chotin and anthropologist Alex Bentley.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producers: Nadia Mehdi & Pippa Smith Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Special thanks to: Luke Mullins and Ellen Rolfes Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In 2113, a riddle will be solved under the Eiffel Tower. Matthew Syed tells the story of a riddle hidden in the video game Trials Evolution (Ubisoft Redlynx) that became a worldwide treasure hunt that’s yet to be solved, as he considers the role of legacy.

Matthew asks how thinking beyond our lifetimes could make life in the present more impactful and might also challenge us to consider how we meet the problems of the future.

With Antti Ilvessuo, creator of the riddle, co-Founder and ex-creative director of RedLynx; Brad Kirby, Trials Evolution super fan and expert aka Professor FatShady; Dr Philip Cozzolino, University of Essex; and Kimberly Wade-Benzoni, Professor of Management and Organizations and Center of Leadership and Ethics Scholar at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer and Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Executive Producer: Max O'Brien Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Sideways music theme by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In the early 1970s, Al Garthwaite and some friends move in together in Leeds. They’re about to embark on a big experiment.  They’re living communally, sharing clothes, cooking, and housework.

But that’s not all. Inspired by that oft repeated phrase, “it takes a village to raise a child”, they’ve decided to share parenting, helping to raise each other's offspring. What follows is an unconventional family but one full of love and care nonetheless. 

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed explores their story to think about how we might get more of the good stuff out of family. We hear from Al, and her daughter Shelley, about life in their collective house. Marriage and family historian Stephanie Coontz reveals some surprising facts about the history of the nuclear family while the writer Sophie Lewis pushes us to rethink the ways in which we care for one another.

With thanks to contributors Al Garthwaite, Shelley Wild, Sophie Lewis and Stephanie Coontz.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Nadia Mehdi Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

The story of how Dr William Key and his super smart horse “Beautiful” Jim Key became one of the biggest acts in America, only to disappear into historical obscurity. But not before they made a profound impact on millions of American children, who pledged to always be kind to animals, as a result of witnessing their extraordinary partnership.

Dr William Key was a former enslaved man who became a wealthy entrepreneur before turning his hand to patiently training a sickly foal to do maths and spell. They took their act on the road to the delight of millions of Americans and the attention of the American humane movement.

Matthew Syed invites us to dive into this extraordinary story of America in a moment of new understanding, and asks us to consider the possibilities offered by our relationship to animals.

With Mim Eichler Rivas, Eric Collins, Dr Bill Samuels, Dr Elizabeth Ormerod

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer and Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

On Armistice Day 2015, Mel gets a phone call from her son’s school, asking her to come in. When she arrives, she finds the car park filled with ambulances and police cars, emergency services buzzing around.

It began with someone fainting in assembly and then, like dominoes, more teenagers began to collapse. Students were sent back to their classrooms, but the outbreak spread, with more and more people feeling dizzy and sick.

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed tells the story of a strange fainting outbreak at a school and delves into these types of events which affect dozens - sometimes hundreds - of people. What looks unexplained turns out to have a fascinating psychological explanation. But, as Matthew discovers, sometimes our desire to explain things can lead to us explaining them away.

With Professor Sir Simon Wessely, psychiatrist and epidemiologist at Kings College, London and Dr Johanna Braun, artist and researcher at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Pippa Smith Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Nicosia, Cyprus, 2018. Kiri Sofocleous sits down to write a Facebook message to a man she has never met. It has been 40 years since Kiri saw her childhood best friend but she has never forgotten her. Could this be the key to reuniting?

Matthew Syed tells the story of one woman’s determination to find a beloved friend, lost for four decades due to a move abroad, a political divide and a mislaid address.

It prompts him to explore why we make friends and how they influence the rest of our lives, even after losing touch.

Professor Catherine Bagwell of Oxford College - Emory University, reveals how playground squabbles equip us with life skills and how making friends can be good for our mental health. Professor Robin Dunbar explains that we are looking for matches from a pre-programmed personal checklist. Building on Dunbar’s Number, the theory that each of us has 150 meaningful relationships, the Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford University, sorts our connections into circles of friendship.

Through Professor William Rawlins, Matthew learns how the friends of our young adulthood help us become ourselves, but ultimately write themselves out of our life story by encouraging us to follow our dreams.

