A podcast for the summer

The BBC’s ‘Arts and Ideas’ weekly podcast is a thematic exploration of important concepts that shape our everyday lives. The podcast attracts excellent guests and takes an exciting interdisciplinary approach that draws on disciplines including literature, politics, science, environmentalism and history.

I would heartily recommend this podcast to all Year 12 students thinking about their UCAS applications and the writing of their personal statements. The episode ‘Free speech, censorship and modern China’ (19 March 2024) would be great for students considering applications for Politics or International Relations, while the NHS New Thinking health series (30 June - 4 July 2023) is perfect for those thinking about medicine and health sciences. I, meanwhile, have been saving ‘The Life of Objects’ episode for my next pile of ironing because ‘thingness’ is directly - and excitingly - relevant to my PhD research.

The very best UCAS personal statements communicate a student’s personal academic interests in a dynamic and thoughtful manner. It is all too easy for students to regurgitate the contents of an A Level syllabus in order to convince admissions tutors that they really are interested in their chosen subject. In fact, this does nothing more than prove that the student is studying for A Levels or the IB, which is exactly what a university expects.

A UCAS statement is, however, transformed by the sparkle of genuine interest and academic engagement and a podcast likes ‘Arts and Ideas’ introduces students to leading thinkers, writers and academics. In doing so it provides excellent opportunities for the sort of individual research that leads to a truly original UCAS application.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrvk3/episodes/downloads