The Open University

New series of Saving Lives in Cardiff

9 April 2025

A new six-part series of the OU/BBC co-production, Saving Lives in Cardiff, airs today, 9 April, at 9pm on both BBC One Wales and BBC Two. The new series follows the daily decisions made by clinicians at the Cardiff and Vale University Hospitals, as they seek to transform the lives of their patients in South […]

The Secret Genius of Modern Life returns for a new season

2 April 2025

Today (2 April) at 8pm, the OU / BBC series, The Secret Genius of Modern Life, returns with a third series. The fascinating programme unpacks the amazing science and mind-boggling innovation behind everyday objects. Professor Hannah Fry is our hammer-wielding, tech-savvy tour guide to the extraordinary stories behind everything from air fryers to roller coasters. […]

New OU films for BBC Morning Live explore Dementia

26 March 2025

Two short films co-produced by The Open University and the BBC will feature on BBC One’s Morning Live programme as part of their Memories and Dementia season. Young Onset Dementia is expected to air on Wednesday 26th March, between 9:30am and 10:45am followed by Dementia Training on 28th March. In Young Onset Dementia, we hear […]

Thames Water Employees at Mogden Sewage Treatment Works, copyright: Brinkworth Productions

New series taps into crisis at beleaguered Thames Water

17 March 2025

A mix of personal stories, behind-the-scenes footage, and poignant visuals help to convey the challenges faced by Thames Water, in a new OU/BBC co-produced TV series starting on Monday 17 March 2025. The two-part series Thames Water: Inside the Crisis, will run on consecutive days and be shown on March 17 and 18 2025 at […]

Radio series Rare Earth returns for a new season

28 February 2025

Tune in weekly from today (Friday 28th February) to listen to the OU/BBC radio series, Rare Earth, return for its fourth season hosted by environmental journalist Tom Heap and physicist Helen Czerski. Listeners can tune in live on Fridays at 12pm or listen later through BBC Sounds. The new series takes us from the deepest […]

New treasures emerge from Pompeii in an OU/BBC TV programme

17 January 2025

For the second time Open University academics have been working with programme makers for the BBC on the latest exciting finds in Pompeii: The New Dig, House of Treasures. The broadcast is due to air on Monday 20 January at 9pm on BBC Two and iPlayer. It will show the results of an archaeological excavation […]

An OU/BBC Radio series examines how the UK’s major issues could be rethought

14 January 2025

A new Open University/BBC radio series called Rethink examines the emerging issues in society, economics, technology and politics in relation to the UK’s standing in the world. Simon Usherwood, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the OU, is a consultant to the programme makers who show how we might approach those issues differently. The […]

New series of Inside Health

14 January 2025

A new fourteen-part OU/BBC radio series of Inside Health starts today, Tuesday 14 January, and runs weekly on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. The series airs at 9.30am each week and will explore a wide variety of health-related topics to bring clarity to conflicting health advice and separate fact from fiction There will be […]

BBC radio show shines a light on society’s deep thinkers

6 January 2025

Academics from wide-ranging disciplines at The Open University are involved in the new BBC Radio 4 series Human Intelligence that examines the intellectual characters and methods of significant thinkers. The programme airs today, Monday, 6 January at 1.45pm, when we hear novelist and science presenter Naomi Alderman dissecting the minds of outstanding thinkers from the […]

A Special School returns for a new series

29 November 2024

Heartwarming OU/BBC series ‘A Special School’ returns to BBC One Wales and iPlayer on Monday 2nd December at 8pm. The three-part series follows the joys and challenges faced by pupils and teachers at Ysgol Y Deri as cameras once again capture the reality of life at one of Britain’s biggest special education schools. Leigh Worrall, […]

OU News