Catastrophe: 5. Blame

In this episode, Gill Kernick and Matthew Price look at our obsession with blame and blame-avoidance and how that cements our inability to learn. They speak to the former government advisor Salma Shah and Times Radio correspondent Charlotte Ivers about the relationship between politicians and the media and how blame plays a central role.  They also speak to Christopher Hood  Emeritus Professor of Government at All Souls Oxford and author of The Blame Game - Spin, Bureaucracy, and Self Preservation in Government. He describes how finger-pointing and mutual buck passing is a familiar feature of politics and that blame avoidance pervades government and public organisations at every level.   They explore the likelihood of this blame obsession changing and look at the role of consequences in enabling change and learning.