Rethinking our national and international issues

Posted on 4 June 2025 • TV and radio

If you’ve ever wondered how a major emerging national or international issue might play out through alternative solutions by decisionmakers, then check out The Open University/BBC radio series Rethink on BBC Radio 4.

The OU’s Professor of Politics and International Studies Simon Usherwood was the consultant to programme makers for this third series that looks at a range of topics under discussion by different experts each week.

They gather in a studio to give their opinion on subjects ranging from social housing to the civil service, productivity, our relationships with China and summer holidays.

Ideas to make the world a better place

It’s a series that contains 5 episodes and invites the latest thinking and research, via a roundtable discussion, where new ideas are put forward that might make the world a better place. Tune in each Thursday at 4pm or listen on BBC Sounds.

Simon said: “Rethink offers an opportunity to reconsider the world around us in a new light. From letting teams of workers decide how to allocate work, to asking whether tourism risks destroying the very things that tourists value, each episode challenges us to ask whether we can’t do things better.

“Having the chance to help the programme team develop these ideas and to help connect them with leading experts has been tremendous fun and works very well with The Open University’s mission to make what can often be quite involved subjects more accessible to everyone.

“The range of topics is really impressive; I hope everyone will find something new to learn, just as I have.”

Supporting Online content:

Visit our Broadcast and Partnerships site OU Connect where you can find out more on how the ideas we’re discussing in this series are making us re-think our future, particularly around how the UK’s housing market differs from other countries and how when it comes to your holiday travel, is it possible to make an environmentally responsible decision on a budget?

This film was commissioned by Broadcast and Partnerships and is supported by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, with particular relevance to BA (Hons) Social Sciences, BA (Hons) Politics, Philosophy and Economics and Introducing the Social Sciences.

• Commissioned by Dr Caroline Ogilvie, Director, Broadcast and Partnerships

• Academic Consultant: Professor Simon Usherwood

• Media Fellow: Professor Zoe Walkington

• Broadcast Project Manager: Jo Shipp

• Supporting Online Content: Matt Ray