The Netflix series, Adolescence, which featured a boy who killed a female classmate, provoked widespread debate about the causes of his crime and the possible influence of the online 'manosphere'. Jonathan Freedland takes a long view of the way in which new media has been implicated in male violence. 19th century, cheap sensational fiction, in the form of the Penny Dreadful, was often blamed for juvenile delinquency, rape and even murder. In the 20th century, cinema, the first true mass medium, was held to blur the line between fantasy and reality, encouraging young men to emulate what they saw on the screen. But is this too simplistic a view and what's the historical evidence? With Chas Critcher, Emeritus Professor of Communications at Sheffield Hallam University and Judith Rowbotham, Visiting Professor in the Law Department at the University of Plymouth.Producer: Jayne Egerton
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Trade Tariffs
As Donald Trump raises a 25% levy on all imports of steel and aluminium into the USA, as well as other tariffs on trade with friends and competitors alike, Jonathan Freedland looks back to the Corn Laws, measures introduced to protect British farmers and land owners from competition following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. The Corn Laws and the campaign to repeal them transformed British politics and economics. How do events then compare to Donald Trump's policies and actions today?
With:
Professor Lawrence Goldman, Emeritus Fellow in History at St Peter's College, Oxford
Linda Yueh, Fellow in Economics at St Edmund Hall, OxfordProducer: Luke Mulhall
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The Politics of Natural Disasters
Following the recent floods in Valencia, Jonathan Freedland looks at the politics of natural disasters, with
CHRIS COURTNEY - Associate Professor in Modern Chinese History at Durham University and author of The Nature of Disaster in China: The 1931 Yangzi River Flood
LEAH PATTEM – Madrid based freelance journalist specialising in politics, migration and community stories
The readers are Ian Dunnett and Samuel JamesProducer: Jayne Egerton
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Race Riots in Britain
Mob violence breaks out across the country, with an explosion of hatred directed at minority communities who feel under siege. As British courts process hundreds of those involved in the riots of August 2024, Jonathan Freedland looks back more than 800 years ago when hatred was directed at a different group of outsiders. In the late 1180s, Britain's small Jewish community was targeted by violent mobs in the wake of the coronation of Richard I. The worst incident was the York Massacre of 1190 in which 150 people died. What are the historical parallels with today's race riots against British Muslims and asylum seekers, and what can be learnt about how to heal communities?Guests: Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History, Queen Mary, University of London; Joe Mulhall, Director of Research, Hope Not Hate; Hina Bokhari, Liberal Democrat Member of the London Assembley and Founder, Naz Legacy FoundationProducers: Dan Hardoon and Luke Mulhall
Reader: John Lightbody
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French Political Gambles
As French President Emmanuel Macron calls a snap election to address the political threat to his government posed by the Far Right, Jonathan Freedland and guests discuss Louis XVI's decision in 1789 to call an Estates General, a meeting of representatives of all sections of French society. Louis' gamble in 1789 started a chain of events known as the French Revolution. What are the stakes of President Macron's gamble today? WithClare Siviter, Associate Professor in French Theatre at the University of Bristol Emile Chabal, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of EdinburghThe reader is Ewan BaileyProducer: Luke Mulhall
Colombia