About this episode
Tonight I explored the idea that, in many ways, time feels as though it is running backwards. With Paul and our other contributors, I ranged across architecture, music, humour, transport, public life and the steady loss of quality, craft and character in the modern world. We compared the beauty and durability of older buildings, trams, buses and trains with the sterile, disposable systems that have replaced them, and asked why so much of what once worked brilliantly has been ripped out, standardised or cheapened.
From there, the conversation widened into language, law, technology and culture. We talked about how words are used to shape thought, why definitions matter, how modern systems encourage passivity, and why so many people feel disconnected from place, purpose and one another. There was plenty of railway talk, a detour through CERN, dreams, dishwashers, and the absurdities of modern life, but the heart of the discussion was simple enough: how do we recover quality, independence, common sense and a sense of belonging in a world that seems determined to flatten everything into blandness?
- Food Finders Hub: https://foodfindershub.com/
- Paul English Live: https://paulenglishlive.com/
- English Constitution Society: https://www.englishconstitutionsociety.co.uk/
- Dr. Tom Cowan: https://drtomcowan.com/
- CERN: https://home.cern/about/
- Ainsley Harriott: https://www.ainsley-harriott.com/
- Spike Milligan: https://www.spikemilligan.co.uk/
- National Express: https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/home1
- Siemens Mobility UK: https://www.mobility.siemens.com/uk/en.html
- BYD: https://en.byd.com/
- Royal Mail: https://www.royalmail.com/
- DHL UK: https://www.dhl.com/gb-en/home.html
- Rumble: https://www.rum.group/
- Telegram: https://telegram.org/
- eBay UK: https://www.ebay.co.uk/
- Wickes: https://www.wickes.co.uk/
- Holland & Barrett: https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/
- Grape Tree: https://www.grapetree.co.uk/
- Blackpool Tramway: https://www.blackpooltransport.com/blackpool-tramway
- Magna Carta (UK Parliament): https://www.parliament.uk/magnacarta/
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