LRN No.2: the things I am bursting to tell you
Plus: why some anti-lockdown pundits prefer it on Zoom
People become journalists because they enjoy telling people things. That makes it very hard when you’ve uncovered something you’re truly excited about, and you have to wait for it to go out before you can tell anyone about it. Believe me, it hurts when your mouth is as big as mine.
I have a book out in March, and a radio series that launches on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4 on September 11. Both contain extraordinary stories that I still can’t quite believe are real, and I’m finding hard to keep to myself.
My six-part radio series is called The Gift, and is about the uncomfortable truths that can be revealed when people take DNA tests for fun. (Which they do, by the way, in their tens of millions. At least one in 20 British people have done it, and many more in the USA. Maybe you have? If you’ve found anything interesting, let me know.)
Over the last couple of months, I’ve been living with the burning joy of hearing so many great stories, the agony of having to keep my powder dry, and the burden of responsibility to tell them the best way I can. It’s the best and the worst part of my job.
When I’m allowed to share, you will hear all about it here first.
Since I wrote the last LRN, Sky News have allowed me back in the studio - after three and a half years of doing their Press Preview on Zoom. I was far too overexcited to be back in the building. (No one should be this happy about being in Osterley.)
What began because of lockdown continued because of convenience. Doing the Press Preview remotely allowed for a greater range of voices, from people far away from London - and meant Sky didn’t have to pay for any cabs.
But it also meant panellists couldn’t see each other’s faces and expressions. We couldn’t tell if our fellow paper reviewer was nodding in agreement or exploding with indignation. We couldn’t really tell when it was our turn to talk, unless the presenter called on us by name. So it was really great to be back in the flesh. There’s going to be a mix of in-person and on-Zoom Press Previews from now on, I think, which makes sense.
Some pundits - even those who are most critical of lockdown - are quick to see the benefits of being on Zoom, though. Last Friday I was a panellist on BBC News’s The Context, alongside the American Economist and lockdown sceptic Steve Hanke. He took the opportunity to flash his new book, ‘Did Lockdowns Work?’, waving it around at his laptop camera during our discussion.
I have never been brazen enough to do this, but it’s harder to get sex robots into general current affairs chat, perhaps.
Things that have caught my eye (and ear):
The Retrievals - an extraordinary podcast from The New York Times and Serial productions about fertility treatment, addiction, pain and medical misogyny. So well done.
This episode of Front Row informed me that podcasts are 20 years old, which made me feel old. It’s an interesting dive into the past, present and future.
I finally got round to watching the Black Mirror episode, Joan is Awful, which gave me a strange insight into why Hollywood actors might be striking.
I was centimetres away from the action at the Bridge Theatre’s production of Guys & Dolls. Totally joyful - and very reassuring that audiences are trusted to be this close, even though we’re supposed to be so badly behaved.
I’m off on holiday for a bit soon, so LRN No.3 might come a little late, depending on whether France is too hot for people to venture outdoors.