New Generation Thinkers: Beyond the betting shop
Arts & Ideas
BBC
4.2 • 598 Ratings
🗓️ 28 April 2021
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Darragh McGee takes the long view of the risk-based games we have played throughout history. He explores the experiences of their losers and the moral censure that their losses have attracted; from the eighteenth century gentry who learned to lose their fortune with good grace at the gaming tables of Bath to the twenty-first century smartphone user, facing an altogether more lonely ordeal. He considers the cultural history gambling - and, what the games we have staked our money on through the centuries, tell us about ourselves and society.
Producer: Ruth Watts
Dr Darragh McGee teaches in the Department for Health at the University of Bath. He is a New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to select ten academics each year to turn their research into radio. You can hear him talking about gambling in this Free Thinking episode https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000khhq
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome back to the home of the oxymoron. Evil genius. He asked the newspaper to print his obituary early so he'd enjoy it. That's like hiding at your own funeral. Yeah, a big, great gig. I'm Russell Kane. Join me to weigh in on whether the biggest players in history are more evil or genius. Becoming that rich, I'd say that is some level of genius. It also helps |
| 0:21.2 | it. It's a long time ago, right? It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream |
| 0:26.1 | van plays music when it's out of ice cream. Listen to evil genius on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:33.3 | BBC Sounds, music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:44.3 | Welcome to the Arts and Ideas podcast. I'm Dara McGee, and my essay is called Beyond the Bedding Shop. |
| 0:49.2 | Sound of Gaming, the monthly show from BBC Radio 3, which opens up the incredible world of gaming music. |
| 0:58.0 | I'm Louise Blaine, and every month I'll be featuring some of the very best gaming scores, |
| 1:04.0 | offering insights into how the music works with the gameplay, talking to composers about how they set |
| 1:09.5 | about creating their scores. |
| 1:12.1 | I've classic tracks, I've also got the latest new releases. |
| 1:17.3 | Subscribe to Sound of Gaming on BBC Sounds. |
| 1:22.0 | Have you ever placed a wager on the outcome of an uncertain encounter, be it at the roulette |
| 1:26.9 | table in a Las Vegas casino, on the Grand National Entry or on a outcome of an uncertain encounter, be it at the roulette table in a Las Vegas casino, |
| 1:28.4 | on the Grand National Entry, or on a game of tidlywinks, poo sticks, even Quidditch for that matter. |
| 1:35.1 | If you have, you'll be familiar with the roller coaster of emotions that accompany gambling |
| 1:39.8 | behaviour, the initial optimism and anticipation, the gut-wrench intention of waiting or watching, |
| 1:46.5 | perhaps even the fluttering feeling of being on the brink of a big win. |
| 1:50.8 | Regrettably, you may be more familiar with the rapid dissipation of such feelings. |
| 1:55.1 | Your adrenaline rush derailed by bad luck or a lame horse. |
| 1:59.2 | You're not alone in this cycle of emotions. |
| 2:01.6 | The ebbs and flows of gambling's allure |
| 2:03.6 | reach deep into the depths of human history. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.