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Does philosophy still matter in today's world? If so, why are students less and less interested in studying in it?

In a special episode from the IAI archives, Mary Midgley addresses the declining interest in philosophy among young people. Instead of an outdated discipline for old people with too much time on their hands, Midgley argues that philosophy is more important than ever if we wish to understand the world around us, beyond the narrow spheres of the traditional sciences.

Don't hesitate to email us at [email protected] with your thoughts or questions on the episode!

To witness such talks live, check out our philosophy festivals: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/

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Panning for gold in the murky waters of this week’s news, we found the following …

… is Sabrina Carpenter’s aunt the voice of Bart Simpson?

… is punk now just a small room in the giant apartment block of Goth?

… why band life was different for Ringo, Kathy Valentine and Clem Burke

… Barack Obama’s songs that define America and how you can’t do the same for Britain

… what you notice about the Who’s ‘Tommy’ 47 years later

… the night Tom Fogerty’s widow brought his ashes to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

… Hurrrggggh! Aah-haaaa!: the vocal trademarks of Clarence Carter, Bob Wills, James Brown and Bobby Bland

… did Select magazine REALLY once give away a giant inflatable Jarvis? (spoiler: yes)

… plus Shleep and Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt and Sam Cooke humming.

Sam Cooke humming:

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&channel=entpr&q=sam+cooke+thumming+youtube+#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:7e9fec7d,vid:ZYd8DFI5CJg,st:0

Order copies of David Hepworth's new paperback 'Hope I Get Old Before I Die' here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hope-Get-Old-Before-Die/dp/1804991996

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

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On Point news analyst Jack Beatty memorializes the courage and sacrifice of the Black men and women who served in the U.S. military in World War II.

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In front of an audience at the Hay Festival, Tom Sutcliffe hosts Radio 4's discussion programme which starts the week, bringing together three thinkers who each, in different ways, examine the stories societies tell about themselves, and how those stories become enduring myths.

Historian Antony Beevor investigates the life of Rasputin, a figure who has long hovered between fact and legend. His new work asks how a barely literate peasant from Siberia, the so-called ‘mad monk’, managed to bewitch the Romanovs, and how the wild stories that swirled around him, inexorably led to the Tsar’s downfall.

Philosopher Susan Neiman turns to the moral narratives that underpin contemporary political life. Her work asks whether universal values can still guide societies when myths of division are so compelling.

Classicist, broadcaster and performer Natalie Haynes brings the ancient world into sharp modern focus. Her retellings of Greek myths restore voice and agency to characters, particularly women, who have been sidelined or simplified by centuries of interpretation. Her latest novel, No Friend to This House, puts the abandoned Medea centre stage.

Producer: Katy Hickman

We should give ourselves healthy treats because when we give more to ourselves, we can ask more from ourselves.

Get in touch: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Visit⁠ Gretchen's website⁠ to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

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The comedy of corporate language, why a 16th century 'dark night of the soul' poem could help you through your own dark night, the experiments of J.H.Prynne, and the tenderness of boys' friendships - with Ian McMillan and guests Brian Bilston, Martha Sprackland, Daljit Nagra and Ira Lightman.

Brian Bilston's very funny books include 'You Took the Last Bus Home', and 'Alexa, what is there to know about love'? He reads from his new guide to reading and writing poetry: 'How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside'.

Martha Sprackland is a poet, essayist and poetry editor as well as a translator. She explores a poem called 'Dark Night' by the 16th century Spanish mystic St John of the Cross. It comes from her new book of translations, also called 'Dark Night'.

Daljit Nagra, poet, professor of poetry and radio presenter for BBC Radio 4 Extra reads from his new collection 'Yiewsley' (the 'Venice of West London' ) and illuminates this week's 'Neon Line' - a remarkable line in a remarkable poem.

Ira Lightman is a Verb regular, a poet and an artist. He dives into the words and ideas of J.H. Prynne, one of our most celebrated experimental poets who died in April.

The award-winning writer Deborah Levy speaks to Take Four Books about her latest novel, My Year In Paris With Gertrude Stein, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its three key literary influences.

The new book follows three female friends in Paris. There's Eva an artist in a long-distance marriage, Fanny, a sexually adventurous financier, and making up the trio, is our unnamed narrator, who is attempting to write an essay about the avant-garde American poet and art collector, Gertrude Stein. The three friends cook, walk, argue and attempt to find a lost cat.

Deborah's three choices in this episode are: Virginia Woolf's fifth novel To The Lighthouse from 1927; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, from 1961; and the poem Still I Rise by Maya Angelou which was published in 1978.

Producer: Dominic Howell

Ayşegül Savaş reads her story “Many Worlds,” from the June 1, 2026, issue of the magazine. Savaş is the author of five books, including the novels “White on White” and “The Anthropologists”; a nonfiction work, “The Wilderness”; and the story collection “Long Distance,” which was published last year.

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Author of thirteen novels, several collections of short fiction, memoirs, books for children and screenplays, Jeanette Winterson is one of our greatest and most accomplished storytellers. In her latest book One Aladdin , Two Lamps (Cape) Winterson turns to the art of storytelling itself, using the legend of Shahrazad in The Thousand and One Nights as a springboard to ask, and suggest answers to, some of the great questions: Who should we trust? Is love the most important thing in the world? Does it matter whether you are honest? And what makes us happy?

You can buy a copy of One Aladdin, Two Lamps from the London Review Bookshop.

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Now, there is a street in Dalkey that goes by the unusual name of ‘Atmospheric Road'.

This name, however, is a nod to a most unusual train, the Dalkey Atmospheric Railway, that carried passengers between Dun Laoghaire and Dalkey in the 19th Century.

Mia Sherwood Scully, Journalist and Historian joins Seán to discuss.