Timandra Harkness
Presenter, Writer & Lapsed Comedian
Radio

My BBC Radio 4 Archive Hour (21 December 2019, 8pm BBC Radio 4), asked if Britain really is a more Divided Nation than for fifty years, or does it just feel that way? On a lighter note (mostly) I weave together the stories of Five Knots, also for BBC Radio 4, repeated January 2021.

My new series for BBC Radio 4 in 2021 is Steelmanning, in which I tackle issues like nuclear power, surveillance technology, the morals and politics of what we eat and how we die.

It's a follow up to How To Disagree, in which I tried to convince you that disagreement is good, but we're mostly doing it badly. If I don't convince you, at least I'll equip you to disagree with me better. How To Disagree: a beginner's guide to having better arguments went out on BBC Radio 4 and is now available on iTunes or here.

Podcast and BBC Radio series FutureProofing explores ideas that look set to shape our future. Leo Johnson and I talk to experts in science, technology, politics and philosophy to find out how our world, and we ourselves, could change.

My first contribution to radio was probably a topical pun for a comedy show, and I co-wrote BBC Radio 4 comedy No Future In Eternity, about two angels who are made redundant and have to move in with an astronomer. I've recorded travel features on riding bulls in Texas, camping with Australians at Gallipoli, and flying across the Channel in a microlight.

From 2013-2016 I was resident reporter for Radio 4 social psychology series The Human Zoo, more of an exhibit than a zookeeper. As well as How To Disagree and FutureProofing, I've presented documentaries Data, Data Everywhere, Personality PoliticsSupersense Me What Has Sat-Nav Done To Our Brains? & The Singularity for BBC Radio 4 and Are You A Numbers Person? for the BBC World Service. They're all still on the BBC Sounds if you're really keen. And of course I pop up on other people's programmes, like the time the Infinite Monkey Cage tackled Big Data.

I'm experimenting with making my own podcast, without the aid of producer, sound engineer, or anybody except Jonny Best who improvised some music for it. Aptly called Timandra Harkness Takes A Risk, you can listen here:

 Let me know what you think.

AUdimat font by SMeltery. "Graphy" background licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Subtle Patterns.
Site by Craig Fairnington