The Why? Curve
Each week Phil Dobbie and Roger Hearing get to grips with one issue that impacts our lives. It could be economic, social, technological or geopolitical. Whatever the subject, they'll talk to the experts who can give help explain what's really going on. And Phil and Roger back it up with their own research and opinions. It's half an hour to get across one of the key issues of the time, and they promise, it'll never be boring.
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- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 38 minutes
- Episodes
- 171
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
The Crystal Ball
In a special New Year episode, Phil and Roger quiz Martin Raymond, co-founder of The Future Laboratory, about what 2023 holds for the UK and the world. The most likely tech developments, the next hea…
00:42:09 |
Thu 29 Dec 2022
Faithless
So this is Christmas, and what have we done…… with the faith that is supposed to be the reason for all the presents and crackers and turkey? Fewer than half of us actually believe in Jesus and would …
00:39:13 |
Thu 22 Dec 2022
Fixing the productivity gap
The UK has a productivity problem. When it comes to how much output we each produce the UK is well behind our northern European counterparts, and its going from bad to worse. COVIDA hasn’t helped. Ac…
00:40:22 |
Thu 15 Dec 2022
Say what?
Freedom of expression is supposed to be one of the most fundamental human rights, but don’t there have to be SOME limits? Especially on social media where unmediated, violent, threatening words or da…
00:41:29 |
Thu 08 Dec 2022
Scots on the Rocks
Unwilling colony or vital part of the union? Scotland now knows it can't hold a new referendum unless the UK government says it can - the path to independence is blocked for the foreseeable future. S…
00:39:53 |
Thu 01 Dec 2022
Good COP, bad COP?
World leaders, journalists, climate campaigners – they all jetted in to the air conditioned hotels of Sharm El-Skeikh earlier this month for COP27, but was anything actually achieved. After 27 of the…
00:41:30 |
Thu 24 Nov 2022
Goodbye To The Good Friday Accord?
Northern Ireland is facing its biggest crisis since the Good Friday Accord ended the Troubles almost 25 years ago. The protocol that came out of Brexit puts the province outside the the EU but inside…
00:39:06 |
Thu 17 Nov 2022
Degree of Doubt
How valuable is higher education? If your degree isn’t one that’s going to help you get a good job, is it worth the huge debts you’ll be saddled with when you leave? The government wants to phase out…
00:40:32 |
Thu 10 Nov 2022
Ready for Sunak’s Bitter Pill?
In a couple of weeks Jeremy Hunt, this month’s Chancellor, will present his Autumn Budget, heavily overseen by Rishi Sunak, our latest Prime Minister. So what can we expect? The noises from Downing S…
00:40:20 |
Thu 03 Nov 2022
Breaking China
A display of raw power at the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, as Xi Jinping has his predecessor dragged off the podium. So how much should we in the West be afraid of the most …
00:46:33 |
Thu 27 Oct 2022
Apocalypse Soon?
Are we facing nuclear war? It seems extraordinary but many analysts and advisers in western capitals believe there’s a good chance Vladimir Putin could use a nuclear weapon to save his regime from de…
00:38:38 |
Thu 20 Oct 2022
Police Emergency
The thin blue line is getting thinner and less effective. When chief constables have to assure the public they WILL turn up for reported burglaries, something has gone badly wrong. Are the police in …
00:43:15 |
Thu 13 Oct 2022
What's the prescription for the NHS?
We’re a sick nation - and the prognosis for the NHS is not good. It’s showing all of its 75 years, as patients wait in ambulances outside A&E or struggle to speak to - much less see - their own GP. S…
00:38:21 |
Wed 05 Oct 2022
Fiscal event or economic suicide?
Last week Kwasi Kwarteng delivered his ‘fiscal event’, unsupported by any analysis from the Office for Budget Responsibility. He said we wouldn’t apologise for focusing on economic growth. He’s also …
00:46:31 |
Wed 28 Sep 2022
Hard Labour
A weak Tory prime minister, a dire economic crisis, a government seemingly set on making the rich richer while an election looms - an open goal for Labour surely? What could possibly go wrong? But th…
00:40:35 |
Thu 22 Sep 2022
Welcome to Cold War 2
The Cold War was supposed to be over twenty years ago, but are China and Russia now a new bloc of autocracy, posed against western democracies in competition for global dominance? And do they have a …
00:33:27 |
Thu 15 Sep 2022
"Well I didn't vote for her!"
Is our democracy broken? We have a new prime minister - but who elected her? When a few Conservative party members have the choice of who holds the top job in the country, has something gone wrong wi…
00:42:27 |
Thu 08 Sep 2022
The Last Days Of The BBC?
Is the national broadcaster moving towards some kind of closedown? With the likely next prime minister challenging the BBC’s accuracy, and one of its most prominent former presenters questioning its …
00:41:42 |
Thu 01 Sep 2022
Net Zero Chance?
The world knows we’ve got to break our addiction to fossil fuels, and we need to move to a future where we no long pollute our atmosphere. But how quickly can we reach this utopian future? How far ar…
00:40:39 |
Thu 25 Aug 2022
Sleepwalking into a crisis
UK inflation is now in double digits. We got there faster than expected and the Bank of England is likely to keep raising interest rates because they believe that’s the only way to contain prices. No…
00:29:27 |
Thu 18 Aug 2022
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