AntiSocial

Thousands of asylum seekers are currently housed in hotels around the UK as they wait for their claims to be processed. The government has a huge backlog and are spending millions of pounds a day on the accommodation.

Local residents have started to mount protests near the hotels, prompting claims from commentators and counter-protestors that they are 'far right'. What does that term mean? Are these protestors really 'far right'. And to what extent is the extreme right on the rise across the country?

Presenter: Adam Fleming Producers: Lucy Proctor, Phoebe Keane, Ellie House and Octavia Woodward. Editor: Emma Rippon

The word 'fat' has been removed from a new range of Roald Dahl books. It's a sign our conversation about obesity and body image has become increasingly sensitive.

Many body positivity activists have reclaimed the word 'fat' while promoting more diversity in the body shapes and sizes we see in our media. But some accuse the movement of denying the health risks associated with being overweight. Is it true we can be healthy at any size? Where did the body positivity movement come from? And should we be worried about the return of size 0 fashion?

Presenter: Adam Fleming Producers: Lucy Proctor, Phoebe Keane and Ellie House. Editor: Emma Rippon

Josh Adair, Professor of English at Murray State University, explains what is meant by the term ‘queering’ and gives the background to how museums and historians can ‘queer history’. He explains they reinterpret their collections to include LGBT stories or histories of people who don’t fit the typical gender roles of the time.

There’s been a debate on social media about whether Central Bank Digital Currencies pose a threat to our privacy and some even fear it could give governments power over our spending. Former Bank of England economist Dan Davies explains what a CBDC actually is.

Is it racist for a person of colour to call someone a coconut? Should it be a crime?

A teacher was put on trial after she was pictured at a pro-Palestinian march holding a placard that showed then prime minister Rishi Sunak and then home secretary Suella Braverman as coconuts. The term “coconut” can be used to suggest that someone who is brown on the outside is white on the inside - that they are somehow acting in a way inconsistent with their ethnicity. The prosecution called “coconut” a “racial slur”; the judge said the placard was “political satire” and found the teacher not guilty. How did the case play out in court? What’s the history behind this use of the word coconut and others like it? And what does the law say about when speech becomes criminal?

Presenter: Adam Fleming Producers: Simon Maybin, Ellie House, Elliot Ryder Production coordinator: Janet Staples Editor: Richard Vadon