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The Today Programme (BBC Radio 4)
| New Year's Day 2007 - 07:00 - 09:00 hours |
We hope to have the relevant sound files available for download soon, but in the meantime, use the BBC listen again facility to try the following. You can compare what we intended (outlined below) with the outcome!
07:16 - Maps and GIS (Vanessa Lawrence, Director General of the OS and Hon Vice President of the GA)
07:18 - Diaspora (a story showing 'butterfly effect news' - and global connectedness)
07:30 - The Idea of Europe (Richard Schofield, Kings College London)
07:32 - Mywalks (Duncan Fuller)
08:17 - European expansion
08:35 - Sport (interview with Ben Saunders – Hon Vice President of the GA)
08:40 - Teen space (Hannah Bosher Y10 student)
08:50 - Discussion (Prof Doreen Massey - and the G Team!)
You may also be interested in Thought for the Day (07:45) which we requested could take an environmental theme.
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This is a 'Listener Editor' edition of The Today Programme. The editors are the 'G-Team', an inter-generational editorial collective of geographers:
- Hannah Bosher: Year 10 geography student, Langtree School Oxfordshire
- David Lambert: Chief Executive of the Geographical Association
- Dan Raven Ellison: Head of Geography, Langtree School Oxfordshire and Co-founder of the Give Geography its Place campaign.
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The G-Team won a listener vote via the Today Programme website in November 2006 - read the original bid.
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| Revealing the 'G Spot' in current events and issues |
According to the Stern Report on climate change:
"Climate change could have very serious impacts on growth and development... Such a radical change in the physical geography of the world must lead to major changes in the human geography where people live and how they live their lives." Thus, G is for Geography!
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All other things being equal, the G-Team has control over around half of the programme. However, breaking news may scupper these plans...
Our main ideas are as follows (in no particular order):
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Geographical Understanding. In one sense to say that geography matters is to state the self evident - we all live somewhere and live 'geographically' as we move from home to work, on holiday, to the shops and so on. Professor Doreen Massey presents a specially commissioned three-minute essay to show it is how we think about geography that is significant.
Doreen delivered the Inaugural Open University radio lecture on 5 November 2006 as part of the Liverpool/Radio 3 Festival of Ideas, and broadcast on the Radio 3 Night Waves programme between 9:30pm - 10:30pm on 9 November 2006. A low quality MP3 of the lecture is available to download below.
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The Power of Geography. Some estimates suggest that around 85% of information can be located. It comes from somewhere, which means it can be mapped. The Ordnance Survey is the national mapping agency and its data underpins much of the nation's economic activity. The Director General and Chief Executive, Vanessa Lawrence, will explore the vital role of geography in modern society via a live interview with one of the presenters, possibly in the company of Rita Gardner, Director of the Royal Geographical Society.
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'Our Space'. Hannah explores the freedoms and constraints placed on teenagers in their use of community space. This includes an interview with the Children's Minister, Beverly Hughes MP.
We also hope that the geographer Tracey Skelton will be able to comment on this piece.
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'Mywalks' features the originator of the idea, the geographer Duncan Fuller. It is about (re-)engaging with our immediate day-to-day, local, taken-for-granted environments through the medium of photography and 'audiography'. Why? For the simple reason that all too often we don't - we autopilot as we dash from place to place with a focus on where we're going, not where we are and what is there. Find out more about Mywalks. This item links with the launch of the brand new University of Northumbria Mywalks website.
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Borders. On 1 January 2007 two new states join the European Union (EU). The expansion of the EU often provokes discussion about the free movement of people and the economic, cultural and social implications. This item pursues a broader question – where is the eastern 'border' of Europe? Following this report geographer Richard Schofield is interviewed by one of the Presenters about the wider significance of borders - possibly citing some particularly interesting examples of positive and negative impacts of human made borders. This item will also feature contributions from travel writer Ed Gargan in Beijing
Butterfly-Effect News. News reports often tend to lean towards historical narratives, especially when seeking to provide wider 'contexts' or deeper insights. Butterfly news explores the spatial connectivity of people and places. As an example, the item investigates diasporas and the importance of 'now'. What are the geographies of people and the social, economic, political and environmental processes at work?
Today, Now. This item will provide soundscapes of five places on different continents. Emerging from these 'audiographs' will be ordinary people's hopes and fears for their place. In some languages the question 'where are you from?' translates as 'where do you belong?' - this item aims to say something about place and identity.
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Limits. If borders and boundaries are key ideas in geography, then it is easy to see why geographers are often interested in limits, margins and edges. There is a link here with sporting endeavour, in which the competition to succeed spurs men and women to push the limits - of technology and endurance - but also of environment, as in 'extreme' or adventure sports. Ben Saunders, who will present the GA's annual Public Lecture entitled 'Impossible is Just an Opinion' in Derby 2007, and geography teacher Ruth Hollinger who is set to visit the Antarctic in 2007 will be interviewed about their attitudes to 'limits' and their respect for physical environments.
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Interview with the G-Team. Hannah, Dan and David will discuss the programme live with Ed Stourton and Sarah Montague. They will try to convey their enthusiasm for geography - based on their passionate belief that geography is a subject that prepares aware and better prepared citizens. In this context it was interesting to see the Schools Minster Jim Knight MP quoted in Hansard (23 November 2006) suggesting that the new Pilot Geography GCSE should be a qualification for all current and intending MPs, as the syllabus aims to deepen understanding of globalisation, sustainability, interdependence, inequalities and diversity.
If you would like to explore the world of geography - and think about the world in a relational way - have a look at the Relation Browser.
If you would like to explore the world of geography education, have a look around the GA website! You may find the Projects area a useful starting point...
Also recommended are:
www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk
www.rgs.org
www.passion4geography.co.uk
www.geographyinthenews.rgs.org
www.subjectassociation.org.uk |
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