Can video games change lives? And, if so, how? 50 years after the arrival of Pong, gamer and writer Keza MacDonald considers what gaming has done for us. Using the rich BBC Archives, she explores how video games grew from a niche pursuit to a cultural phenomenon which stokes the imagination of, and offers agency to, those who fall for its charms. Games now influence who we are, what we think and how we act. Keza speaks to collectors, competitive gamers, psychologists, games designers and, mostly importantly, gamers young and old to find out what impact games have had on us. We hear about the deep relationships that millions cherish with Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong, and illustrate the entanglement of life and gaming that is increasingly impossible to sever.  Presenter: Keza MacDonald 
Producer: Gary Milne

Generation Games

Seriously is home to the world’s best audio documentaries and podcast recommendations, and host Vanessa Kisuule brings you two fascinating new episodes every week.

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25th April 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of Portugal's 'Carnation Revolution', which overthrew the authoritarian dictatorship of the Estado Novo ('New State') which had governed Portugal since the 1920s. A largely bloodless revolution, marked by the carnations that were placed in the rifles of the soldiers, it led to the successful establishment of democracy in Portugal and the integration of more than half-a-million 'retornados' - returnees - Portuguese citizens from its former African colonies. Portugal's revolution was indeed televised, and recorded in sound. One of those who bore witness to its aftermath was journalist, and former Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow, who reported from Portugal at the time for LBC Radio. At this important anniversary, he remembers his time there, and tells the story of what unfolded, through archive and interviews with those who organised and lived through those heady days of April 1974.  Presenter: Jon Snow
Producer: Michael Rossi With thanks to RTP (Rádio e Televisão de Portugal) and LBC for archive.

Portugal’s Carnation Revolution

In literature and film, night trains are the setting for intrigue and romance, espionage and sudden death. And in real life too they’re places of possibility and the expectation of new adventures. Writer Horatio Clare boards a train to Vienna for a night-time journey across Europe… and into the archive, aboard night trains of decades past.  His journey begins at the Gare de l’Est in Paris, the departure point for the original Orient Express. He looks back to the golden age of the Wagons-Lits, sleeper trains with wood-panelled cabins, an attendant in every carriage ready to be summoned and dining cars where evening dress was obligatory. It was an era which provided rich inspiration for writers and Horatio evokes his predecessors who used night trains to tell stories of brief encounters, betrayal and, of course, murder.  But luxurious Wagons-Lits are only one part of the story. Other travellers find themselves on very different night-time journeys. There are the rucksack-lugging student inter-railers of the ‘70s and ‘80s, sleeping in train corridors on expeditions of discovery (and self-discovery); the perils of sharing sleeping compartments with strangers; and the Ukrainian refugees reluctantly taking the ‘Rescue Express’ westward as they fled the Russian invasion.  After a long period of decline, night trains are on the rise again as new routes open up across Europe. Maybe it’s because we’re tired of the indignities of budget air travel but it’s also driven by the “Flight Shame” and “Train Brag” movements - a growing awareness that travelling by train is better for the planet. “I’m on a train” is no longer an apology for a poor phone signal. Now it’s a claim to the moral high ground. Horatio’s journey doesn’t quite go to plan. But as he overcomes the challenges and navigates his way to Vienna, he discovers that night trains have always taken our imaginations to new destinations. Produced by Jeremy Grange for BBC Audio Wales and West

Night Train

For the last decade, True Crime has become ubiquitous on television and podcasts. Yet despite its current popularity, it’s not a new phenomenon. In this programme, author Charles Nicholl take us back to a time before podcasts, TV, pulp magazines, even Penny Dreadfuls – all the way to the English stage 400 years ago when, for the first time, playhouses were putting contemporary news onstage. Presenter: Charles Nicholl Actors: Rhiannon Neads, John Lightbody, Michael Bertenshaw, Josh Bryant-Jones, Ian Dunnett Junior
Sound design: Peter Ringrose
Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko

True Crime 1599

In this series, teenage boys from all over the UK talk frankly to Catherine Carr about sex, consent, life online, fun and friendship. They discuss porn, their struggles at school and becoming men. In the first episode, they talk candidly about what it is like to be a boy in 2024. They reflect on where they get their ideas about masculinity from, and whether those might be different if they lived elsewhere in the country. They also discuss the importance of role models - if they have them. Catherine also hears from adults making a difference in boys’ lives and finds out how examples of masculinity online can put real pressure on boys thinking about what it means to be a ‘successful man’. To listen to the rest of the series, just search for About the Boys on BBC Sounds. Thanks to  South Dartmoor Community College 
Dr Martin Robb, Open University
DRMZ Carmarthen Youth Project 
Thomas Lynch from Dad's Rock
Elliott Rae Founder of MusicFootballFatherhood
Cambridge St Giles Cricket Club
Dance United Yorkshire
Movember
Rebecca Asher Author ‘Man Up How Do Boys Become Better Men?’ Producer: Catherine Carr 
Researcher: Jill Achineku
Executive Producer: Marie Helly  A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

About the Boys - Episode 1

With criminal gangs now controlling most of Haiti's capital and no function government, Mike Thomson explores what caused this spiralling descent to Anarchy in this predominately Christian, Caribbean country, where more than half its eleven million French and Creole speaking people live below the poverty line. Mike looks for answers with help from Haitians, experts and political leaders who’ve lived through many of their nation’s recent social upheavals and natural disasters. Producer: Ed Prendeville
BBC Audio in Cardiff

Generation Games

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