Reeta Chakrabarti, the BBC's UK affairs' correspondent, speaks to people who have found a voice outside the mainstream media, through the medium of blogging. In this programme Reeta meets Andrew Old, whose blog 'Scenes from the Battleground' charts his thoughts and experiences of working in education. He's a teacher who says he is 'utterly dissatisfied with how the education system is run'. He has attracted a large following, has been quoted by Michael Gove, and until recently maintained his onl...
Jun 17, 2014•13 min
In the second of two programmes about the art of writing, Rachel Johnson confesses to struggling with her latest book which is 'supposed to be funny'. In this programme, she meets novelist and playwright Michael Frayn to find out how he organises his writing day, how he gets an audience laughing, and his thoughts on the art of writing farce. Producer: Sara Conkey.
Jun 10, 2014•14 min
Rachel Johnson is struggling with writing her latest novel and talks to writer A.L. Kennedy. They compare distraction techniques, discuss setting rules on how many words you write before checking the Internet, and the benefits of having a special chair to do your writing. They also talk about how to make time to write, when the writing itself doesn't earn your living. Producer: Sara Conkey.
Jun 03, 2014•14 min
More from the series where broadcasters follow their personal passions by talking to the people whose stories interest them most. BBC newsreader Jane Hill's father and uncle both lived with Parkinson's disease, and in this series she talks to people from families with an inherited genetic disorder. In the second of two programmes she talks to John Jennings, who has a high chance of inheriting a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's disease. They discuss the emotional impact of having this disease...
Apr 08, 2014•14 min
BBC presenter Jane Hill's father and uncle both lived with Parkinson's disease and, in the first of two programmes about people from families with inherited genetic disorders, she meets Caroline Harding. Caroline talks about her decision whether or not to have her second and third children tested after her first child was born with the rare condition HED (hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia). Producer: Sally Heaven.
Apr 01, 2014•14 min
Next month, Afghanistan goes to the polls and its president, Hamid Karzai steps down. The BBC's Kabul correspondent, David Loyn, talks to his cousin, political analyst Hekmat Karzai. Western-educated and urbane, Hekmat Karzai nonetheless has to operate in a system where what your grandfather did can be more important than your own achievements, and where blood feuds can cut short a political career - both his father and his nephew were assassinated. What chance does Afghanistan have of moving to...
Mar 25, 2014•14 min
As western forces prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan, and the country faces elections, the BBC's Kabul correspondent David Loyn talks to Soraya Pakzat, a woman's rights campaigner. She tells him of how she has rescued young girls sold in marriage, of the extraordinary Afghan crime of "running away", and of her fears for the future of women in the country. Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.
Mar 18, 2014•14 min
Emma Barnett is 29 and the Women's Editor of the Daily Telegraph. She regards herself as a feminist, she demands equality in the workplace and in all aspects of her secular life. But she has a secret: as an orthodox Jew, when attending synagogue, she is happy to sit separately from the men, not to take part in the service and is finding it hard to embrace the concept of women rabbis. In this second of two programmes for One to One, she discusses her prejudice with Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild who, wh...
Mar 11, 2014•13 min
Emma Barnett is 29 and Women's Editor of the Daily Telegraph. She regards herself as a feminist, she demands equality in the workplace and in all aspects of her secular life. But she has a secret: as an orthodox Jew, when attending synagogue, she is happy to sit separately from the men, not to take part in the service and finds it hard to embrace the concept of women rabbis. For the next two weeks in One to One, Emma tries to get to resolve this contradiction by talking to women who also wrestle...
Mar 04, 2014•14 min
Andrea Catherwood decided to give up her career as a foreign correspondent after she had her first child as leaving him for weeks or months at a time to report from the frontline was something she felt she wasn't able to do. Instead she moved into presenting the news. Last month Nigel Farage said controversially that if women in the City were prepared to sacrifice family life they could do just as well as men. But there are now a number of senior City women who do combine their careers with moth...
Feb 25, 2014•14 min
Andrea Catherwood chose to give up her role as a foreign correspondent once she had children. She switched to the position of news anchor; trading Baghdad for the safety of the studio felt to her like a sensible move. Last month Nigel Farage made some comments about women in the City being worth less once they'd had children – reigniting a debate about working mothers. But is the City particularly unforgiving? For this series of 'One to One', we talk to senior women in the City about how they co...
