The Moral Maze
Encyclopedia
The Moral Maze is a radio programme on BBC Radio 4
, broadcast since 1990.
and ethical
issues relating to a recent news story. The debate is often combative and guest witnesses may be cross-examined
aggressively. The programme is hosted by Michael Buerk
. The format is loosely based on the Select Committee procedure at the House of Westminster
, in which invited guests on a particular topic of discussion are mercilessly grilled (often to the point of humiliation) by a regular (and carefully chosen) panel (such as the MPs on the Select Committee).
Michael Buerk delivers a no-holds-barred (often irreverent) preamble
launching the topic, then introduces the first witness. In the ensuing interrogation, the witnesses are teasingly goaded into philosophically tripping themselves up (contradicting their own beliefs). Platitudes are quickly exposed for their fragility. Witnesses taken unawares by the incisive, unceremonious questioning, may then replace civility for discourteousness - usually when their arguments have been hit for six
. When being briefed for their appearances, witnesses were encouraged to be as aggressive as you like.
It is produced at the BBC North West
's New Broadcasting House
on Oxford Road in Manchester
. It is soon to be made at Salford Quays
. It is one of the few main Radio 4 programmes not to be available as a podcast.
The panellists mainly group themselves into two camps of either a pro-liberal viewpoint or a more traditional one. Claire Fox likes to have a foot in both camps. Many of the discussions revolve around whether newly-adopted liberal values are eroding more-traditional values.
Other infrequent panellists have been:
Notable former panellists include Rabbi
Hugo Gryn
(he died in August 1996); Janet Daley
; Edward Pearce
; politician Michael Gove
; Ian Hargreaves
; the philosophers Simon Blackburn
and Roger Scruton
and the historian David Starkey
.
. It was made by the Factual Unit of Religious Programmes (later called Factual Programmes Religion) at BBC North
in Manchester. It was hoped that the programme format would involve the panellists' views being revised during the course of a programme, but the reverse often would be the consequence.
In April 1991 it had moved to Tuesdays, and followed the 9.00 news, until 9.45 (a slot similar to the current In Our Time
). In July 1991, it had moved to 20.05-20.50 on Fridays, replacing Any Questions?
for the summer recess. There was then a repeat at 1pm on the fllowing Saturday, and a phone-in from 14.00-14.30, replacing Any Answers?
. There was also an end-of-year programme. In July 1992 it had moved to Thursday mornings following the 9am news. It became a de rigueur
listen for Westminster MPs. By 1997 it was fifty-five minutes long, lasting until 10am. It moved to Wednesday evenings from 13 May 1998 in the 1998 schedule changes, with a repeat of the forty-five minute programme on Saturday night at 22.15, .
Michael Buerk has presented the programme since August 1990.
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, broadcast since 1990.
Structure
Four regular panellists discuss moralMorality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
and ethical
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
issues relating to a recent news story. The debate is often combative and guest witnesses may be cross-examined
Cross-examination
In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination and may be followed by a redirect .- Variations by Jurisdiction :In...
aggressively. The programme is hosted by Michael Buerk
Michael Buerk
Michael Duncan Buerk is a BBC journalist and newsreader, most famous for his reporting of the Ethiopian famine on 23 October 1984, which inspired the Band Aid charity record.-Early life:...
. The format is loosely based on the Select Committee procedure at the House of Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, in which invited guests on a particular topic of discussion are mercilessly grilled (often to the point of humiliation) by a regular (and carefully chosen) panel (such as the MPs on the Select Committee).
Michael Buerk delivers a no-holds-barred (often irreverent) preamble
Preamble
A preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subject of the statute...
launching the topic, then introduces the first witness. In the ensuing interrogation, the witnesses are teasingly goaded into philosophically tripping themselves up (contradicting their own beliefs). Platitudes are quickly exposed for their fragility. Witnesses taken unawares by the incisive, unceremonious questioning, may then replace civility for discourteousness - usually when their arguments have been hit for six
Hit for Six
Hit for Six is the first full-length studio album by English punk rock band, Consumed. It was released in November, 1999 on American independent label, Fat Wreck Chords.- Track listing :*All tracks written by Consumed#"Sunny Side Up" – 2:29...
. When being briefed for their appearances, witnesses were encouraged to be as aggressive as you like.
It is produced at the BBC North West
BBC North West
BBC North West is the BBC English Region serving Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Walsden in West Yorkshire, the Isle of Man , north-west Derbyshire, the Yorkshire Dales including Settle and Ribblesdale, and southern Cumbria.BBC North West television output is also broadcast in...
's New Broadcasting House
New Broadcasting House
New Broadcasting House is the home of the BBC on Oxford Road in Manchester city centre. The studios house BBC Manchester, BBC North, BBC North West, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Religion and Ethics department...
on Oxford Road in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. It is soon to be made at Salford Quays
Salford Quays
Salford Quays is an area of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in...
. It is one of the few main Radio 4 programmes not to be available as a podcast.
Panellists
The regular panellists are:- Claire FoxClaire FoxClaire Fox , also known as Claire Foster, is a British writer. She is the director and founder of the British think tank, the Institute of Ideas, and a prominent former member of the Revolutionary Communist Party....
- Clifford Longley
- Kenan MalikKenan MalikKenan Malik is an Indian-born English writer, lecturer and broadcaster, trained in neurobiology and the history of science. As a scientific author, his focus is on the philosophy of biology, and contemporary theories of multiculturalism, pluralism and race...
- Michael PortilloMichael PortilloMichael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister...
- Melanie PhillipsMelanie PhillipsMelanie Phillips is a British journalist and author. She began her career on the left of the political spectrum, writing for such publications as The Guardian and New Statesman. In the 1990s she moved to the right, and she now writes for the Daily Mail newspaper, covering political and social...
