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Melvyn Bragg steps down from presenting In Our Time

(www.bbc.co.uk)
290 points aways | 8 comments | 04 Sep 25 06:18 UTC | HN request time: 0.608s | source | bottom
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mellosouls ◴[04 Sep 25 07:49 UTC] No.45124731[source]▶
Its odd that when places like HN or Reddit ask for favourite podcasts the amazing resources of BBC radio (that precede all modern internet podcasts and the best of which still wipe the floor with most of them) are often forgotten.

In Our Time represents the best of the form, and the BBC, and that's significantly down to the excellence of Bragg.

The archive (you may need a VPN outside the UK):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/episodes/player

Some curated lists:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2Dw1c7rxs6DmyK0pMR...

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1. calpaterson ◴[04 Sep 25 08:18 UTC] No.45124922[source]▶
> the amazing resources of BBC radio (that precede all modern internet podcasts and the best of which still wipe the floor with most of them) are often forgotten

I don't know, there are some definite bright spots like IOT but the typical output of Radio 4 is definitely not massively in advance of the big podcasts. The Rest Is History/Politics are clearly hugely popular inside the UK and basically constitute "the competition" for your average R4 listener.

I actually think that the podcast model is a big threat for traditional radio. Podcasts are much more lucrative for the makers, the reach is as-big (or bigger) and you don't have to negotiate with the government like R4 does.

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2. mellosouls ◴[04 Sep 25 09:49 UTC] No.45125437[source]▶
the typical output of Radio 4 is definitely not massively in advance

I agree, I chose the wording "best of" rather than "typical" for that reason.

For instance, I regret the asinine tendency to provide "humourous" expositions of subjects in the various programmes co-chaired by second-rate comedians and apparently aimed at what low-expectations BBC execs feel young people can handle.

3. secondcoming ◴[04 Sep 25 09:55 UTC] No.45125462[source]▶
I was a massive fan of TRIP at the start but these days I find it tedious to listen to sometimes.
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4. Thaliana ◴[04 Sep 25 10:53 UTC] No.45125802[source]▶
The News Agents has almost entirely replaced TRIP for me. I still like some of their Leading interviews but TRIP itself I've gone right off.
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5. adammarples ◴[04 Sep 25 13:26 UTC] No.45127041[source]▶
TRIP was formed in the turbulence of the crashing conservative governerment and it was a breath of fresh air to have people close to the inside who were commenting on unfolding events nearly daily while also saying all the things that traditional media didn't. I looked forward to TRIP every time Boris blundered so that I could hear the guys disect it with a few personal anecdotes thrown in from their time in power. Now, there's nothing much new about hearing Alasdair talk about Tony Blair again and I don't think the centrist dad approach has anything much to say about Kier Starmer's government.
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6. physicsguy ◴[04 Sep 25 20:23 UTC] No.45131825[source]▶
There are podcasts I like but a lot of the popular ones in the UK are very self indulgent. The Rest Is Politics is definitely one of those. They're also able to be opinionated in a way that the BBC's output obviously can't be as a state broadcaster. I always find the BBC output more professionally scripted, presented and edited as well, even if the content is similar. Some podcasts are horrendous at not balancing the audio - Not Another One (politics) is one of those even though I think it's great.
7. physicsguy ◴[04 Sep 25 20:29 UTC] No.45131881{3}[source]▶
I find Political Currency better these days since Ed Balls and Osborne are at least both people who had very key political roles in their own right (Balls during the Blair government in the Treasury with Gordon Brown, then Shadow Chancellor, Osborne as part of Cameron's rise to power and Chancellor), plus there's the odd tidbit of opinion on the current government which you sometimes wonder whether is coming through from inside knowledge due to Balls being married to Yvette Cooper.
8. secondcoming ◴[04 Sep 25 20:37 UTC] No.45131949{3}[source]▶
I've heard about The News Agents before but never really checked it out.

I fear Emily Maitlis will annoy me more than Alistair Darling does though. Can't win.

There's always The Rest Is History for neutral interesting information!