Contributors include firm friends Kiri Sofocleous and Sonya Foxsmith, Professor Catherine Bagwell of Oxford College - Emory University, Professor William Rawlins of Ohio University and Robin Dunbar, Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford University.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Marilyn Rust Executive Producer: Claire Crofton Researcher: Nadia Mehdi Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Music, Sound Design and Mix: Nicholas Alexander. Theme Music: Seventy Times Seven by Iona Selaru

A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Matthew Syed follows the story of Bernice Bennett, a woman driven to uncover the truth behind a treasured family portrait.

When Bernice was growing up, she was always told how much she looked like her grandmother, Mattie Kemp Alexander. Looking at her grandmother’s portrait, she saw her own eyes looking back. This woman’s face was familiar, and yet Bernice knew so little about her. Feeling the call to know more, Bernice set out on a journey to uncover the stories of her family tree.

Through the course of her investigations, Bernice uncovers the traumas etched into her family’s past and is drawn into America's legacy of slavery. Her discoveries are painful, but they also lead to some surprisingly joyous new relationships and renewed understanding of her own identity.

So why do we search for the secrets of the past, when we know how much the truth may hurt?

Genetic Counsellor Brianne Kirkpatrick talks about how people might prepare themselves for what they could find in their family histories, and genealogist Nicka Sewell-Smith explores how the traumas experienced by our ancestors can ripple through to the present day.

Contributors: Brianne Kirkpatrick - Genetic Counsellor Nicka Sewell-Smith - Genealogist Bernice Alexander Bennett - Genealogist

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Sandra Labady Executive Producer: Claire Crofton Researcher: Nadia Mehdi Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Music, Sound Design and Mix: Nicholas Alexander Theme Music: Seventy Times Seven by Ioana Selaru

A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In 1980, underdog English table tennis player John Hilton stunned audiences with his style of play, effortlessly confounding talented European opponents.

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew puts his tactics under the microscope to discover how Hilton used deception to fool his opponents, and use their strengths against them.

Deception in sport, Matthew argues, is not underhand, so long as it’s within the rules - and it’s everywhere. With the help of sports psychologist Dr Robin Jackson and goalkeeper Chloe Morgan, Matthew examines the high velocities and ultra-fast reaction times of elite sport which make deception so prevalent, and effective.

And he charts the rise of data analysis in British sport, from its strange origins on the football terraces to today’s high tech data collection and teams of analysts. Swathes of data mean today’s athletes can set out more informed than ever about their opponents. But as Matthew discovers, this doesn’t necessarily make them immune to deception. In fact, it could make them more vulnerable.

With former European table tennis champion John Hilton; Dr Robin Jackson, reader in Sport Psychology at Loughborough University; Crystal Palace Women’s Goalkeeper Chloe Morgan; Statistician Richard Pollard; and Maria Konnikova, journalist and author of The Confidence Game.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Pippa Smith Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

A pigeon sparks a spy hunt. The clock is ticking and the bunker is calling.

In this final episode of our four part nuclear series, Matthew Syed examines the current nuclear landscape. In this complex, multiplayer context how do we create a safer world?

We begin in Kashmir, the disputed territory between India and Pakistan, where mutual suspicion has led to nuclear expansion and a delicate balance of power. With our sights understandably on the Ukraine crisis, Matthew argues that while our current nuclear ecosystem persists, there could be other flashpoints that we’re not paying enough attention to.

Matthew enters the worrying world of nuclear modelling and hears about research that suggests the threshold for catastrophic nuclear damage is lower than we might think. And we’re taken down into the bunker to understand why some people believe safety really lies in their own hands.

But is bunkering down the solution? And is planning for the worst actually a hopeful act - you are planning for there to be a world to re-join in the end?

As our series ends, Matthew asks whether we can reconcile different ideas about how to contain nuclear weapons, wake up and regain agency, to chart a path to a safer future.

Guest list: SJ Beard, Academic Programme Manager at the Cambridge Centre for Existential Risk Dr Annie Waqar, Academic Consultant, UK & South Asia and nuclear arms control researcher Bradley Garrett, author of Bunker: Building for the End Times and Assistant Professor of Geography at University College Dublin Professor Brian Toon, University of Colorado. Paul Ingram, Academic Programme Manager at the Cambridge Centre for Existential Risk Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus professor of War Studies at King’s College London and nuclear strategy expert.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Pippa Smith Researcher: Nadia Mehdi Series editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound design and mix: Rob Speight Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4.

