

AntiSocial
BBC Radio 4
Peace talks for the culture wars.
In an era of polarisation, propaganda and pile-ons, AntiSocial offers an alternative: understanding, facts, and respect. Each week, Adam Fleming takes on a topic that's generating conflict on social media, blogs, talk shows and phone-ins and helps you work out what the arguments are really about.
In an era of polarisation, propaganda and pile-ons, AntiSocial offers an alternative: understanding, facts, and respect. Each week, Adam Fleming takes on a topic that's generating conflict on social media, blogs, talk shows and phone-ins and helps you work out what the arguments are really about.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 24, 2026 • 5min
Looksmaxxing
There's a new beauty standard on the block but instead of lip filler and face lifts aimed at women, it's a trend targeting men. The founder of the movement is the 20-year-old influencer, Clavicular, who has been taking steroids since he was 14 years old to achieve a look he thinks is attractive. Looksmaxxers recommend pseudoscientific methods such as 'mewing' and bone smashing to create a chiseled jawline. But where did this harmful trend originate from? YouTuber, Jimmy the Giant, talks about some of the jargon associated with looksmaxxing and its links to inceldom.

Feb 20, 2026 • 54min
Looksmaxxing
Peace talks for the culture wars. Adam looks at the dark art of looksmaxxing, asking what is it, where does it come from and why has it been growing online?
Adam gets a glossary of the terms around this trend. He hears how social media is influencing beauty standards. And we find out about "pretty privilege."Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producers: John Murphy, Natasha Fernandes and Annabel Deas.
Studio manager: Jack Wilfan
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy

Feb 17, 2026 • 6min
Cultural consultants
The new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights has sparked controversy online after the director, Emerald Fennell, announced that she would cast a white actor to play Heathcliff. Critics have said the decision ignores references to Heathcliff as an outsider in Emily Brontë’s original text. In recent years, there’s been a growing business to tackle cultural insensitivities in film – cultural consultancy. Co-founder of Good Form cultural consultancy, Melissa Legarda, talks about the power of authenticity in film and what her role entails.

Feb 13, 2026 • 54min
Who is Heathcliff?
Peace talks for the culture wars. The latest version of Wuthering Heights has come in for criticism on social media, especially about the casting of a white actor as Heathcliff. Chris Warburton and guests examine the debate about representation on the big screen.Presenter: Chris Warburton
Producers: Natasha Fernandes, Tom Gillett, John Murphy
Studio Manager: Andrew Mills
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy

Feb 10, 2026 • 6min
The history of nostalgia
The year 2016 is taking over the internet with people posting ‘throwback’ photos and memories from ten years ago all over their social media. It’s prompted questions over whether 2016 was a simpler time and why people have become nostalgic for that year. Agnes Arnold-Forster, a historian at Edinburgh University and the author of Nostalgia: A History of a Dangerous Emotion, talks about how nostalgia has evolved over time, from a serious medical condition in the 17th Century to a rose-tinted vision of the past.

Feb 6, 2026 • 54min
The Nostalgia Divide
Peace talks for the culture wars. Nostalgia and the cringe factor. Adam Fleming explores why 2016 is big online, especially for Gen Z. Can you really be nostalgic for things you didn't really experience. With the help of others, Adam unpicks what nostalgia is and where it came from. Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producers: Natasha Fernandes, Tom Gillett and John Murphy
Studio Manager: Andrew Mills
Editor: Penny Murphy

Feb 3, 2026 • 6min
Child-free weddings
The French state railway company has introduced child-free carriages on some of its journeys, but transport isn’t the only area being affected by the child-free phenomenon. There’s also been a rise in weddings without children. Head of Brand at the wedding planning app, Bridebook, Zoe Burke chats through some of the stories she’s come across and the polling she’s done.

Jan 30, 2026 • 54min
Child-free spaces
Should we have more child-free spaces?
The French state railway company has introduced child-free carriages on some of its high-speed trains. This has caused a row online.
Adam Fleming gets to the bottom of the story and asks if there is a growing demand for more child-free spaces. But is the debate simply a measure of growing intolerance - particularly of children - in society.Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producers: Natasha Fernandes, Tom Gillett, John Murphy
Studio manager: Andrew Mills
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Series Editor: Penny Murphy

Jan 27, 2026 • 6min
Unconscious bias
The contestants on Britain's most popular TV show, The Traitors, have faced criticism for voting out ethnic minorities early on in the game. It’s led to a slew of posts online saying this is a clear example of unconscious racial bias. Head of Psychology at Aberdeen University, Doug Martin, breaks down unconscious bias and where it comes from.

Jan 23, 2026 • 53min
The Traitors and unconscious bias
The UK's most popular TV show, The Traitors, has come under the spotlight not just because of its popularity but because it has been accused of reflecting prejudice in British society. The charge is that contestants from ethnic minorities are more likely to be expelled early on in the game because of unconscious bias, particularly unconscious racial bias. Others shows too, like Strictly Come Dancing, Love Island and Big Brother have faced similar accusations.
Adam Fleming unpicks the debate. Presenter: Adam Fleming
Production team: Charlotte McDonald, Natasha Fernandes and John Murphy
Studio manager: Andrew Mills
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy


