For Michael Morrison, the police badge is his future: his ambition, his way out of poverty, his ‘American dream’. But once he puts on his uniform, the badge starts to mean something very different. Michael takes on a new identity – but not the one he expects. Inside the force, he faces racism and violence, and on the streets he’s surrounded by hostility. Michael is stuck in the middle, between being Black and being a police officer.
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And when a routine day at work goes wrong and his career is thrown into crisis, Michael is forced to pick a side.
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In this limited podcast series hosted by Seren Jones, Michael and others like him finally get to tell their story: a story that has made them question everything they thought they knew about justice, community, and, ultimately, what it means to be both Black and Blue.
Hooked on Freddie, a U.K. original limited series from Wondery and Blanchard House, journeys back to the late 1980s to tell the gripping and controversial real-life story of a dolphin, Freddie, whose visit to Amble, Northumberland, UK, turns the sleepy seaside town upside down.
The six-part series follows Alan Cooper, a lifelong animal rights campaigner committed to freeing captive dolphins, who forms a deep bond with Freddie. But when Alan’s friendship with Freddie is turned against him – and he is accused of subjecting the dolphin to an unspeakable act – the rumours trigger a tabloid scandal that grips the nation and a legal case unlike any the courts have ever heard before. And Alan is in the fight of his life.
Seren Jones swam competitively for 13 years in the UK and in the US collegiate system. But in that time she only met six other black girls of her standard. Why so few?
A survey published by the University of Memphis and USA Swimming found that black respondents were significantly more concerned about getting their hair wet, and about the negative impact of chemicals on their appearances, than white respondents.
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In this BBC radio documentary, Seren explores whether maintaining ‘good’ hair really is the leading factor behind why black women do not take part in competitive swimming. And what, if anything, is being done about it?
As technology advances, we’re going to become more reliant on artificial intelligence. Robots are being programmed and piloted in primary schools and care-homes to teach basic maths and to help tackle loneliness. Robots are even available to provide romantic intimacy and sex. It seems inevitable that robots will play a significant role in our emotional lives, but who might benefit from them?
