Matthew Smith

Matthew Smith, one of Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers, gives a talk on peanuts and the rise of food allergies at the Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival, entitled Peanut Panic.

Food allergies now affect 15 million people in North America and the UK. And drastic measures are being taken to protect the public, including banning peanuts from places where they were once commonplace: airplanes, sports arenas and schools.

Medical historian Matthew Smith, of Strathclyde University, explores the current obsession with allergies revealing why, in the space of a decade, the peanut has become food enemy number one.

The Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival takes place at The Sage Gateshead Friday 2 - Sunday 4 November and is broadcast for three weeks on Radio 3 from Friday 2 November.

The New Generation Thinkers are winners of a talent scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to find the brightest academic minds in the arts and humanities with the potential to turn their ideas into broadcasts.