The Open University

Treasure trove for lovers of documentary film

20 November 2023

From the BBC’s Planet Earth and ITV’s Seven Up! to Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler these documentaries are a well-loved and huge part of our culture and heritage that attracts audiences in their millions. Now The Open University’s short course, A Story of Documentary Film, co-produced with the British Film Institute (BFI), takes a long look […]

Cameron’s appointment – a party trick or a clever move? Academic comment

20 November 2023

It’s a week since Rishi Sunak made the surprise appointment of former PM David Cameron as foreign secretary, so we spoke to The Open University’s Dr Richard Heffernan, a Reader in Government, who specialises in British politics, to see what he makes of the situation. There were raised eyebrows from political commentators when former prime […]

Drugs Map of Britain returns for a gritty new series

8 November 2023

A new series of the hard-hitting OU/BBC co-production Drugs Map of Britain delves into the world of drug users and dealers, laying bare the evolving makeup of Britain’s youth drug culture. Airing on the 8th of November at 10.30pm on BBC Three, the documentary series focuses on how certain drugs are widespread in cities across […]

Gertrude Bell – the death of an unusual woman

2 November 2023

Open University creative writing PhD student Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone, a distant relative of explorer, archaeologist, writer and diplomat Gertrude Bell, delves into history to discover the circumstances leading up to the overdose that cut short the life of a brilliant woman. In the centenary year of the founding of The Iraq Museum, Rebekah’s studies into the […]

Halloween Horrors: Feel the fear and watch it anyway

31 October 2023

As the nights draw in and the spooky season is here, many of us turn to scary stories on screen to indulge in a little bit of supernatural fright so we asked Dr Mark Fryers, lecturer in Film and Media at The Open University for his top spooky film recommendations. Once derided as infantile at […]

Image shows four Metropolitan Police Officers with the words 'The Met' written across the middle of the image

OU/BBC Series ‘The Met’ Returns for a fourth series

24 October 2023

A captivating fourth series of The Met, co-produced by The Open University (OU) and the BBC, is set to air on BBC One tonight (Tuesday 24 October) at 9pm. The six-episode series provides insight into the Metropolitan Police in the face of complex cases. Filmed over ten months, the series offers an unfiltered look into […]

It’s all about Dolly…

3 October 2023

A music academic has captured the attention of a popular BBC music programme after she wrote a short analytical course based on the work of country music icon and singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Now Dr Marie Thompson is to feature on the BBC Radio 4 Soul Music programme, which looks at the work of musicians who […]

‘Thrilling’ BBC documentary airs about the history of the Union

2 October 2023

The turbulent history of how Great Britain evolved is dissected in an intriguing Open University/BBC co-production – Union with historian David Olusoga – which reaches the small screen tonight (Monday 2 October). The four-part series airs on BBC Two at 9pm and charts the history of the Union from the 1600s – a century defined […]

£2.72m EU research funding hopes to manage extremist views

25 September 2023

An international team of academics led by The Open University has won £2.72m research funding, (€3.16m) to help people manage the development of extremist views at home and abroad in the run up to major political events. Psychologists at the Open University are working on developing tools for the project that has been funded by […]

Locked up – but given the gift of a new future

19 September 2023

Open University history professor Rosalind Crone features in a new film commissioned by the Ministry of Justice showing how prisoners are being given new skills by training them for roles in the catering industry. “Served” is a 40-minute film available on YouTube that charts the progress of a team of prisoners from HM Prison Lincoln […]

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Category: Arts and social sciences