Feb 18, 2014•14 min
Anita Anand knew she was meant to be a journalist from the moment she covered her first news story. An instinct she followed proved to be correct, and convinced her that she should pursue journalism. In this series of interviews for 'One to One', Anita discovers what drives people towards certain careers. Was there an epiphany, something they discovered in their very core, or a series of events that motivated them? This week's guest is Mathew Waddington, a partner in a Midlands and South-West ba...
Jan 28, 2014•14 min
Anita Anand knew she was meant to be a journalist from the moment she covered her first news story. An instinct she followed proved to be correct, and convinced her that she should pursue journalism. In this series of interviews for 'One to One', Anita discovers what drives people to pursue certain careers. Was there an epiphany, something in their very core, or a series of events that motivated them? This week's guest is world-renowned facial surgeon, Professor Iain Hutchison. In the very early...
Jan 21, 2014•14 min
Anita Anand knew she was meant to be a journalist from the moment she covered her first news story. An instinct she followed proved to be correct, and convinced her that she should pursue journalism. In this series of interviews for 'One to One', Anita discovers what drives people to pursue certain careers. Was there an epiphany, something they discovered in their very core, or a series of events that motivated them? Anita's first guest is Juliet Lyon. She's the director of the Prison Reform Tru...
Jan 14, 2014•14 min
More from the series where broadcasters follow their personal passions by talking to the people whose stories interest them most. Since his daughter was born five years ago, BBC Science correspondent Pallab Ghosh has been fascinated by the way father-daughter relationships work. In the second of a two part series, he talks to Julie White, CEO of a diamond drilling company, about her relationship with her father, who sold the company to her in 2008. Producer: Sally Heaven.
Oct 08, 2013•14 min
In this series of One to One, where broadcasters pursue topics that interest them beyond their day to day job, BBC science correspondent Pallab Ghosh finds out more about the way fathers and daughters interact - a subject that's fascinated him since the birth of his daughter 5 years ago. In the first programme of two, he talks to lone parent Bob Greig about his experiences of fatherhood, especially when it was something that was thrust upon him by the breakdown of his marriage when his daughters...
Oct 01, 2013•14 min
As a Radio 4 presenter, covering a range of stories everyday, Carolyn Quinn interviews people while the story is live but rarely gets the chance to find out what happened next. For these editions of One to One, Carolyn wanted to find out what happens to individuals who've found themselves in the media spotlight and have had to live with intense, unsolicited scrutiny. How do they cope once the media caravan has moved on and they have to try to get on with their lives This week, Carolyn speaks to ...
Sep 24, 2013•14 min
As a Radio 4 presenter, covering a range of stories everyday, Carolyn Quinn interviews people while the story is live but rarely gets the chance to find out what happened next. For these editions of One to One, Carolyn wanted to find out what happens to individuals who've found themselves in the media spotlight and have had to live with intense, unsolicited scrutiny. How do they cope once the media caravan has moved on and they have to try to get on with their lives?. In this, her second intervi...
Sep 17, 2013•14 min
As a Radio 4 presenter, covering a range of stories everyday, Carolyn Quinn interviews people while the story is live but rarely gets the chance to find out what happened next. For these editions of One to One, Carolyn wanted to find out what happens to individuals who've found themselves in the media spotlight and have had to live with intense, unsolicited scrutiny. How do they cope once the media caravan has moved on and they have to try to get on with their lives? In this first interview, she...
Sep 10, 2013•13 min
Frank Gardner was shot several times by terrorists in Saudi Arabia in 2004, and suffered damage to his spinal nerve. He lost the use of his legs and is in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It was a catastrophic change to his life but having a supportive partner and being able to go back to work and continue with his career as a journalist for the BBC has been a key factor in his own recovery. In his third and final interview for the series 'One to One ', Frank meets Deborah Impiazzi who los...
Sep 03, 2013•14 min
After a life changing injury or incident one of the things that makes a huge difference on how you then move on with the rest of your life is what you can still do and can't do. The BBC's Security Correspondent Frank Gardner regards himself lucky that he was able to carry on doing journalism after being shot 9 years ago in Saudi Arabia by terrorists. Some of those bullets hit the core of his body and damaged his spinal nerve - he can no longer use his legs and is in a wheelchair for the rest of ...
