Technologies of the Self
2026-05-15
‘Technologies of the self’ is a phrase from the French philosopher Michel Foucault to describe things people might do to shape the people they are, like dieting, exercise, journaling, or in an earlier age perhaps like prayer, or confession. Shahidha Bari hosts Radio 4's roundtable discussion programming discussing how this idea might help us make sense of the age of social media influencers and lifestyle trends.Her guests are:
Elizabeth Oldfield, host of The Sacred podcast, author of Fully Alive: Tending The Soul In Turbulent TimesAnouchka Grose, psychotherapist and author of The Revolution Will Be InternalisedTiffany Watt Smith, historian of emotions whose most recent book is Bad Friend: On Joyous Imperfect loveHeather Widows, philosopher and author of Perfect Me: Beauty As An Ethical Idealand Daniele Lorenzini, philosopher and Foucault scholar
Producer: Luke Mulhall
Free Thinking
BBC Radio 4- No. of episodes
- 1,529
- Latest episode
- 2026-10-23
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Leading thinkers discuss the ideas shaping our lives - looking back at the news and making links between past and present. Fridays at 9pm on BBC Radio 4. Presented by Matthew Sweet, Shahidha Bari and Anne McElvoy.