Sarah Montague and Michael Sandel look back at the inaugural Reith Lectures given in 1948 and 1949 by the philosopher Bertrand Russell. In Reith Revisited, Radio 4 assesses the contributions of great minds of the past to public debate, in a dialogue across the decades with contemporary thinkers. In 1948, households across Britain gathered before the wireless as the pre-eminent public intellectual of the age, the philosopher Bertrand Russell delivered a set of lectures in honour of the BBC's founder, Lord Reith. Since then, the Reith Lectures on the Home Service and subsequently Radio 4 have become a major national occasion for intellectual debate. In this series Radio 4 revisits five of the speakers from the first ten years of the Reith Lectures.

Reith Revisited: Michael Sandel on Bertrand Russell

In this year's lectures, Professor Ben Ansell asks how we can make politics work for all of us as we face the challenges of the 21st century, from climate change to AI.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Deepfakes, distrust and democracy: Billions of people will have the chance to vote this year in elections around the world. There will be campaigns in eight of the 10 most populous countries, including India and the Biden/Trump race for the White House in the US. Given the stakes, the chance for AI shenanigans is high. Sam Altman, founder of ChatGPT, has warned “of a new kind of interference that was just not possible before AI.”  It raises two basic questions: How that might work? And, what might it mean? For answers, Katya speaks with leading experts in AI and democracy, each of whom have delivered the prestigious BBC Reith Lectures:  - Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science and founder of the Centre for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence at the University of California, Berkeley  - Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, Oxford University  The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC experts around the world, with Katya Adler. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell The Global Story. Email us at theglobalstory@bbc.com. You can also message us or leave a voice note on WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480. #TheGlobalStory  This episode was made by Neal Razzell, Tom Kavanaugh and Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty. The technical producer was Matt Hewitt. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.

The Global Story: How artificial intelligence could upend 2024’s many elections

This year's BBC Reith Lecturer is Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, Oxford University and  author of “Why Politics Fails.”  
In four lectures called “Our Democratic Future,” he asks how we can build a politics that works for all of us with political systems which are robust to the challenges of the twenty first century, from climate change to artificial intelligence.   In this fourth and final lecture, recorded in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States, he interrogates a crucial question: can we continue to grow our economies without despoiling the earth?  Focusing on the existential threats created by our own innovation - from climate change to out-of-control artificial intelligence – Ansell asks whether our politics is up to the task of supporting sustainable growth.  The Reith Lectures are chaired by Anita Anand and produced by Jim Frank. 
The Editors are China Collins and Clare Fordham, and the co-ordinator is Brenda Brown. 
The series is mixed by Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill.

4. The Future of Prosperity

This year's BBC Reith Lecturer is Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, Oxford University and the author of "Why Politics Fails."  He will deliver four lectures in a series called “Our Democratic Future.”  The series asks how we can build a politics that works for all of us with systems which are robust to the challenges of the twenty first century, from climate change to artificial intelligence. 
 
In this third lecture, recorded in Sunderland, Professor Ansell explores whether we can develop a shared sense of belonging in today's polarised societies. How can we ensure that we look after the less fortunate in an economy that seems only to reward the 'already haves'? Ansell addresses the challenges posed by technologies that enrich a small elite and privatise solidarity with bespoke healthcare and benefits that might undermine collective solidarity.  And he assesses how policy reform - from universal basic income to civic nationalism - might help renew our communities.   The Reith Lectures are chaired by Anita Anand and produced by Jim Frank. 
The Editor is China Collins, and the co-ordinator is Brenda Brown. 
The series is mixed by Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill.

3. The Future of Solidarity

This year's BBC Reith Lecturer is Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, Oxford University.  He will deliver four lectures called “Our Democratic Future.” In his series Professor Ansell asks how we can build a politics that works for all of us with systems which are robust to the challenges of the twenty first century, from climate change to artificial intelligence.  The lectures build on his recent book Why Politics Fails, which identifies a series of traps that prevent us from attaining our collective goals and presents solutions to help us overcome those traps.  In this second lecture called 'The Future of Security', recorded in Berlin in front of an audience,  he asks whether citizens of wealthy countries have been lulled into a false sense of security about threats from abroad and at home. It examines how we can control the security technologies of tomorrow, from facial recognition to autonomous weapons. And Ansell suggests how we can develop technologies powerful enough to protect us without exploiting us.
 
The Reith Lectures are chaired by Anita Anand and produced by Jim Frank. 
The Editor is China Collins, and the coordinator is Brenda Brown.  
The series is mixed by Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill.

2. The Future of Security

This year's BBC Reith Lecturer is Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, Oxford University.  He will deliver four lectures called “Our Democratic Future,”  asking how we can build a politics that works for all of us with systems which are robust to the challenges of the twenty first century, from climate change to artificial intelligence.  In this first lecture, recorded at New Broadcasting House in London in front of an audience, Professor Ansell asks whether we are in a 'democratic recession', where longstanding democracies are at risk of breakdown and authoritarianism is resurgent.  And he examines how resilient democracies are to the challenges of artificial intelligence, social media and if they can effectively address core challenges from climate change to inequality.  The Reith Lectures are presented by Anita Anand and produced by Jim Frank. 
The Editor is China Collins.
Reith Co-ordinator is Brenda Brown. 
The series is mixed by Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill.

Reith Revisited: Michael Sandel on Bertrand Russell

Download our free app to listen on your phone