Last week I did something which was totally new for me – I went to a BBC Radio 4 recording session at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to be part of the panel for the programme The Philosopher’s Arms, debating whether or not we have a moral obligation to obey the law.
As someone who grew up listening to The News Quiz, I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, The Now Show and Dead Ringers on Radio 4 as a child, it was a very pleasant surprise to be rung up and asked to be part of their show. Although I did once give a comment to a Dutch radio station about the Heathrow No Third Runway flash mob some years ago, I’d never really been on the radio before, and so I was very excited to give it a go.
Over the years I’ve been involved with Greenpeace, I’ve been asked to do various public speaking events, from addressing University students to campaign groups and film showing audiences, which have been interesting to do and have helped spread awareness about our organisation and campaigns to a wider number of people. Although I was initially very uncomfortable about public speaking, over time and with practice I’ve become much better at it.
However, when it came to the recording session for The Philosopher’s Arms, I hadn’t realised how much more nervous I would feel when it came to talking about a subject which was incredibly important to me publicly which would be broadcast across the UK as well as to a live audience of more than 250 people. Although I’d rehearsed my answers to various questions which I thought might come up during the show, I was still worried about saying something daft, or even worse, going blank completely.
For those who’ve never listened to the programme before, the basic idea behind The Philosopher's Arms is that it’s a light-hearted look at philosophy, which examines philosophical and logical puzzles and applies them to real-world scenarios. The panel generally includes at least one academic, often two, along with some ‘surprise guests’ who have some personal experience of some of the issues being discussed. It’s a great format which seems to work really well.
As one of the surprise guests on the panel, my role was to answer questions about Greenpeace’s and my own personal views on and experiences of breaking the law as part of a non-violent direct action, but also how we work towards producing better laws which protect people and the environment from destructive practices.
I think it went pretty well, despite my nerves, and hopefully it will come across well in the broadcast, which will be an edited version of the recording, which took an hour in total, in order to fit into the time slot of 28 minutes. Please do listen in!
The Philosopher’s Arms, Series 2 Episode 4, will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 28 August 2012 at 3pm, and will be available to listen again online here. My bit starts at 17:53, but I recommend listening to the whole thing as it's a fascinating programme!
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