Angie Zelter is on her way to Loch Goil in Scotland. It’s a beautiful summer’s day, and her friends have packed a picnic. But that’s not the real reason they’re there. Angie has an urgent message to deliver to the world about nuclear weapons. And she’s going to deliver it through an act of destruction.

In this episode, Matthew Syed looks at the danger that nuclear weapons pose, even if nations never use them in a deliberate act of war. He hears about the moments we came within a hair’s breadth of disaster through misunderstanding, negligence, accident and even a blackbrown bear.

It’s simple - the more weapons there are in the world, the more risk increases. But how to deal with this problem throws up complex solutions and viewpoints.

Some would like the total eradication of nuclear weapons, arguing that disarmament across the world is the only way to avoid catastrophic risk. But others worry about disrupting the delicate balance of nuclear deterrence. As Matthew hears, history shows us that scaling back the numbers is possible - even at the height of the Cold War. He asks whether the possibilities for non-proliferation and scaling back through treaties and verification could be a way forward today.

Contributors: Angie Zelter - Founder of the Trident Ploughshares movement in the UK, anti-nuclear weapons activist and Peace and Environmental Campaigner Eryn MacDonald - Global Security Analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists Patricia Lewis - Research Director for Conflict, Science and Transformation and Director, International Security Programme Mariana Bujeryn - Global Fellow with the Wilson Center's Nuclear Proliferation International History Project and Research Fellow at the Project on Managing the Atom and International Security Project at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Nadia Mehdi Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme tune by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In 1961, a group of American officials decided to play a game of war. Sitting around a table, they tried imagining a nuclear crisis - and how it could be resolved. The outcome of their thought experiment surprised them all, raising far reaching questions about the strength of America’s nuclear strategy.

Once nuclear weapons were unleashed into our world in the 1940s, it was obvious that a completely new set of rules of war had to be designed to prevent nuclear annihilation. In this episode, Matthew travels back to 1940s Santa Monica Beach to explore the origins of an idea that would become the guiding principle of nuclear strategy - deterrence. The threat posed by these new weapons had to be used to avoid war, not to start it.

Matthew learns about the original think tank - the RAND corporation - where nuclear strategists first gave shape to nuclear deterrence and came up with ways to strengthen the credibility of the US government’s deterrence strategy. The most bombastic thinker amongst them was Herman Kahn - the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick’s Doctor Strangelove. Kahn’s ideas were provocative in the way they urged leaders to consider just how many people they would be willing to kill in a nuclear war in order to make their nuclear threats appear credible.

And as the 1960s progressed, the nuclear stockpile grew and tensions ratcheted up. The strategists gained more ground with successive US administrations, wargaming out scenarios in order to test the validity of deterrence. The ‘godfather of nuclear deterrence’ and Nobel prize winning economist, Thomas Schelling, enters the frame just at the right time. Through Schelling’s innovative work on nuclear deterrence, Matthew reflects on the importance of communication in nuclear crises.

But in the 1980s, the Reagan administration played a new game. With a shocking outcome. Perhaps nuclear deterrence wouldn’t always prevent war.

Guests: Fred Kaplan - The national security columnist at Slate, the author writing about the history of nuclear strategy. Sir Lawrence Freedman - Emeritus professor of war at King’s College London and nuclear strategy expert. Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi - A historian of science and technology and the author of ‘The Worlds of Herman Kahn’. Graham Allison - Former dean of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and nuclear expert. Paul Bracken - Professor of political science and business at Yale University and nuclear expert. A special thanks to Stephen Downes-Martin of the Connections War Gaming Conference for his generous help in sourcing archival footage of Thomas Schelling’s keynote speech.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Jake Otajovic Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Researcher: Nadia Mehdi Sound Design: Rob Speight Theme tune by Ioana Selaru

A Novel production for BBC Radio 4.

It’s a little girl’s eighth birthday. She wakes to a sight that looks like the end of the world. A radioactive mushroom cloud rises 130,000 feet in the air. And the world wakes up to the devastating fallout of nuclear weapons.

