It’s a regular, if not always a reliable source of news. Without gossip, cafes, bars and workplace water-coolers would often be silent. But why do so many of us feel the need to discuss other people’s lives? Gossiping’s been punished in the past, but it’s big business now and may, Mike Williams explains, even be good for us

Produced by Chris Bowlby

(Image of two girls gossiping to one another. Credit: Science photo library)