The Open University

New series of Word of Mouth

8 May 2025

A new six-part OU/BBC radio series of Word of Mouth begins on Thursday, May 8th, and will air weekly at 15:30 on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. The series is presented by celebrated author Michael Rosen and explores the world of words and how we use them. In the first episode, Michael talks to […]

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 […]

New OU/BBC Radio Series Inside Health

15 October 2024

A brand-new OU/BBC radio series Inside Health starts on Tuesday 15th October at 09:30 on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. The six-part series will give listeners a better understanding of various health issues, distinguishing fact from fiction and bringing clarity to conflicting health advice. The Open University academic consultants on the series, Senior Lecturer […]

Image of Evan Davis, host of The Bottom Line

OU and BBC partner for new series of The Bottom Line

15 January 2024

For nearly 10 years, The Open University and the BBC have been bringing Evan Davis and his panel of experts on The Bottom Line into your living room to share their insights on a range of subjects facing businesses. The radio series will air weekly on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds on Thursdays at 8.30pm from 18 […]

Putin’s four-hour Q&A is a valuable insight into the Russian president’s version of reality

19 December 2023

Dr Precious Chatterje-Doody is a Senior Lecturer in politics and international relations academic at The Open University and specialises in communication, misinformation and security, particularly in Russia. Here she gives her view on Vladimir Putin’s appearance at his annual press conference. Russian television audiences didn’t have much choice but to watch Vladimir Putin’s annual press […]

OU academic hunts for Martians with BBC Radio 4

6 March 2017

As part of a special week of Mars programmes on BBC Radio 4, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, Monica Grady, presents a 30 minute special programme about the search for life on the Red Planet on Monday 6 March 2017, 21:00. In Hunting the Martians, Professor Grady explores the balance of evidence for Mars […]

Radio show tribute to Asa Briggs: The Last Victorian Improver

4 January 2017

In a special ‘Archive on 4’ programme Tristram Hunt MP explores the exhaustingly energetic life of one of his heroes – the historian Asa Briggs, who was instrumental in the founding of the University of Sussex and The Open University. The programme airs on BBC Radio 4 this Saturday 7th January at 8pm. From a […]

BBC Inside Science features OU academic on water on Mars

1 September 2016

The quest to discover whether life exists, or has existed, on the Planet Mars has been one of the driving forces of space science research for decades. In a special interview with BBC Inside Science, co-produced by The Open University, Senior Lecturer at The Open University, Dr Matthew Balme, introduces us to his collaborative research, which has […]

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