Aug 30, 2013•14 min
In 2004 , the BBC's Security Correspondent Frank Gardner was shot several times by terrorists while reporting in Saudi Arabia, some of those bullets hit the core of his body and damaged his spinal nerve which means that he can no longer use his legs and is in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. This was for him a catastrophic life changing injury. But while he was in hospital he received an email from someone who too had been shot in the back and said- 'I've got some advice and tips on how to...
Aug 20, 2013•14 min
Owen Bennett-Jones has spent most of his BBC career reporting on armed conflict around the world. On March 2003 he was in Kuwait as the US forces began their invasion of Iraq. While talking to the American writer PJ O'Rourke, Owen said how frightened the soldiers heading into Iraq must be, but O'Rourke replied: "Well, they are off to do the most exciting thing ever known to man: going to war". It was a striking remark. Was he glorifying war? Or just telling a truth? Since humans first started to...
Jun 25, 2013•14 min
Owen Bennett-Jones has spent most of his BBC career reporting on armed conflict around the world. On March 2003 he was in Kuwait as the US forces began their invasion of Iraq. While talking to the American writer PJ O'Rourke, Owen said how frightened the soldiers heading into Iraq must be, but O'Rourke replied: "Well, they are off to do the most exciting thing ever known to man: going to war". It was a striking remark. Was he glorifying war? Or just telling a truth? Since humans first started to...
Jun 18, 2013•14 min
BBC News presenter, Clive Myrie, presents the last of three interviews on immigration as seen from an immigrant's point of view. As the son of Jamaican immigrants who came to the UK in the 1960s, Clive has a personal interest in this topic. Clive lived abroad as a foreign correspondent for almost 15 years, returning once or twice a year to see his family. After 2004 he noticed how much the UK was changing: the EU had expanded, Polish people were settling here in large numbers and the transformat...
Jun 11, 2013•14 min
BBC News presenter, Clive Myrie, presents the second of his three interviews on immigration as seen from an immigrant's point of view. As the son of Jamaican immigrants who came to the UK in the 1960s, Clive has a personal interest in this topic. Clive lived abroad as a foreign correspondent for almost 15 years, returning once or twice a year to see his family. After 2004 he noticed how much the UK was changing: the EU had expanded, Polish people were settling here in large numbers and the trans...
Jun 04, 2013•13 min
BBC News presenter, Clive Myrie, takes over the reins of 'One to One' for a three-part series on immigration. As the son of Jamaican immigrants who came to the UK in the 1960s, Clive has a very personal take on this topic. He lived abroad as a foreign correspondent for almost 15 years, returning once or twice a year to see his family. After 2004 he noticed how much the UK was changing. The EU had expanded, Polish people were settling here in large numbers, and the transformation came as a shock ...
May 28, 2013•13 min
In the third of her interviews on the concept of renunciation, Ritula Shah talks to Dr Michael Irwin about the idea of renouncing life in old age or when faced with a terminal illness. Dr Irwin is a retired GP who campaigns for voluntary euthanasia and has accompanied people to the Swiss clinic Dignitas when they have chosen to end their lives. He talks to Ritula about his belief that people should have a choice as to when and how to die and about his thoughts on the end of his own life. Produce...
May 22, 2013•14 min
Ritula Shah was brought up as a Jain, which has renunciation as one of its central tenets. Ritula has always been fascinated by this idea and in this series she wants to explore what it means to give up something that still has value to those around you. Why do it? Where does it leave your relationships with those people whose choices you will have contradicted or undermined by your own? What happens when you waver (as surely you must)? In this second episode in a series of three programmes, she...
May 22, 2013•14 min
Ritula Shah was brought up as a Jain, which has renunciation as one of its central tenets. Ritula has always been fascinated by this idea and in this series she wants to explore what it means to give up something that still has value to those around you. Why do it? Where does it leave your relationships with those people whose choices you will have contradicted or undermined by your own? What happens when you waver (as surely you must)? In this first programme she explores the theory with ex-Jai...
May 22, 2013•14 min
