Radical Essay: How Is Technology Changing Our Lives? (A 2025 Review)
Radical with Amol Rajan
BBC
4.5 • 919 Ratings
🗓️ 23 December 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
From social media to artificial intelligence, one of themes of the first six months of Radical has been whether modern technology augments and improves what it is to be human or, on the contrary, degrades and damages our species.
In this final episode of 2025 Amol reflects on what he’s learned from the people he's spoken to on the podcast about how technology is changing our lives and brings you some of his personal highlights.
GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002f1d0/radical-with-amol-rajan Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent.
Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers with Anna Budd. Technical production was by Mike Regaard. The editor is Sam Bonham. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.5 | Can you believe it? |
| 0:07.1 | This beautiful little contribution to Civilisation, |
| 0:10.2 | a visualised podcast, what we used to call television, |
| 0:13.8 | called Radical, isn't so little anymore. |
| 0:16.9 | We've been going for six months, |
| 0:19.0 | 29 episodes and nearly 100 hours of golden audio. |
| 0:23.4 | And you know what? |
| 0:24.7 | It's gone really well. |
| 0:27.2 | Really well. |
| 0:28.1 | That is very, very satisfying and it is thanks to you. |
| 0:31.8 | I know there are an infinite number of claims on your time and attention. |
| 0:37.2 | So the fact that you have given so much of |
| 0:39.1 | both to us, honestly, it is humbling. And I have to say, it is the level of engagement, |
| 0:44.8 | the feedback, the questions, the love, which is most pleasing. That is why we've started |
| 0:49.5 | doing your radical questions, which drops on a Monday, and is your chance to engage very directly |
| 0:55.3 | and really connect with our brilliant guests. In fact, we've had so many questions that I reckon, |
| 1:00.8 | I reckon those episodes should be quite a bit longer. But the old pod squad, those wonderful |
| 1:05.9 | people on the other side of the glass, have overruled me on that one, and I want to be nice |
| 1:10.3 | about it it because, |
| 1:11.0 | you know, it's Christmas after all. |
| 1:20.9 | Look, today as a little festive audio gift from us to you, I just wanted to draw together |
... |
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