Podthoughts by Colin Marshall: “Start the Week”

Posted by Maximum Fun on 9th November 2008


First, a declaration: your Podthinker is not one of those insufferable American Anglophiles who bows to the BBC as the apotheosis of all that is cultured, refined and respectable. Alas, the Beeb has become little more than a delivery vehicle for Graham Norton and EastEnders, but if one looks hard, one still finds some genuine diamonds in the rough. This is a much easier task with BBC radio than BBC television; even if the latter’s rapidly drying into Newton Minow’s vast wasteland, the former still has In Our Time (reviewed previously by esteemed predecessor Ian Brill), possibly the best thing ever indented, so civilization is safe. (For now.) It’s also got Start the Week [iTunes link], which is no slouch itself.

Though “Andrew Marr” is, regrettably, not as cool a name as “Melvyn Bragg”, Marr does just as good a job of moderating conversations. Each week he hosts a discussion between a handful of luminaries about the issues of the day — or at least they’re sometimes about some of the issues of the day. While the program’s mandate likely includes a nod toward topicality, whether one will hear anything to do with current happenings on Start the Week seems like an even bet; it sounds like a news program, but it’s really not. Rather than slanting toward what’s breaking, the show’s talk slants toward what’s interesting; whether what’s interesting is of relevance to contemporary goings-on sometimes matters and sometimes doesn’t. In an unhealthily news-fixated world, that kind of lassiez faire attitude is awfully respectable. And its subject range makes In Our Time‘s one-at-a-time focus look militarily rigid.

But then, what are the conversations about? Nearly anything. No Start the Week listener would be surprised to hear, on any given episode, a neuroscientist, a theater director, a television presenter (which we American blokes call a “host”) and a philosopher. Nor would he consider a group comprising a politician, an historian (which we American blokes call “a historian”), a novelist and a mathematician at all unusual. But the best part isn’t the sociological experiment that is putting them all in the same room; the best part is that each one actually reads — or watches, or hears, or eats or other applicable present-tense verb of choice — all the others’ current work and comes prepared to discuss it. While this sometimes results in bland politenesses all around, it more often than not sparks ridiculously interesting back-and-forth on a rich variety of subjects from several distinct perspectives. Often, one guest will point out an angle in another’s work that they’d overlooked, and minds will be blown all around.

Some guests are duds — one hesitates to name names, but anyone who can endure Susan Jacoby’s sour demeanor for more than thirty seconds at a stretch is officially a better man than this Podthinker — but most are emphatically not. The BBC has such pull that it can draw intellectual and commentariat superstars like Niall Ferguson, Andrew O’Hagan and Fareed Zakaria as well those less-often heard from, especially in the States, such as scum-that-is-humanity filmmaker Neil LaBute, Hong Kong’s last English governor Chris Patten and controversial former British Home Secretary David Blunkett. But in sum: thoughtful, stimulating interdisciplinary conversation about a wide variety of subjects? Truly, this Podthinker can imagine no better way to kick off Monday morning. Bacon and eggs is as nothing next to Start the Week. Pour some PG Tips to drink while listening, though — the Brits may be watching.

Vital stats:
Format: group cultural discussion
Running since: unclear, but probably a long time
Duration: ~40m
Frequency: weekly
Archive available on iTunes: only one episode at a time (or, “BBC-style”)

[Podthinker Colin Marshall takes his PG Tips with soy milk, but then again, he lives in California. Get him at colinjmarshall at gmail, suggest podcasts for Podthoughts here or submit your own podcast for the next by-Max-Funsters column here.]