Alain de Botton - Radio

Radio

In 2011 he presented a series of talks for the BBC Radio 4 series A Point of View.

  • What Humanities Should Teach: Arguing teachers of humanities in universities have only themselves to blame for cuts in funding.
  • News and Concentration: Examining our inability to concentrate.
  • The Ecological Sublime: A philosopher's take on ecological dilemmas.
  • Are Museums Our New Churches?: Argues that museums could learn from churches with regard to getting their message across.
  • In Praise of the Nanny State: Asks why the idea of a Nanny State is so unappealing.
  • On Marriage: Muses on why a bookish life is a poor preparation for marriage.
  • In Praise of the Zoo: Muses on the value of exotic animals in giving perspective on our own lives.
  • The Art of Conversation: Questions why we put so much effort into social encounters but leave conversation to chance.
  • What's in a Marriage?: Argues that expecting one person to be a good partner, lover and parent is, almost, asking the impossible.
  • On Social Climbing: Argues that social climbing should be seen as evidence of a natural curiosity about the modern world.
  • Modern Parenting: Takes a witty look at modern parenting.
  • The Advantages of Pessimism: Why pessimism is the key to happiness.
  • A Point of View: podcast

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Famous quotes containing the word radio:

    “Denouement to denouement, he took a personal pride in the
    certain, certain way he lived his own, private life,
    but nevertheless, they shut off his gas; nevertheless,
    the bank foreclosed; nevertheless, the landlord called;
    nevertheless, the radio broke,

    And twelve o’clock arrived just once too often,”
    —Kenneth Fearing (1902–1961)

    “... the ... radio station played a Chopin polonaise. On all the following days news bulletins were prefaced by Chopin—preludes, etudes, waltzes, mazurkas. The war became for me a victory, known in advance, Chopin over Hitler.”
    —Margaret Anderson (1886–1973)

    “Having a thirteen-year-old in the family is like having a general-admission ticket to the movies, radio and TV. You get to understand that the glittering new arts of our civilization are directed to the teen-agers, and by their suffrage they stand or fall.”
    —Max Lerner (b. 1902)