In this new mini series from Sideways, writer and Times columnist Matthew Syed is calling for a nuclear awakening. Since the end of the Cold War, when relations between two of the world’s nuclear superpowers - the former USSR and the USA - seemed more rosy, Matthew argues that many of us have slipped into a kind of comfortable amnesia about the presence of these destroyers of worlds.

The wake up call came when President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February accompanied by veiled nuclear threats. It was a reminder of the mind bending fact that there are weapons in existence that are capable of eradicating our species.

Over four episodes, Matthew explores the intellectual and strategic frameworks birthed by the bomb and the tensions of the Cold War, which sought to contain the ultimate destructive force. From deterrence to disarmament and non-proliferation, these ideas all aim at one goal - protection from catastrophic nuclear use. Understanding their origins and complexities is urgently needed, Matthew argues.

Ultimately, Matthew will be asking if the actions of Putin in Ukraine call for a new intellectual framework to help make our world safe.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer and Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Researcher: Nadia Mehdi Sound Designer: Rob Speight Special thanks to Jessica A Schwartz for her recordings of Lijon Eknilang which form part of the material for her book Radiation Sounds. Also to Ali Raj and Susanne Rust, whose reporting for the LA Times informed this episode.

Contributors: Evelyn Ralpho Jeadrik, daughter of Lijon Eknilang, Marshallese singer, composer and anti-nuclear activist. Ariana Tibon, Commissioner, Royal Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission Alex Wellerstein, historian of science and nuclear weapons and a professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology. David Holloway, Raymond A. Spruance Professor of International History and author of Stalin and the Bomb: The Soviet Union and Atomic Energy, 1939-1956

A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

In this new mini series from Sideways, Matthew Syed is calling for a nuclear awakening. Since the end of the Cold War, when relations between two of the world’s nuclear superpowers - the former USSR and the USA - seemed more rosy, Matthew argues that many of us have slipped into a kind of comfortable amnesia about the presence of these weapons, these destroyers of worlds.

The wake up call came when President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February accompanied by veiled nuclear threats that were widely reported. It was a reminder of the mind bending fact that there are weapons in existence that are capable of eradicating our species.

Over four episodes, Matthew explores the intellectual and strategic frameworks birthed by the bomb and the tensions of the Cold War, which sought to contain the ultimate destructive force. From deterrence, to disarmament and non-proliferation these ideas all aim at one goal - protection from catastrophic nuclear use. Understanding their origins and complexities is urgently needed, Matthew argues. Ultimately, Matthew will be asking if the actions of Putin in Ukraine call for a new intellectual framework to help make our world safe.

James Campbell's family were unusual. They were the 'singing family'. Everyone on their street knew it - and heard it. They would sing at the drop of a hat and James' father had a barbershop quartet.

Every Monday evening James would listen attentively to the sumptuous close harmonies and his father taught him and his siblings to harmonise too. James took this into his adult years. It gave him a lifelong enjoyment and confidence to harmonise with other people, just for fun. One day, when his father is taken very ill, James realises the power of harmony at the hardest of times as he and his family join around his father's hospital bed to sing.

In this episode, Matthew Syed explores the importance of harmony and asks whether bringing in musical ideas could help bring us a little more harmony in our lives. We get a lesson in close harmony singing with folk trio Lady Maisery and consider how the principles of close listening could carry beyond a musical setting.

And Matthew explores Plato's ideas about the soul in harmony with Professor Angie Hobbs, the Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield. And with Ian Cross, Emeritus Professor of Music and Science at the University of Cambridge, Matthew unravels the ways we communicate musically in conversation to signal agreement and to bond, showing the vital importance of musical interaction in bonding.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer and Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Executive Producer: Max O'Brien Music, Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Theme music by Ioana Selaru. A Novel production for BBC Radio 4.

Flevoland, the Netherlands, 1968. A new patch of land is being carved out of the sea. Destined initially for agriculture or industry, when nature begins to take over, authorities decide to protect the new Earth as a nature reserve - the Oostvaardersplassen.

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed uses the story of this pioneering nature reserve to reveal our conceptions, and misconceptions of the wild.

Rich with reedbeds, the oostvaardersplassen soon becomes a haven for rare birds. But Dutch ecologist Frans Vera wants to take the oostvaardersplassen further. He wants to test the theory that Europe wasn’t covered with forest before humans arrived, but instead had vast grassy plains, much like the savannas of Africa. And so begins the introduction of herds of cattle, horses and deer to the reserve - a pioneering environmental effort which pre-dates the now familiar idea of rewilding.

