The Forum (BBC World Service)
Encyclopedia
The Forum is the BBC World Service
's flagship discussion programme. It brings together prominent thinkers from different disciplines and different parts of the world to try and create stimulating discussion, informed by highly distinct academic, artistic and cultural backgrounds.
, a writer
or other artist
, and a philosopher or cultural thinker.
Each guest is questioned by the presenter about their latest big idea, a topic area which is of particular interest to them and in which they are a particular expert. During the course of each section the other guests are invited to contribute with criticisms, insights and support of their own.
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BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
's flagship discussion programme. It brings together prominent thinkers from different disciplines and different parts of the world to try and create stimulating discussion, informed by highly distinct academic, artistic and cultural backgrounds.
Format
Each episode of The Forum brings together three thinkers, leading figures from different academic and artistic disciplines. A typical line-up might include a scientistScientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
, a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
or other artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, and a philosopher or cultural thinker.
Each guest is questioned by the presenter about their latest big idea, a topic area which is of particular interest to them and in which they are a particular expert. During the course of each section the other guests are invited to contribute with criticisms, insights and support of their own.
Sixty Second Idea
Each week one of the guests is invited to present an idea in just sixty seconds which they believe will make the world a better place. These ideas are not always practicable, but they are frequently entertaining and insightful. The 60 Second Idea and the discussion it produces is released as a podcast.History
The first episode of the show was broadcast on the BBC World Service 6 April 2008. It has been broadcast every week since then.Presenters
The programme's presenter, who has been part of the show since its inception, is BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget KendallBridget Kendall
Bridget Kendall MBE is an English radio and television correspondent.-Early life:Kendall is a daughter of statistician David George Kendall and Diana...
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Guest presenters
- Rana Mitter
- Tim MarlowTim MarlowTim Marlow is a British writer, broadcaster and art historian. He is best known for his regular feature on Channel Five - Tim Marlow on..., an occasional series in which he looks at current art exhibitions. He has also had several other art programs, radio programs and publications...
- Angie HobbsAngie HobbsAngela Hunter Hobbs is a British philosopher. Hobbs is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Warwick, and was previously a Research Fellow at Christ's College, Cambridge. She has a First Class Honours Degree in Classics acquired at New Hall, Cambridge and a PhD in Classical Philosophy from...
- Marcus du SautoyMarcus du SautoyMarcus Peter Francis du Sautoy OBE is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. Formerly a Fellow of All Souls College, and Wadham College, he is now a Fellow of New College...
- Ritula ShahRitula ShahRitula Shah is a journalist and news presenter on BBC Radio. As of January 2009, she is a regular presenter of The World Tonight, the Saturday edition of PM, and Woman's Hour on Radio 4, and The World Today on the World Service....
Distribution
The Forum is broadcast through the BBC World Service and its international broadcasting partners. The show is also available online, to download and as a podcast. There is also an online archive of all previous shows.Previous Guests
Previous guests include:- Nobel Prize winning biologist John Sulston
- Political scientist Joseph NyeJoseph NyeJoseph Samuel Nye, Jr. is the co-founder, along with Robert Keohane, of the international relations theory neoliberalism, developed in their 1977 book Power and Interdependence. Together with Keohane, he developed the concepts of asymmetrical and complex interdependence...
- Former Afghan finance minister Ashraf GhaniAshraf GhaniDr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai is a prominent politician in Afghanistan and the former chancellor of Kabul University. He is also the chairman of the Institute for State Effectiveness, an organization set up in 2005 to promote the ability of states to serve their citizens. Before returning to...
- British astrophysicist Lord Martin Rees
- Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieChimamanda Ngozi AdichieChimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian writer.Her family is of Igbo descent. In 2008 she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.-Early life and education:...
- Canadian writer Naomi KleinNaomi KleinNaomi Klein is a Canadian author and social activist known for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization.-Family:...
- Egyptian writer Alaa Al AswanyAlaa Al AswanyAlaa al-Aswany is an Egyptian writer, and a founding member of the political movement Kefaya.-Biography:Alaa Al Aswany studied to be a dentist, first in Egypt, and then later Chicago....
- Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Anthony AppiahKwame Anthony AppiahKwame Anthony Appiah is a Ghanaian-British-American philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist whose interests include political and moral theory, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual history. Kwame Anthony Appiah grew up in Ghana and earned a Ph.D. at Cambridge...
- Argentinian architect Cesar PelliCésar PelliCésar Pelli is an Argentine architect known for designing some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. In 1991, the American Institute of Architects listed Pelli among the ten most influential living American architects...
- US psychologist Steven PinkerSteven PinkerSteven Arthur Pinker is a Canadian-American experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, linguist and popular science author...
- South African judge Albie SachsAlbie SachsAlbie Sachs was a judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was appointed to the court by Nelson Mandela in 1994 and retired in October 2009...
- Polish Canadian writer Eva HoffmanEva HoffmanEva Hoffman is a writer and academic. She was born Ewa Wydra July 1, 1945 in Cracow, Poland after her Jewish parents survived the Holocaust by hiding in the Ukraine. In 1959, during the Cold War, the thirteen years old Eva, her nine years old sister "Alinka" and her parents immigrated to Vancouver,...
- British philosopher John Gray
- Mathematician Marcus du SautoyMarcus du SautoyMarcus Peter Francis du Sautoy OBE is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. Formerly a Fellow of All Souls College, and Wadham College, he is now a Fellow of New College...