The Listening Project - Examining the Past to Understand the Present

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Fi Glover presents friends, relatives and strangers in conversation.

This week: 9 year old history buff Evan, and archaeologist John, consider the allure of studying the past, and what it can teach us about today; pharmacy student Anne and information scientist Douglas discuss how they came to very different conclusions about faith, and gay marriage; academics Malcolm and Tissot compare their experiences on the London rave scene; and listener Christine explains why attending an Open Air School for a term as a child had such an impact, and appeals for those with a similar experience to join her in conversation.

The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moments of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in this decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Ellie Bury

Published on Sunday, 2nd May 2021.

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We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the The Listening Project webpage.