Ideas

We are all born. Birth is the story of us all. So why aren’t we more curious about its history? That's what historian Lucy Inglis wanted to know. She's spent 15 years researching birth — around the globe, and across the centuries. “When you go into labour, you are a ship on the sea," says Inglis, referring to an ancient Assyrian chant acknowledging the physical perils of giving birth. While medical advances and greater freedom of choice inform birth in countries like England and Canada today, her book Born: A History of Childbirth argues that birth has a deep global history that proves it has always been a highwire act, shaped by both nature and culture. IDEAS explores the visceral, intimate realities of childbirth that have always been in evidence.

What's the secret weapon to make political change happen? It's not a trick question, it's simple: perseverance, says BBC Reith Lecturer Rutger Bregman. The historian envisions a "realist utopia" in this lecture and asks listeners to join what he describes as a “conspiracy of decency" — a world where Universal Basic Income, fairer taxation and stronger tech regulation can start to build a more just and resilient future. A great movement Bregman says needs radicals who push the fringes but also moderates "who are actually able to make compromises and get things done." There's a role for everyone just find a small group of committed, determined, morally-serious people and "then you can move mountains."

We live in an "age of immorality," argues historian and author Rutger Bregman. "The moral rot runs deep across elite institutions of every stripe," Bregman says in his first BBC Reith Lecture. His series of lectures describes why he is calling for a moral revolution to counter the culture of cynicism and un-seriousness among global elites. Bregman says history has proven how small determined groups have catalysed profound moral change, and that legacy should be an inspirational guide for all of us today. IDEAS is featuring lectures from the BBC Reith Lectures, this is the first episode.

This podcast seeks answers to the question. If you are left-handed then you are part of the 10 per cent of humankind that detested craft time in elementary school that involved scissors. Left-handed people often have to accommodate their difference in our dominant right-handed world. But that can get tricky if you are training to be a surgeon. Operating rooms and surgical instruments become big obstacles for left-handed people as IDEAS contributor Mark Dance finds out in his documentary exploring the history and mystery of left-handers. *This episode originally aired on May 6, 2022.

Think of science's most momentous developments in the 20th century — Einstein’s theory of relativity, quantum physics, finding evidence of black holes. If you trace the chain of discoveries that led to these breakthroughs back far enough, you’ll end up with the Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei. Theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli says we can learn a lot from Galileo today. He explains how 400 years ago, the renowned inventor was discovering new facts about the Universe to understand ourselves better — and so are we.