The Sunday Edition: The cost of being ugly
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today we look back on one of our favourite episodes from the past few months: a deep dive into the economics of beauty, with Tom Whipple.
Do looks matter? Pulchronomics, the study of economics and beauty, says they do. But just how much impact does being attractive have on your love life, career and happiness? Are our fortunes really determined by our looks?
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.com/subscribe
Guest: Tom Whipple, Science Editor, The Times.
Host: Luke Jones.
Producer: Priyanka Deladia.
Times Poll: How attractive are you? Rate yourself out of five
Clips: Britain’s Got Talent ITV/Thames.
Photo: Times Design, Getty Images.
Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, Luke here. Every weekend we raid the story archive. |
| 0:09.0 | Today, we have this for you. |
| 0:17.0 | From The Times and the Sunday Times, this is the story. |
| 0:22.6 | I'm Luke Jones. |
| 0:29.2 | I don't know quite how to describe it emotionally, whether it was heartwarming or horrible. |
| 0:36.3 | What's your name, darling? |
| 0:37.6 | My name is Susan Boyle. |
| 0:39.3 | Okay, Susan, and where are you from? |
| 0:41.9 | I am from Blackburn, near Bathcake, West London. |
| 0:44.0 | It was that moment in 2009 where Susan Boyle appeared on Britain's Got Talent, |
| 0:50.1 | and she turned up on stage, and she was, you know, I think we can say she was a dowdy, frumpy woman |
| 0:57.3 | and she did not look like she should be on the Britain's Got Talent stage. |
| 1:04.0 | How old are you, Susan? |
| 1:05.4 | I am 47. |
| 1:09.5 | And that's just one side of me. |
| 1:13.4 | And by this stage, we knew what the genre demanded. |
| 1:17.7 | We knew that this was a stage in the contest where you had the hopelessly deluded people that we could laugh at. |
| 1:24.9 | And here was another one of them. |
| 1:26.8 | But of course, actually, the producers knew exactly what was going to happen, |
| 1:30.2 | which is she had an incredible voice. |
| 1:32.8 | And she stood up and she sang and the world was wowed. |
| 1:38.3 | I dreamed a dream and time gone by. |
... |
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