Forum - A World of Ideas

• Updated:
  Weekly

• Episodes available for:
  30 Days

Recent episodes (4)

• Limits of the Market. Michael Sandel, Jianying Zha, Harish Hande. 26 May 2012

  Sat, 26 May 12

  Duration:
  41 mins
  
  Available:
  28 days remaining

  Is there something morally distorted in a world where you can rent a womb for a woman to carry your baby? Or take a gamble on other people’s ill health by dealing in the new market in death bonds? Michael Sandel is one of the world’s best known political philosophers and he joins us on this week’s Forum to argue that market values, especially in America, are in danger of infiltrating all aspects of our lives, eroding moral standards and undermining social bonds. Testing his ideas are Chinese writer Jianying Zha and Indian social entrepreneur Harish Hande.

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• Future Wars. Elizabeth Quintana, Elizabeth Moon, David Rodin. 19 May 2012

  Sat, 19 May 12

  Duration:
  41 mins
  
  Available:
  21 days remaining

  Is this the war of the future? Robot spy planes as small as insects, drones that hover high overhead for days at a time, interfaces to plug a soldier's mind directly into a weapons system and lasers that could temporarily blind you. And if so, how much will all this alter the wars of the future? Bridget Kendall discusses the changing nature of warfare with Elizabeth Quintana, a specialist on aerial combat from the Royal United Services Institute in London; Elizabeth Moon, an award winning author of science fiction whose novels often explore military themes; and David Rodin, a leading authority on war ethics from Oxford University.

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• Second Chances. Nick Danziger, Gish Jen, Van Phillips. 12 May 2012

  Sat, 12 May 12

  Duration:
  41 mins
  
  Available:
  14 days remaining

  When something goes wrong in your life - a loss, bereavement or bad mistake - what happens when you get another roll of the dice? This week the Forum explores second chances, filtered through three very different experiences: Nick Danziger is an award-winning British photojournalist, acclaimed for his portraits from war zones. He explains why he feels the need to track down people to photograph them again, and what happens when he gets there. Gish Jen is a Chinese-American novelist whose writing explores what it means to start over, whether as a recent immigrant or after a lifetime of a happy marriage. She asks if America is still the best place to reinvent yourself. And the American designer Van Phillips takes us through the extraordinary story of his revolutionary artificial limbs which have challenged the way we look at disability.

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• Dark energy, history of everything and infinitesimals L Krauss, A Devriendt, I Stewart 05 May 2012

  Sat, 5 May 12

  Duration:
  41 mins
  
  Available:
  7 days remaining

  Cosmology, particle physics, mathematics and theatrical performance all come together this week, as we look at the very smallest things in order to make sense of some of the biggest questions. Cosmologist Lawrence Krauss explains why the seemingly empty space that takes up so much of the universe is full of measurable energy. Theatre director Alexander Devriendt unveils the reasons for telling the history of the universe backwards, and slices of nothingness in mathematics with Ian Stewart: a glimpse of the near-magical world of infinitesimals.

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