But when the project stumbles into controversy, it tests our understanding of the wild and how we look after it. And as opposition to the Oostvaardersplassen begins to shape its future, the heady dream of a self-sufficient Dutch serengeti is abandoned. With the urgency of restoring the earth’s natural spaces, Matthew questions whether our scientific failures can still lead to progress.

With journalist and environmental campaigner George Monbiot, cultural geographer Dr Clemens Driessen and environmental philosopher Dr Andrea Gammon along with Frans Vera and campaigner Betty Den Engelsman.

Producer: Pippa Smith Researcher: Nadia Mehdi Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Music, Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight Sideways theme by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Back in the 1960s, Bill Strickland was a listless teenager but life as he knew it was about to change forever.

One afternoon, while skipping class, something caught his eye - the door to one of the art rooms was ajar and he could hear the whirring of a potters wheel. Stopping a moment to take a look, Bill beheld a sight that would change the course of his life. At the wheel was a ceramics teacher, Mr Frank Ross, spinning a lump of clay into a beautiful bowl. He was witnessing a profound metaphor - he could make his life into something beautiful as Mr Ross made bowls from clay.

Mr Ross had lit a fuse within Bill. He went onto university and eventually set up the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, an afterschool arts programme in his neighbourhood of North Side, Pittsburgh. The programme is designed to intercept the often difficult lives of teenagers in the area, to put them on a path toward a positive future with the help of inspirational teachers.

And it works. Thousands of kids come through the programme each year and Bill’s work has been recognised by the White House, among others.

Matthew Syed explores how teachers have the power to transform the world, one student at a time. It’s a big responsibility taken seriously by the likes of history teacher Shalina Patel. Shalina goes beyond the textbooks to engage her students.

Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore explains why adolescence is such a formative time in terms of brain development and suggests we reconsider the way we talk about and teach teenagers.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Claire Crofton Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Music, Sound Design & Mix: Rob Speight Theme music by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

On a January night in Manhattan, a team of lawyers is working to crack open an organised crime case. And at the centre of it all, is Eunice Carter - the first black woman to graduate from Fordham Law and the first African-American woman to pass the New York state bar.

Matthew Syed tells the story of how Carter’s brilliance and meticulous attention to detail blew open a case that would bring down the most notorious mobster - Lucky Luciano - and he explores the experience, the pressure and the role of being "a first".

With Yun Li and Marilyn Greenwald, authors of the biography Eunice Hunton Carter: A Lifelong Fight for Social Justice; Dr. Tsedale M Melaku, sociologist and author of You Don't Look Like a Lawyer: Black Women and Systemic Gendered Racism; and Claude M Steele Professor of Psychology at Stanford University.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Sandra Labady Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Researcher: Nadia Mehdi Music, sound design and mix: Rob Speight Additional mixing: Alex Portfelix A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Boston, Massachusetts, 1985. Dr Joe Upton is struggling to reattach a severed ear onto a little boy. Using incredible skill and the best in modern equipment he re-attaches the arteries, but the veins are proving difficult. Blood keeps getting congested and the little ear is turning black. Just when it looks like all is lost, Joe remembers leeches.

Once used to treat every malady imaginable, the vampiric worms fell out of favour when we gained a better understanding of how the body works. But, Matthew Syed wonders, did the medical backlash against leeches go too far, squandering the ancient wisdom contained in the worm?

In seeking to find out what other potentially useful cures have been consigned to history, Matthew learns about an Anglo Saxon recipe for an eye balm which uses garlic and bovine bile and may have MRSA busting qualities. He learns how the chants and charms accompanying such potions had incredibly practical purposes but why the newly professional doctors of The Enlightenment were keen to deride homespun medicine as quackery.

Matthew draws out why we dismiss certain knowledge and experience in favour of modernity and progress and asks what we risk losing as a result.

