The Open University

The Real CSI returns to our screens for a third series

16 May 2023

If you’re a fan of forensics put a date in your diary to watch the latest series of The Open University/BBC co-production ‘The Real CSI’. The first episode of four in this series airs at 9pm today 16 May on BBC 2 and charts the case of a brutal rape of a woman by a […]

Meet the historian on the Lady Killers team

9 May 2023

While the second series of the BBC podcast “Lady Killers” continues to entertain audiences with its feminist take on 19th and early 20th Century murderesses, we spoke to the academic consultant on the series – billed as the programme’s ‘resident historian’ Professor Rosalind Crone from The Open University. Murder most horrid sells. And when you […]

The Open University’s digital treasure trove of philosophy greats launches

3 May 2023

A film archive of some of the mid-to-late 20th Century’s finest minds in philosophy from the western world has been made available to the public through The Open University’s digital archive. The line-up of brilliant deep thinkers, both men and women, from the UK and abroad were filmed being interviewed by the OU from 1969 […]

The real Queen Charlotte

3 May 2023

Fans of the racy Netflix period drama series ‘Bridgerton’ are patiently waiting to see the spin-off prequel series ‘Queen Charlotte: a Bridgerton Story’ – so we asked an expert to tell us about the young queen. We spoke to Dr Natalee Garrett, a history lecturer at The Open University, who has researched the 18th Century […]

Three ways the ‘back to work’ budget will affect your finances

17 March 2023

Jonquil Lowe is a senior lecturer in economics and personal finance at the OU and gives her verdict on the recent budget and three key ways it will affect your finances. In the 2023 spring budget, UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled a raft of measures designed to boost economic growth and productivity. To achieve this […]

Music and mental health: the parallels between Victorian asylum treatments and modern social prescribing

10 March 2023

Rosemary Golding is a senior lecturer in music at The Open University who reveals here her fascinating research in how music was used to help patients in Victorian asylums with their mental health. Music has a powerful effect on the listener. It is linked to better mental health, and it has been shown to alleviate […]

Delving deep into the history of Welsh music

28 February 2023

Welsh Open University Music academics lent not just their individual expertise but their origins to help inform programme makers about Wales, ‘the land of song’, and the history of Welsh music in a BBC / OU co-production. ‘Wales: Music Nation with Huw Stephens’ looks at aspects of the musical history of Wales and is presented […]

Russo-Ukraine conflict one year on

24 February 2023

Dr Precious Chatterje-Doody is a lecturer in politics and international studies at the OU and specialises in communication, misinformation and security, particularly in Russia. Here she looks back on a year of war in Ukraine – lessons learned and reasons for an increasingly isolated Russia. Russia’s stated aim in invading Ukraine in 2022 was to […]

The path of Plath: Sylvia’s work more enduring 60 years on from her death

10 February 2023

It’s 60 years since the celebrated poet Sylvia Plath died, yet her work has become more enduring with the passage of time. Here Dr Jane Yeh, a lecturer in creative writing at The Open University, and an accomplished poet herself, tells us why. Sylvia Plath is the poet people most are likely to have come […]

Artemis is a new body suit for period pain – here’s why it’s named after a Greek goddess

9 February 2023

Helen King, Professor Emerita of Classical Studies at The Open University, shares her knowledge of the Greek goddess Artemis whose name has been adopted by the makers of the latest garment used to ease period pain. A new body suit to control period pain is in the pipeline – and it’s called Artemis. Named after […]

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