Start the Week

Tom Sutcliffe, Adam Rutherford

Booking Overview

A weekly cultural-affairs discussion programme examining major ideas across society, politics, science, literature, and technology, typically featuring several external authors, academics, journalists, and other cultural figures per episode. Credible pitches include prominent writers with new books, leading researchers, public intellectuals, and expert commentators with a strong cultural or social argument; booking difficulty is high.

Metrics

Episodes: 654

Frequency: Weekly

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Estimated listeners: 1k-10k

Gender skew: Neutral

Location: United Kingdom

Contact Information

podcast.support@bbc.co.uk

For verified host and producer emails, sign up to view.

Host

Tom Sutcliffe - British writer, critic, and broadcaster known for presenting cultural programmes on BBC Radio 4.

Adam Rutherford - Geneticist, author, and broadcaster who presents programmes on science, society, and culture.

Booking Intelligence

Booking Requirements

high
Typical Credentials:  
Published authors, established academics and researchers, journalists, artists, and other recognized cultural or subject-matter experts with authoritative perspectives and a current book or major project.
Required Achievements:  
Published books from established publishers, Academic or professional authority in a relevant field, Recognized journalism, artistic, or research careers, Distinctive arguments connected to significant social or cultural issues

Recent Guest Discussions

Meena Kandasamy - Online Misogyny, Deepfakes, Digital Mob Violence, And Political Conflict On The Internet.

Katherine Dunn - GPS Technology, Digital Infrastructure, Navigation, Commerce, And Technological Fragility.

Beeban Kidron - Digital Platforms, Online Power, Civic Action, And Technology’s Effects On Society.

Daljit Nagra - Working-class Upbringing, Race, Migration, And Cultural Change In Britain.

Natasha Carthew - Poverty, Coastal Communities, Austerity, Second Homes, Seasonal Work, And Marginalisation.

Recent Topics

Society, Politics, Science, Literature

Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on
Start the Week
:

Life Online: Power, Risk and Resistance

June 22, 2026

How has life online reshaped society in real life? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, Tom Sutcliffe is joined by 3 guests who are investigating the digital sphere, and in some cases resisting its ubiquity.The filmmaker Baroness Beeban Kidron exposes how digital platforms exploit and divide in her book, Users: How Big Tech Took Control and How to Fight Back. She argues for more political and civic action to counter their unchecked influence. The business journalist Katherine Dunn explor...

Working-Class Lives: Identity and Political Fractures

June 15, 2026

What has happened to working-class identity in Britain? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, Adam Rutherford explores the political fractures within families and communities.Nicola Wilding discusses These Wild English: A Family, a Class, a Country on Fire, tracing three generations of her family and the pull of belonging, nationalism and far-right politics amid economic decline. Natasha Carthew draws on her personal experience of growing up poor in Cornwall in her latest work. Rough Edge...

Scientific discovery and misunderstanding

June 08, 2026

How have we made discoveries about the world around us and how has our understanding changed when we got it wrong? Adam Rutherford hosts Radio 4's discussion programme which starts the week, asking about the the nature of scientific discovery, understanding and changing our mind. Andrea Wulf's latest book is The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and his Search for Humanity. She has reassessed the botanist and ethnologist who accompanied Captain Cook's second voyage, taking h...

podcast.support@bbc.co.uk

For verified host and producer emails, sign up to view.

Get your clients booked on top podcasts

Try us risk free with a FREE 3 days trial.

Start Your Free Trial

Join hundreds of PR teams using Podseeker to pitch and land bookings