George Severs talks to Laura Bates about the Everyday Sexism Project.

In this podcast, I explore the way people talk about pain. Is it really 'beyond language', as some people argue? Or do people-in-pain use complex metaphors to describe their feelings?How do languages of pain change over time?

May 2016

In this podcast with Prospect Magazine, I explore the modern history of death. Medical science is now able to prolong human life in a way that was unthinkable even ten years ago. But is it in our interest to extend life in that way?  And how is digital technology affecting our ability to mourn?

16 March 2018

I explore the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on violence against girls and women. The pandemic exacerbated, not created, the problem of sexual and domestic violence in our society. 

11 November 2020

Men, masculinities and violence. Why do some men value physical violence as a resource? We also discuss stag parties, deviance and consumerism.

1 December 2016

What is pain? You know it when you feel it, but it’s almost impossible to properly describe. And it turns out, our idea of what that suffering is and means has changed significantly over the centuries. I explore how knowing the history of pain helps us acknowledge our own sorrows and the suffering of others.

February 2017

I discuss Siegfried Sassoon and his celebrated protest against the 1914-18 war.

21 June 2017

When you say you have a splitting headache, or pain is shooting through your legs you know exactly how it feels, but others may not. Pain is subjective and personal so the context in which we sense it can fundamentally affect your experience of it. I explore how people in the past have coped with painful ailments, and what we can learn from them today.

30 July 2017

Why do some people feel more pain than others and what happens in the brain during surgery? Irene Tracey asks if we can see pain generated in the brain using high tech scanners.

23 January 2018

Scientists reveal why we feel pain and the consequences of life without pain. Phantom limb pain, babies’ pain, people without pain, aid the understanding this subjective experience.

1 February 2018

I explore how soldiers in battle learn to deal with pain.

5 February 2018

Matthew Sweet in conversation with me about animals and post-human love; Anna Tsing discusses her online project Feral Atlas - a new look at the interconnected world. 

24 February 2021