With Microsurgeon Dr Joe Upton, Carl Peters-Bond of Biopharm Leeches, Micro-biologist Dr Freya Harrison of Warwick University, Nottingham University Anglo Saxon expert Dr Christina Lee and 18th Century Medical historian Dr Kathryn Woods of Goldsmith’s University.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Marilyn Rust Series Editor/Exec: Katherine Godfrey Researcher: Nadia Mehdi Music Sound, Design & Mix: Rob Speight Additional mixing: Alex Portfelix Theme Music: Seventy Times Seven by Iona Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Lee Chambers is an undeniable success. From his parents' single bedroom, with the boiler humming away day and night, he founds an e-commerce video games business that gives him a healthy bank account in seven months. Next comes the car, the house, the fancy holidays with his wife. But all the time, Lee feels like a total failure. Everyone is telling him he’s a success, but he can’t see it. He’s on the verge of being overwhelmed, until his body intervenes to stop him in his tracks.

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed asks us to question the myths we’re fed about success and redefine its meaning for ourselves. Is it always about working harder? Can we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, or, actually, do many more of us need a leg up from others? Matthew explores the way toxic myths about successful entrepreneurialism are sold to us, which often ignore the uneven access to risk-taking and the importance of timing. With philosopher Dr Gwen Bradford, of Rice University, Matthew asks us to reconsider what achievement really means. And, ultimately, asks us to create a healthier approach to what it takes to become successful.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer and Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Executive Producer: Max O’Brien Researcher: Nadia Mehdi Music, sound design and mix: Nicholas Alexander Additional mixing: Alex Portfelix Produced by Novel for BBC Radio 4

At a school assembly, 16-year-old Simon Day discovers an acute fear of public speaking. Faced with a crowd of expectant faces, panic begins to set in.

Soon, Simon finds that words fail him at almost every turn, threatening his career, relationships and, ultimately, his happiness.

Matthew Syed follows Simon’s journey to find his voice, uncovering the science of how we speak and the complex factors that leave us lost for words.

With Joe Moran, author of Shrinking Violets: The Secret Life of Shyness; psycholinguistics expert Dr Alissa Melinger; and former palliative care consultant Dr Kathryn Mannix, author of Listen: How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Pippa Smith Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Music, Sound Design and Mix: Nicholas Alexander Theme Music: Seventy Times Seven by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Arlene Blum has scaled some of the most treacherous peaks in the Himalayas. When she’s not climbing mountains, she’s fighting to get toxic chemicals banned from everyday household goods. Arlene says that her experience leading expeditions has helped her acquire the personal skills and attributes required to push through bold new science policies.

Matthew Syed asks whether transferable resilience from one field to another is the secret to reaching the top not just once, but throughout our lives.

Arlene is not alone in her experience. Riteesh Mishra, a retired pro-footballer turned coach and talent manager, is a big advocate for “dual careers". Likewise, Professor Julia Richardson has led a study looking into how sportspeople can adapt their skills to second careers, drawing on their experiences in one area in order to excel in another.

Living a dual life as a mountaineer and a chemist has equipped Arlene with resilience and determination, but there’s something else that’s led Arlene to the top, and that’s the ability to question the ways things have always been done. Professor Steven Nadler, a philosopher specialising in early modern philosophy, says that Arlene can be considered a modern heretic. Do we need a bit more heretical thinking to get to the top of our own mountains?

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer: Claire Crofton Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Researcher: Nadia Mehdi Music, Sound Design and Mix: Nicholas Alexander Theme Music: Seventy Times Seven by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Matthew Syed has come to a horrible realisation about himself. He is in danger of becoming a big head. He’s worried that, with a successful podcast and best-selling books, every positive affirmation he receives is only serving to inflate his sense of entitlement.

The Greeks had a word for this - hubris.

In the final episode of this series, Matthew is on a mission to prevent his tragic downfall by exploring the line between over-confidence and useful pride, asking whether, with the right conditions, we could all be at risk of hubris - or whether it’s just him. He’ll explore how to spot and prevent hubristic leaders, remedies to this kind of arrogance and how we can access good confidence.

With Eugene Sadler-Smith, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, University of Surrey; Joey T Cheng, Assistant Professor of Psychology, York University; Alessandra Tanesini, Professor of Philosophy, University of Cardiff.

Presenter: Matthew Syed Producer/Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey Executive Producer: Max O’Brien Researchers: Nadia Mehdi and Alice Bloch Music, Sound Design and Mix: Nicholas Alexander Theme Music: Seventy Times Seven by Ioana Selaru A Novel production for BBC Radio 4