Radical with Gabriel Gatehouse

This week, Amol is joined by the tech billionaire Reid Hoffman. Hoffman is best known for creating the largest professional network in the world, LinkedIn, and revolutionising the world of work. His radical idea is that he wants to do it again with a rapid adoption of AI in the workplace in a way that is safe and ethical. The question is, how?

In this episode we ask one of the world’s richest men why he thinks AI could change the workplace for better and for worse, whether billionaires should pay more tax, and his former relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

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Amol puts your questions, queries, and concerns about AI to Matt Clifford, co-founder of Entrepreneurs First and former AI adviser to Number 10. Matt is a strong advocate for Britain’s rapid uptake of AI to boost the economy, but what are the risks? We asked him about capitalism, tech stifling creativity, universal basic income, how the UK government deals with the speed of AI development, and what the impact on inequality might be.

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Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He also hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor of The Independent newspaper.

Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Rufus Gray and Oscar Pearson. Technical production was by Ricardo McCarthy. The Senior News Editor is Sam Bonham.

This week, Amol speaks to Matt Clifford, co-founder of Entrepreneurs First and former AI adviser to Number 10. Matt’s radical idea is simple; he wants to make Britain wealthy again by supercharging economic growth. He argues that economic stagnation has left the UK with flat living standards and wages. In short, he says, Britain needs a pay rise - and the way to get it is through a rapid adoption of AI, and backing entrepreneurs.

But what are the challenges? Amol and Matt discuss the potential winners and losers in the AI revolution, the dangers of cutting red tape, and whether economic growth really is the best way of improving our lives.

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Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Rufus Gray and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Ricardo McCarthy. The Senior News Editor is Sam Bonham.

This week, Amol puts your questions to the businesswoman Emma Grede - from opportunity and motivation, to how dyslexia can contribute to our work ethic and the way we approach tasks.

Emma Grede is the co‑founder of Skims, created with her husband Jens and Kim Kardashian, and the CEO and co‑founder of Good American, a fashion label known for its focus on inclusivity. She also serves on the board of the Obama Foundation and is an ambassador for The King’s Trust.

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* WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 

* Email: [email protected]

Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday.

Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC’s media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. 

Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made Lewis Vickers, Anna Budd, Rufus Gray, and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davies. Technical production was by Mike Regaard. The Senior News Editor is Sam Bonham.

This week, the entrepreneur Emma Grede challenges ‘old thoughts’ about work-life balance, money, motherhood and success. She argues that focus, trade-offs and relentless effort matter more than comfort. From growing up in East London to building global businesses, she makes the case that opportunity still exists, if you’re willing to chase it. But are her ideas liberating - or just unforgiving?

Emma Grede is the co‑founder of Skims, created with her husband Jens and Kim Kardashian, and the CEO and co‑founder of Good American, a fashion label known for its focus on inclusivity. She also serves on the board of the Obama Foundation and is an ambassador for The King’s Trust.

GET IN TOUCH 

* WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 

 Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday.

Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC’s media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. 

Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers, Anna Budd, Rufus Gray, and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Mike Regaard. The Senior News Editor is Sam Bonham.

Amol puts your Radical questions to Adrian Wooldridge, a Bloomberg columnist and author of ‘Centrists of the World Unite: The Lost Genius of Liberalism’. They discuss individualism and society, a decline in support for the centre ground, the potential dangers of nostalgia, and how the political centre could engage young people.

GET IN TOUCH 

* WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 

* Email: [email protected]

Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday. 

Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC’s media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. 

Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Rufus Gray and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davies. Technical production was by Jonny Baker. The editor is Sam Bonham.

This week, the columnist and author Adrian Wooldridge joins Amol to argue that liberalism is not only the best ideology for the future, but that it’s also under serious threat. Wooldridge sees populist movements on the right and identity-focused politics on the left as potentially fatal to liberal principles. The once dominant post-war philosophy has had a bad rap recently, so why should we bring it back? Has liberalism itself grown complacent? Is it now an out-of-touch establishment, failing to address modern challenges like social cohesion and corporate power? To survive, Wooldridge says, we must take radical steps to renew liberalism for the modern age and embrace the political centre again.

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Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC’s media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. 

Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Rufus Gray and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davies. Technical production was by Jonny Baker. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Amol runs through your questions with the Times columnist James Marriott. They take on whether we could use technology to encourage people to do more reading, pessimism on social media, and whether we risk changing our sense of what it means to be human when we lose our connection to imaginary worlds in books. James’s Radio 4 series ‘How Reading Made Us’ is available now on BBC Sounds.

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Amol presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor of The Independent newspaper.

Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers and Rufus Gray with Anna Budd, Cordelia Hemming and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davies. Technical production was by Johnny Hall. The editor is Sam Bonham.

This week, the columnist and writer James Marriott argues that reading is essential to the rise and fall of liberal democracy. He proposes that reading helps the spread of information, encourages critical thinking, and forces people to structure their ideas logically.

But he’s concerned the shift from deep reading to digital skim-reading - driven largely by screens - is weakening our ability to think in complex, reflective ways. He suggests the decline has political consequences - that a less literate, more screen-dependent public may be more vulnerable to misinformation and less capable of meaningful democratic participation.

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Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers and Rufus Gray with Anna Budd, Cordelia Hemming and Oscar Pearson. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Johnny Hall. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Yale political theorist and author of Politics Without Politicians, Professor Hélène Landemore, answers your questions about her radical vision for replacing electoral politics with citizen‑led democracy. She answers questions on app‑based referendum systems, how to persuade politicians to embrace open democracy, and why ‘de‑bundling’ policies could lead to decisions that better reflect the public.

They also explore how the architecture of parliamentary buildings shapes, and sometimes limits, effective governance.

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Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent.

Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers, Anna Budd and Rufus Gray. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Mike Regaard. The editor is Sam Bonham.