Are we entering an era when robots will finally liberate people, and particularly women, from the drudgery of housework? There is certainly a buzz around domestic robots right now and every month seems to bring us a new autonomous machine that can fold your clothes or stack your dirty dishes. But while impressive, these robots are still much slower and clumsier than any human, even a child. The foundations of modern robotics were laid back in the 1950s and yet progress since then has been slow and uneven. So what has been holding it back?
Iszi Lawrence discusses the past and present of domestic robots with robot designer Usman Roshan, robot historian Dr. Ben Russell, writer of robot fiction Emma Braslavsky and Dr. Maartje de Graaf who studies robot errors. Plus World Service listeners tell us about their favourite robots.
(Photo: An artist's impression of a robot cleaning a house. Credit: Maciej Frolow/Getty Images)
20 Sept 2025TRANSCRIPT
Weddings: romance and ritual
One of the first recorded examples of a marriage ceremony is dated more than four thousand years ago in Mesopotamia. And it seems that through the ages, weddings have never lost their appeal. The global wedding industry is today worth billions of dollars, and it’s one that keeps on growing.
While aspects of weddings differ across many cultures, they celebrate the coming together of two people in a form of contract which establishes rights within the couple. Historically, marriages were often economic, legal and social tools; the love aspect that some marriage ceremonies came to represent was developed much later.
Iszi Lawrence investigates how weddings have changed over time with a panel of expert guests, including Dr Vicki Howard, Visiting Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Essex (UK) and the author of Brides, Inc.: American Weddings and the Business of Tradition; wedding planner Marie Haverly, Deputy Head of the Business School and senior lecturer in event management at the University of Winchester in the UK; and wedding photographer Shanaya Arora, one half of Nitin Arora Photography which she founded with her husband. Shanaya is also the host of WED FM India, a podcast all about weddings.
Produced by Fiona Clampin for BBC World Service.
(Photo: Comet and Phakalane Mmisi, dance just after they were married, Johannesburg, South Africa, 11 July 2008. Credit: Per-Anders Pettersson / Getty Images)
16 Aug 2025TRANSCRIPT
The unfolding history of the magazine
When magazines first emerged, they were the preserve of an elite who could afford to pay for them. But as time went on, the cost of paper fell, printing technology became more streamlined, literacy improved and would-be publishers spotted an opportunity to connect with audiences hungry for information and entertainment.
Magazines found a place to appeal to all types of interest, in the same way that the internet does today. In their heyday they attracted some of the best writers such as Charles Dickens and Ernest Hemingway, sometimes acting as a vehicle to establish literary careers. Later magazines were to become the go-to place for quality photography and design.
Falling advertising revenues have largely contributed to the decline of printed magazines, as well as editions moving online. However some titles have found a way of reinventing themselves in the 21st century.
Iszi Lawrence is joined by a panel of guests to discuss the rise and evolution of magazines. Usha Raman is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Hyderabad in India, who began her career in magazines, writing and editing a variety of publications. She's also the owner and editor of a specialist magazine for teachers.
Samir Husni is the founder and director of the Magazine Media Centre in the United States. He's also written many books, including Inside the Great Minds of Magazine Makers.
And Tim Holmes is a former magazine editor, writer and until his retirement, leader for many years of the magazine journalism course at the University of Cardiff in the UK. We'll also hear from a variety of Forum listeners from around the world, who share their thoughts on magazines.
Produced by Fiona Clampin for BBC World Service.
(Photo: Newspapers and magazines on display at a newsstand on January 31, 2010 in Khan Market New Delhi, India. Photo by Rajkumar/Mint via Getty Images)
Inside a recent episode
Robots and reality
Published 18 Oct 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] These arms in particular, their price has dropped considerably. So now researchers in AI and machine learning, like myself, I guess, can buy these robots and train them to do more sophisticated housework like washing dishes and laundry. And the AI has matured also much more in the last years. The models are more accurate, and this is bringing about paradigm shift in robotics. And so, in the last couple of years, there has been a flurry of companies showing off their robots new domestic skills. And I should say that for the purposes of this program, when I say robot, I mean a machine that moves by itself, senses the environment around it, and is also able to react independently to the input of its sensors and modify its behavior. […]
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