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The Why? Curve

The Why? Curve

By: Phil Dobbie
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Each week Phil Dobbie and Roger Hearing get to grips with one issue that impacts our lives. It could be economic, social, technological or geopolitical. Whatever the subject, they'll talk to the experts who can give help explain what's really going on. And Phil and Roger back it up with their own research and opinions. It's half an hour to get across one of the key issues of the time, and they promise, it'll never be boring.

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Phil Dobbie Economics Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Unfriending America

    Unfriending America
    Oct 22 2026
    Is it time for the UK, Europe, Canada and others to stop trying to keep up with the latest irrational policy change from the White House? If the US is an unreliable ally, is it time to make other arrangements? Or is Washington still too dominant economically, technologically and militarily to walk away from? Phil and Roger ask Paul Whiteley, Professor of Government at the university of Essex.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    44 mins
  • Social Media Fading

    Social Media Fading
    Oct 15 2026
    Is social media on the way out? Are interactions with AI replacing the connections with friends and followers through Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok? New data suggests passive use of platforms - being shown ‘For You’ recommendations - is changing the way we engage, and the social part of social media is fading away. Could this be a good thing, if the bullying and angry intimidation also fades? Or is there a risk we will just end up talking to machines that tell us what we want to hear? Richard Rogers, Professor of New Media and Digital Culture at the University of Amsterdam, tells Phil and Roger how the landscape is changing.

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    43 mins
  • Zionism

    Zionism
    Oct 8 2026
    The Greens have caused outrage by voting that Zionism is racism. Three years after the October 7 attacks in Israel, opinion is sharply polarised, and antisemitism is on the rise, while there seems to be no relief for Palestinians in Gaza or in the West Bank. So what IS Zionism? Has its meaning changed since it began in the late nineteenth century? Does it still make sense to have a state defined by one people? Or is that the only way Jews can feel safe in a hostile world? Dr Matthew Bolton, of the School of Law, Queen Mary University of London tells Phil and Roger

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    44 mins
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