Flying Blind
Analysis15 Helmi 2021

Flying Blind

What do we really know about the policy choices confronting us? Covid-19 has been a brutal lesson in the extent of our ignorance. We face hard decisions, and argue about them ferociously, when in truth we’re often in the dark about their full consequences. But Covid is not unusual in this respect - and we could learn from it. Other areas of life and policy are similarly obscured. Not that we like to admit it. How well, for example, do we know what the economy is up to? Quite possibly not nearly as well as you might think - even to the extent that it’s recently been suggested the first estimates of GDP can’t be sure of telling the difference between boom and bust - the problem really can be that extreme. Some recessions have turned out to be illusions. In this programme Michael Blastland examines our collective ignorance and how it affects policy and debate, asking if public argument needs a lot more humility.

Producer Caroline Bayley Editor Jasper Corbett

Jaksot(389)

Is ethical surrogacy possible?

Is ethical surrogacy possible?

Does becoming a surrogate mother exploit or empower a woman? UK surrogacy law is under review, and there's a renewed debate around how it should be regulated. The war in Ukraine highlighted this, as ...

10 Loka 202228min

What's the point of street protest?

What's the point of street protest?

Is a protest march worth your effort? About a million people attended the Stop the War street protest in 2003. About half a million had marched to protest against the fox hunting ban a year earlier. M...

3 Loka 202228min

Addiction in the age of the metaverse

Addiction in the age of the metaverse

Are we past the point of no return when it comes to our obsession with online technology? Elaine Moore considers her own tech use and explores our future in the metaverse.According to a YouGov poll, t...

25 Heinä 202229min

Is the UK the new sick man of Europe?

Is the UK the new sick man of Europe?

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the United Kingdom was sometimes characterised as the 'sickman of Europe' due to industrial strife and poor economic performance compared to other European countries. T...

18 Heinä 202228min

What is childcare for?

What is childcare for?

Is formal childcare for pre-school children there to provide an early years education? Or to allow parents to go out to work? Politicians would say both, but many argue the UK’s system is failing to d...

11 Heinä 202229min

Beyond the cost of living crisis

Beyond the cost of living crisis

The Bank of England says inflation might reach 11 per cent this year. There are warnings that some people will have to choose between heating and eating. But what does it mean for the whole economy wh...

4 Heinä 202228min

Cashing in on the green rush

Cashing in on the green rush

Some countries have legalised cannabis, often with the hope of kick-starting a lucrative new source of tax revenue - but just how profitable has it been?Aside from a few fact-finding trips, the prospe...

27 Kesä 202228min

Germany and Russia: It's Complicated

Germany and Russia: It's Complicated

In late February, three days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a landmark speech in the German parliament, the Bundestag. The invasion, he declared, represe...

20 Kesä 202229min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
viisupodi
rss-podme-livebox
otetaan-yhdet
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-asiastudio
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-tekkipodi
io-techin-tekniikkapodcast
linda-maria
the-ulkopolitist
rss-polikulaari-humanisti-vastaa-ja-muut-ts-podcastit
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat