by BBC Radio 4
<p>Combative, provocative and engaging live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories. #moralmaze</p>
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June 27, 2024
<p>Taylor Swift fever has swept the UK week. She’s back in August and fans have been paying hundreds sometimes thousands to get their hands on seats through resale sites. It’s led us to think about the price and value of art and culture. St Thomas Aquinas came up with the ‘just price’ theory, that it is wrong to sell something for more than it is worth and charging more based on the need of the buyer is exploitative and sinful. Is that what is going on when punters are asked to stump up for a once in a lifetime experience? In Latin the word pretium means both value and price, but the two are not interchangeable when it comes to the arts. How can you put a price on a potentially transcendent experience, or the life changing power of art? Is that what makes good art and is that what is worth paying for? Do live events culture have a value in itself aside from the economic impact? What does it mean for society when people are priced out? Should governments pick up the bill to make sure everyone has access to the arts. Or are they just an indulgence, a nice way to spend your leisure time but not something deserving of funds in comparison to global problems like poverty or malaria.</p><p>Presenter: Michael Buerk Panel: Inaya Folarin-Iman James Orr Professor Mona Siddiqui Matthew Taylor</p><p>Witnesses: </p><p>Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the IEA Professor Mel Jordan, Professor of Art and the Public Sphere, Coventry University Matt Reardon, Advisor at 80,000 Hours Professor Paul Gough, Vice Chancellor of the Arts University Bournemouth</p><p>Presenter: Michael Buerk Producer: Catherine Murray Assistant Producer: Ruth Purser Programme Co-ordinator Nancy Bennie & Pete Liggins Editor: Tim Pemberton</p>
June 20, 2024
<p>The way we grieve is changing and that is seen most starkly by the rise of the direct cremation and the no fuss funeral. I in 5 people of people opted for a direct cremation last year, a startling figure that’s risen 3 fold in 5 years. At it’s most basic the direct cremation means the final journey is purely functional. Body taken unaccompanied to an unknown crematorium. You can even get the ashes posted back through the letterbox. It's cheaper and you can mark the last hurrah with a party or memorial service or perhaps even nothing at all. What does this changing trend say about our respect for human dignity as a society or is this just another step in the removal of religion from the lives of a significant part of the population. </p><p>Only a quarter of people in the UK now want a religious funeral. The rise of direct cremation could also be a sign that mourners are throwing off the shackles of inherited tradition and religious belief to decide how they want to grieve. Direct cremations and DIY celebrations cut out the reality of death and if there’s no grieving at the graveside or standing in a crematorium what do we lose? There's another aspect to consider. The digital afterlife is one where someone never leaves. Grieftech can keep us in touch with AI loved ones . Instead of the finality of a funeral we could be conversing forever with the deceased. Do we need a final farewell?</p><p>Presenter: William Crawley Panellists: Anne McElvoy, James Orr, Matthew Taylor, Ella Whelan Witnesses: Rosie Millard, Dr Madeleine Pennington, Justin Harrison, Prof Linda Wheeler. Producer: Catherine Murray & Peter Everett Assistant Producer: Ruth Purser Editor: Rajeev Gupta</p>
June 17, 2024
<p>It will soon be time to vote in the General Election. A moment for us all to play our part in democracy. The theory is that politicians do their best to get elected, and then do all the right things so they are re-elected next time round. But in practice it can be difficult for governments to do what really needs to be done and still stay in power. A good example is climate change: There is a broad consensus that very urgent action is needed, and yet as the election nears, there's little from the major parties promising radical, decisive action, because they fear that voters don't really want it.</p><p>If liberal democracy can’t solve our problems, can it at least unite us around the principle that everyone’s point of view is worth hearing? Well no, not any more. For every listener to good old Radio 4 there are many more who get their news from social media and their opinions from their silo of friends. Is it too cynical to suggest that voters are short-sighted, selfish and stubbornly wrong-headed? And what about the quality of our leaders? Does anyone think our political system is serving up the nation's finest?</p><p>Some say our democracy isn’t democratic enough. They fear excessive influence by lawyers, quangos, peers, and press barons. Others applaud activists for challenging the worst excesses of a corrupt Commons. Three cheers, they say, for the unelected European Court of Human Rights and the judges who go easy on civil disobedience while thwarting the Home Office over asylum policy.</p><p>Do we still believe that our democracy is morally the least-worst system, when it seems incapable of producing long-term solutions to the most urgent problems? Can we learn anything at all from authoritarian states that seem better at simply getting things done? In this special edition of the Moral Maze, recorded at the Hay Festival, we ask - what is the moral basis for claiming that our version of democracy is superior? </p><p>Presenter: Michael Buerk Producers: Jonathan Hallewell, Peter Everett and Ruth Purser Editor: Tim Pemberton</p>
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