- Matthew TaylorMatthew Taylor (Labour politician)Matthew Taylor is Chief Executive of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in the United Kingdom.-Background:...
The panellists mainly group themselves into two camps of either a pro-liberal viewpoint or a more traditional one. Claire Fox likes to have a foot in both camps. Many of the discussions revolve around whether newly-adopted liberal values are eroding more-traditional values.
Other infrequent panellists have been:
- Anne McElvoyAnne McElvoyAnne McElvoy is a British journalist for The Economist and Evening Standard, and a Radio 3 presenter.-Early life:McElvoy attended St Bede's RC Comprehensive School in Lanchester, County Durham and read German and Philosophy at Wadham College, Oxford...
- Geoffrey RobertsonGeoffrey RobertsonGeoffrey Ronald Robertson QC is an Australian-born human rights lawyer, academic, author and broadcaster. He holds dual Australian and British citizenship....
Notable former panellists include Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Hugo Gryn
Hugo Gryn
Hugo Gabriel Gryn was a British Reform rabbi who was a popular broadcaster and a leading voice in interfaith dialogue....
(he died in August 1996); Janet Daley
Janet Daley
Janet Daley is an American-born British journalist who is currently a columnist and leader writer for the Daily Telegraph.-Life and career:...
; Edward Pearce
Edward Pearce (journalist)
-Life:Edward Pearce was brought up in Darlington, where he attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. He then studied at Oxford.Embarking on a career in journalism, in 1977 he became a leader writer for the Daily Express. In 1979 he moved to The Daily Telegraph, where he wrote leaders and sketches on...
; politician Michael Gove
Michael Gove
Michael Andrew Gove, MP is a British politician, who currently serves as the Secretary of State for Education and as the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for the Surrey Heath constituency. He is also a published author and former journalist.Born in Edinburgh, Gove was raised in Aberdeen...
; Ian Hargreaves
Ian Hargreaves
Prof Ian Richard Hargreaves is Professor of Journalism at the Centre for Journalism Studies at Cardiff University, Wales, UK...
; the philosophers Simon Blackburn
Simon Blackburn
Simon Blackburn is a British academic philosopher known for his work in quasi-realism and his efforts to popularise philosophy. He recently retired as professor of philosophy at the University of Cambridge, but remains a distinguished research professor of philosophy at the University of North...
and Roger Scruton
Roger Scruton
Roger Vernon Scruton is a conservative English philosopher and writer. He is the author of over 30 books, including Art and Imagination , Sexual Desire , The Aesthetics of Music , and A Political Philosophy: Arguments For Conservatism...
and the historian David Starkey
David Starkey
David Starkey, CBE, FSA is a British constitutional historian, and a radio and television presenter.He was born the only child of Quaker parents, and attended Kendal Grammar School before entering Cambridge through a scholarship. There he specialised in Tudor history, writing a thesis on King...
.
History
The first programme on Monday 20 August 1990 was forty minutes long from 11am, and followed by Poetry PleasePoetry Please
Poetry Please is a weekly radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in which listeners request poems, which are then read by a cast of actors. The current presenter is Roger McGough...
. It was made by the Factual Unit of Religious Programmes (later called Factual Programmes Religion) at BBC North
BBC North
BBC North is a brand used by the BBC to mean any of the following.*The large BBC North region, centred on Manchester, that was active from the late 1920s until 1968....
in Manchester. It was hoped that the programme format would involve the panellists' views being revised during the course of a programme, but the reverse often would be the consequence.
In April 1991 it had moved to Tuesdays, and followed the 9.00 news, until 9.45 (a slot similar to the current In Our Time
In Our Time (BBC Radio 4)
In Our Time is a live BBC radio discussion series exploring the history of ideas, presented by Melvyn Bragg since 15 October 1998.. It is one of BBC radio's most successful discussion programmes, acknowledged to have "transformed the landscape for serious ideas at peak listening time"...
). In July 1991, it had moved to 20.05-20.50 on Fridays, replacing Any Questions?
Any Questions?
Any Questions? is a topical debate radio programme in the United Kingdom.-Format:It is broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on Friday evenings and repeated on Saturday afternoons, when it is followed by a phone-in response programme, Any Answers?, previously a postal response slot...
for the summer recess. There was then a repeat at 1pm on the fllowing Saturday, and a phone-in from 14.00-14.30, replacing Any Answers?
Any Answers?
Any Answers? is the companion programme to BBC Radio 4's Any Questions?, in which a panel of notable figures drawn from politics, media or the arts are asked for their views on current affairs by members of a studio audience....
. There was also an end-of-year programme. In July 1992 it had moved to Thursday mornings following the 9am news. It became a de rigueur
Costume de rigueur
The term "costume de rigueur"[p] refers to a strict dresscode for the attire worn at a special event or in a particular venue. It is commonly used in invitations to a bal masque for the Mardi Gras in Mobile or New Orleans Mardi Gras in the U.S. However, the term is also used to describe any...
listen for Westminster MPs. By 1997 it was fifty-five minutes long, lasting until 10am. It moved to Wednesday evenings from 13 May 1998 in the 1998 schedule changes, with a repeat of the forty-five minute programme on Saturday night at 22.15, .
Michael Buerk has presented the programme since August 1990.
TV pilot
In early 1994 a television version was considered, which eventually took off on Saturday 10 September 1994 on BBC2. It was a trial series of six 45-minute-long programmes broadcast around midnight. It had audiences of around 1.3 million. It last broadcast on 15 October 1994 at 23.00.See also
- List of national radio programmes made in Manchester
- The Choice (radio series)
- Heart of the Matter - Joan Bakewell BBC1 programme