Understand

Understand from BBC Radio 4 - unravelling the complexities of the biggest stories and subjects that really matter right now.

Radio 4,105 episodes

Episodes

ListGrid

Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement
Trailer
The story of the power struggles that forged the green movement
24 Jun 2026,3 mins
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement
1. Rebellion
Extinction Rebellion launches one of its early occupations - against Greenpeace.
29 Jun 2026,14 mins
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement
2. The Greenpeace
Environmentalist hippies set sail to stop a nuclear test.
30 Jun 2026,15 mins
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement
3. The Ecologist
The story of an influential green magazine and the man who created it.
01 Jul 2026,15 mins
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement
4. Terror
A pair of environmentalists burn down a ski resort in Colorado, USA.
02 Jul 2026,15 mins
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement
5. Brokenhagen
The US president gatecrashes a secret rendez-vous at the world’s climate summit
03 Jul 2026,14 mins
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement
6. Arctic 30
A campaign against oil drilling in the arctic takes a dangerous turn
06 Jul 2026,14 mins
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement
7. Impenetrable
An indigenous community is evicted from its homeland for gorilla conservation.
07 Jul 2026,14 mins
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement
8. Shutdown
Protesters clash on the eve of the shutdown of Germany’s last remaining nuclear plants
08 Jul 2026,14 mins
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement
9. Crackdown
Did Just Stop Oil help lead to new laws cracking down on disruptive protest?
09 Jul 2026,14 mins
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement
10. Rival Visions
Where next for the future of the green movement?
10 Jul 2026,14 mins
Rinsed
Trailer
A sewage scandal and a centuries old battle between public good and private profit
06 May 2026,2 mins
Rinsed
1. The Bridge
After watching their local river grow murky and lifeless, two neighbours fight back.
11 May 2026,14 mins
Rinsed
2. Water Works
The centuries-old battle between public good and private profit still being fought today.
12 May 2026,14 mins
Rinsed
3. Turd Nerds
The 'Dossier of Despair' that reveals what's happening to some of Britain’s rivers.
13 May 2026,15 mins
Rinsed
4. Inkblot
We can all look the same picture, but what you make of it depends on who you are.
14 May 2026,15 mins
Rinsed
5. The Camel's Humps
Rivers work when everything is in balance, but what happens when that’s disrupted?
15 May 2026,15 mins
Rinsed
6. The Lion's Cage
The view from inside the Environment Agency.
18 May 2026,15 mins
Rinsed
7. The Eureka Moment
The data scientist, the ex-detective and the politician trying to clean up our rivers.
19 May 2026,15 mins
Rinsed
8. Sorry?
New legislation promises to slash the sewage released into rivers, but will it become law?
20 May 2026,14 mins
Rinsed
9. Vultures
As Thames Water’s finances deteriorate, “vultures” circle.
21 May 2026,15 mins
Rinsed
10. New Tricks
Could the water industry be nationalised?
22 May 2026,17 mins
How Reading Made Us
Trailer
The story of how reading made us and what might happen if we stop - with James Marriott.
05 Mar 2026,1 min
How Reading Made Us
1. How Reading Made Our Brains
Did learning to read rewire your brain? With James Marriott.
09 Mar 2026,41 mins
How Reading Made Us
2. How Reading Made Our Feelings
Did reading make us lonely, set us free, and even end torture? James Marriott investigates
16 Mar 2026,42 mins
How Reading Made Us
3. How Reading Made Our Politics
Did reading create democracy? And what does it mean for our politics if reading dies out?
23 Mar 2026,42 mins
An American Journey
1. The Pursuit of Happiness
How have Americans understood the connection between economic and democratic freedom?
19 Jan 2026,42 mins
An American Journey
2. A More Perfect Union
What does it mean to be an American?
26 Jan 2026,42 mins
An American Journey
3. Establishing Justice
How has 'justice' been understood by different generations of Americans?
02 Feb 2026,42 mins
An American Journey
4. Life and Liberty
The idea of freedom is foundational to America, but whose freedom, and what kind?
09 Feb 2026,42 mins