From parking wardens generating record profits for councils through to bans on smoking and busking, the authorities are making more and more previously normal activities illegal or subject to onerous regulation. Yet it is not clear who benefits from this micromanagement of our lives.
Here, Josie Appleton talks about her new book, 'Officious: The rise of the Busybody State', which examines the causes and consequences of this trend.
Podcast of Ideas General Election special: D Day, selection madness and the return of Farage
Podcast of Ideas: General Election specials, episode 1
Net Zero: can the economy and democracy survive?
Understanding Modi's India
Religion in schools: protecting or neglecting the faithful?
Square-eyed screenagers: are phones corrupting our kids?
Disunited Kingdom: the rebirth of nations?
Is AI the end of art?
The politics of hate: is everyone a bigot but me?
Should we leave the European Convention on Human Rights?
Power play: who really rules today?
Why do comedians keep siding with the Establishment?
Podcast of Ideas: 24 February 2024
Reviving economies: Is the state a help or a hindrance?
Deifying diversity: a value for our times?
What would a Labour government look like?
Football fans, farmers and failed pledges - Podcast of Ideas
WhatsAppened to privacy?
Let's talk about race
Still in the race: understanding Trumpism
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