16/09/2026
Live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories. #moralmaze
Radio and PodcastLive Radio & PodcastsReligion & Spirituality
Moral Maze
Combative, provocative and engaging live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories. #moralmaze
Episodes
20 of 280 episodesHow should we respond to warnings of end times and catastrophe?
America’s Vice-President, J. D. Vance, has been talking about the end of the world, saying he “wouldn’t be shocked” if the Anti-Christ was w...
How should we respond to rising mental distress?
A record one in seven people in England were prescribed antidepressants in the last year, according to NHS figures. More than nine million p...
Data Centres: Whose Thirst Comes First?
AI data centres are expanding across the UK and around the world. Tech giants and governments see them as essential infrastructure for futur...
Are networks the glue of society or the architecture of privilege?
Michael Buerk chairs a special debate from the Hay Festival examining the morality of networks. The release of the Epstein files has been a...
Are America's founding ideals a reality or a myth?
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal, endowed with unalienable rights... life, liberty and the pursuit of happines...
Do we care more about the place where we live than about the nation we live in?
If Andy Burnham has a four-word philosophy, it is 'the politics of place', a phrase he uses often. Burnham argues that politics must concent...
What Makes Us Human?
In his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV warned that artificial intelligence threatens the dignity of the human person. Hu...
Is the World Cup morally compromised?
The 2026 World Cup is the biggest in the tournament's history, with 48 teams playing 104 matches across three countries: The United States,...
Who is morally responsible for Britain's political short-termism?
A Labour leadership challenge would mean Britain could have a seventh prime minister in a decade. Each change of leadership promises renewal...
What is education for?
Universities across the country are cutting back on humanities courses – philosophy, history, modern languages – subjects long seen as centr...
Artemis 2 and the ethics of human space flight
Today, humanity reaches towards the Moon once more. The first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years. But as NASA’s Artemis 2 lifts off,...
Is an Established Church Morally Defensible?
The Church of England marks a historic moment: the installation of its first female Archbishop of Canterbury. A symbol, many would say, of p...
Economic shocks: is there a duty to accept sacrifice?
Rising oil prices triggered by war have renewed fears of an economic shock. Governments are already under pressure to step in: to cap prices...
Pragmatism and Principle: what is the role of morality in foreign policy?
Relations between Britain and the United States have rarely been described as simple, but they have long been called special. Yet in recent...
Is it moral to attack Iran?
Conflict has deepened in the Middle East since the United States and Israel launched a coordinated wave of air and missile strikes across Ir...
What Is Truth?
What is truth? In a special edition of The Moral Maze, we discuss perhaps the most significant question in all of human thought. It sits at...
What's the bigger threat to Europe: "cultural erasure", or far-right populism?
Tommy Robinson's carol concert claimed to be "putting Christ back into Christmas". Church of England Bishops quickly pointed out that Christ...
Should children be banned from social media?
As Australia begins its pioneering social media ban for under-16s, governments around the world will be watching closely. The move, which re...
The Jury: Moral Innovation or Historic Relic?
The jury trial has been around for almost 1,000 years. Magna Carta, in 1215, enshrined the principle that “No free man shall be... imprisone...