Radical with Amol Rajan
BBC Radio 4
Conversations about tomorrow, from Today.Every week Amol Rajan talks to radicals, pioneers and innovators from all over the world. From populism and climate change, to economics and AI... How can their radical ideas help you win the future?Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent.Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan will be published on Thursdays on BBC Sounds. It will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Thursdays at 11pm. Visualised versions of the podcast will also be available on BBC iPlayer and YouTube.Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast.
Episodes
Mentioned books
15 snips
May 11, 2026 • 52min
What Are the Tech Billionaires Really Like? (Your Radical Questions with Reid Hoffman)
Reid Hoffman, entrepreneur and LinkedIn co‑founder who shaped modern tech and AI investing. He discusses LinkedIn’s role in job hunting and the limits of platforms amid economic change. He talks about whether tech leaders wrestle with ethical responsibility. He describes Sam Altman’s civic drive and Elon Musk’s intense mission cultures. He warns about AI misuse while remaining optimistic about broad access.
13 snips
May 7, 2026 • 1h 8min
The Jobs Revolution: Is AI Working for You? (Reid Hoffman)
Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and AI investor, outlines AI as a fast-moving industrial shift. He discusses which tasks are automatable and how software engineering and entry-level paths will change. He talks about education for AI orchestration, risks of inequality, and practical short-term steps to build with AI.
16 snips
May 4, 2026 • 26min
Is AI Coming for Your Job? (Your Radical Questions with Matt Clifford)
Matt Clifford, co-founder of Entrepreneurs First and former AI adviser to Number 10, advocates rapid AI adoption to boost the UK economy. He tackles how AI reshapes jobs, the need for upskilling, domestic compute and investment, and how government can plan under deep uncertainty. Conversations weigh productivity gains against social cushioning and the evolving role of human creativity.
33 snips
Apr 30, 2026 • 1h 16min
Going for Growth: Can We Make Britain Wealthy Again? (Matt Clifford)
Matt Clifford, co-founder of Entrepreneurs First and chair of ARIA who advised UK leaders on AI, lays out a plan to supercharge British growth. He discusses why AI adoption could raise pay and productivity. Short takes cover risks of concentrated tech power, pensions and ownership, regional inequality, and how government choices shape the path to prosperity.
Apr 27, 2026 • 19min
How Can More Women Become Business Leaders? (Your Radical Questions with Emma Grede)
Emma Grede, serial entrepreneur and investor who co-founded Good American and Skims. She tackles why social conditioning holds women back. She talks about juggling motherhood with strict boundaries. She explains dyslexia as a practical strength. She describes what drives her and the single-minded focus she looks for in leaders.
13 snips
Apr 23, 2026 • 53min
Taking Responsibility: Are We Thinking About Success and Ambition All Wrong? (Emma Grede)
Emma Grede, entrepreneur and investor who co-founded Skims and Good American, shares her rise from East London and her book Start With Yourself. She discusses trade-offs and ruthless focus. Work-life balance as personal responsibility. Openness about pay and transparency. Motherhood, seasons of life and leading by example. Vision, ambition and practical advice for building product-first brands.
18 snips
Apr 20, 2026 • 27min
Why Are Young People Abandoning the Political Centre? (Your Radical Questions with Adrian Wooldridge)
Adrian Wooldridge, writer and Bloomberg columnist known for books on liberalism, explains why support for the political centre is slipping. He explores individualism and social loneliness. He argues for liberal education as cultural glue. He contrasts nostalgia with forward-looking nationalism and urges the centre to renew itself with younger voices and fresh ideas.
5 snips
Apr 16, 2026 • 1h 2min
Reclaiming the Centre: Is the Old Political Order Dead? (Adrian Wooldridge)
Adrian Wooldridge, long-time columnist at The Economist and author now writing for Bloomberg, argues for a revived liberal centre. He discusses liberalism’s drift since 1980, its failures in places like Malmö and San Francisco, and the need for responsibility, civic virtues and practical reforms on education, housing and tech power. He lays out a plan to renew liberalism for the modern age.
8 snips
Apr 13, 2026 • 22min
Can Technology Rescue Reading? (Your Radical Questions with James Marriott)
James Marriott, Times columnist and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s How Reading Made Us, explores whether tech can rescue declining reading and literacy. He discusses using simple phones and regulation to cut distraction. He backs gamified learning and AI tutors for phonics. He warns social media narrows imagination and highlights cultures that still prize reading.
53 snips
Apr 9, 2026 • 58min
The Reading Recession: Are We Making Ourselves Less Intelligent? (James Marriott)
James Marriott, Times columnist and author of The New Dark Ages, explores how reading shaped democracy and why its decline matters. He discusses falling leisure reading and comprehension. He links screens, short-form media and algorithms to changing attention and civic life. He suggests cultural and personal steps to revive deep reading.
