274 | The Politics of Loneliness

David talks to economist and author Noreena Hertz about loneliness and its impact on all our lives.  How does the experience of loneliness shape contemporary democracy?  What kind of politics could make us feel more connected?  Can technology bring us together or is it driving us further apart?  Plus we discuss the consequences of the pandemic for the future of work and the possibility of building a better world.

269 | Whose Work is it Anyway?

David and Helen talk with Diane Coyle about what the pandemic has revealed about the changing nature of work.  Who is doing more of it?  Who is still getting paid for it?  Which jobs are not coming back?  Plus we explore the impact of the digital revolution on how we get rewarded for what we do and we ask whether the big tech firms can continue to hoover up so many of the rewards.  Is Jeff Bezos really worth it?

158 | Paul Mason on the Human Future

We talk to Paul Mason about his new book Clear Bright Future - a radical defence of the human being in the age of digital transformation and a call to political action.  The book covers a lot of ground and so do we: Trump and Nietzsche, machine learning and network effects, climate change and neoliberalism, secular humanism and Christian Enlightenment.  But no Brexit!  A conversation about the biggest political choices we face and the deep philosophical questions that lie behind them.  With Helen Thompson.