Sideways

86. The Talent Trap

01 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From a very young age, Holly Mathieson showed remarkable ability at the piano. With the support of her concert pianist grandmother, she nurtured a rar...

85. The Hands of Forgiveness

25 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Almost twenty years ago, an armed man stormed a small Amish school in Pennsylvania. It was a horrific attack in which he shot at ten girls. He then tu...

84. Absurdity on Toast

18 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A morning routine. A cup of tea brewing. Toast almost ready. It’s Monday, and a young man is getting ready to leave for work, when there’s a knock...

83. Dangerous Ideas

11 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Every week, podcaster Curt Jaimungal immerses himself in big ideas and complex theories to prepare for long, in-depth interviews with some of the worl...

82. Scream Queen

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As a young girl, Djamila Azzouz loved performing - musical theatre, choirs. She loved nothing more than the thrill of entertaining an audience. But in...

81. The Story My Sister Told Me

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It’s 5 pm, and 4-year-old Aqeela, his sister Londie, and three of their siblings scuttle under a tent they’ve made in the boys’ bedroom. It’...

80. Broody Men

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Simon Burrell always imagined he’d be a dad one day. But as the years pass, it’s something he dismisses. Simon is gay, single and approaching 50. ...

79. The Scientist and the Miracle

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Joshua Brown, a respected neuroscience professor at Indiana University was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in 2003. It was devastating news,...

Sideways - Returning Soon

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Sideways returns with eight new stories of seeing the world differently and the ideas that shape our lives. Stories about everything from miracle heal...

78. Hide and Seek

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2014, Lydia Laurenson moved to San Francisco. As she struggled to find her place and her people in a new city, one mysterious invitation changed ev...

77. Crazy Cat Lady

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Anna Go-Go has always defied expectations - she was a drummer (still rare for a woman), then a comedian and now a mass Go-Go dance instructor - always...

76. When Time Slows Down

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Movie stuntman Brian Hite often experiences a dramatic slowing down of time while performing complex stunts in a matter of seconds, like car hits - en...

75. Me, Myself and Mine

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Few people you’ll come across on the street look like Ryan Emans. His body is heavily modified, from head to toe - including a tongue split that giv...

74. Inventing a Language

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Identical twins Matthew and Michael Youlden invented their own private language as toddlers. They’ve gone on to become accomplished multi-linguists,...

3. Peace Reimagined

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, one man declared the use of weapons to defend his nation as morally wrong. He faces y...

2. A Peace that Lasts

30 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Uganda, in the mid-1990s - 35-year-old Betty Bigombe is sent by President Yoweri Museveni to the north of the country to open peace talks with rebel g...

1. Wired for War?

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s December 2008. Wasim’s newborn daughter Yuna urgently needs care. He has no choice but to navigate the flames engulfing the streets of Gaza t...

Introducing – Chasing Peace

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is true peace actually possible?As wars rage around the globe, peace can seem like a fleeting ideal, rather than something humanity can ever actually ...

73. Reliving History

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In a theatre in Buenos Aires, six veterans from opposite sides of the Falklands War united to re-enact their experiences of the conflict in front of h...

72. Limitless Love

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After the break up of the Soviet Union in the 90s, the problem of street children in Ukraine began to grow. Pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko started taking t...

71. Tempting Fate

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tempting fate is often seen as a fine line between courage and foolishness. It’s rooted in the belief that pushing certain boundaries or showing too...

70. Digital Ghosts

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Amy Kurzweil’s dad is a famous inventor, futurist and pioneer in the field of AI. In 2015, she discovers his aspiration to make an AI chatbot of her...

69. Memento Mori

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The passing of time brings inevitable change - corrosion, disintegration and, eventually, disappearance. While the certainty of this process may seem ...

68. Bliss in Suffering

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When David Wright went to Iraq as an 18-year-old soldier - he had no idea the battlefield would become a place where he’d enter deep states of bliss...

67. Reality Shifting

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2020, a curious trend went viral on social media, especially among teenagers and young adults. As much of the world stayed at home to curb the spre...

Sideways: Series eleven - coming soon…

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sideways returns with seven new stories of seeing the world differently and the ideas that shape our lives. Stories about everything from the ethics o...

25 Years of the 21st Century: 5. The Age of Artificial Intelligence

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Geoffrey Hinton's work laid the foundation for today's artificial intelligence systems. His research on neural networks has paved the way for current ...

25 Years of the 21st Century: 4. The Age of Changing Families

09 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As we swipe to find love and consult chatbot therapists, Matthew Syed asks how technology has altered the way we approach dating, friendship and commu...

25 Years of the 21st Century: 3. The Age of Outsourcing

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is this the age of outsourcing? This is not a show about call centres in India. Rather, it's a look at a much deeper shift in who we are, how we think...

25 Years of the 21st Century: 2. The Age of Mistrust

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Have we lost faith in institutions, politicians - and even money? Some people say there is an onslaught of misinformation and a battle for truth. So ...

25 Years of the 21st Century: 1. The Age of Digital Warfare

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this series, we’re remembering some of the major events of this century and asking how they’re shaping us. This programme is all about war and ...

5. The Future of Attention

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention.In this final episode, he considers where our media consumpt...

4. Attention Shortfall?

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention.In this episode Matthew traces the inexorable rise of shortf...

3. Medium and Metaphor

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention. In this episode, Matthew analyses the medium through which ...

2. Have We Always Been Distracted?

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention.In this episode, Matthew looks into history to uncover diffe...

1. Postman’s Prophecy?

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention.In this first episode, he seeks answers in the work of the m...

66. One is a Whole

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We all know the power of a great love story. In films, literature, television - a “happy ending” is shorthand for the main characters coupling up ...

65. Divergent Histories

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1960s and 70s, Maisie Barrett and Noel Gordon were two black British children wrongly labelled as “educationally subnormal”. They were sent...

64. The Masks We Wear

14 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As a teenager, Raven Saunders dreamt of playing basketball, but their physique led them down a different path. Exceptional strength and size destined ...

63. The Art of Unfinishing

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jen Simonic and Masey Kaplan have bonded over a mutual love for knitting for decades.In 2022, the pair of avid knitters decided to search for stranger...

A New Frontier: 4. With the Gods

31 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When astronauts journeyed to the moon in the early 1970s, few were paying attention to the psychological impact of the experience. Yet many among thos...

A New Frontier: 3. Life on Mars

24 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed continues his four-part mini-series from Sideways examining the ethics of space exploration in a rapidly expanding era of travel and tran...

A New Frontier: 2. For All Humankind?

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed continues his four-part mini series exploring the ethics of space exploration, by returning to the origins of the space race, which saw A...

A New Frontier: 1. A Message to Ourselves

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this special series from Sideways, called A New Frontier, Matthew Syed explores the most out of this world ethical questions posed by the evolution...

Introducing – A New Frontier

03 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Travel into the cosmos for a four-part series about the ethics of space exploration. Matthew Syed invites you to enter the vast wilderness of the gala...

62. Lost and Found

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1984, on the eve of the Winter Olympics, Joe Boylan gets lost in a blizzard on an Austrian mountainside. Joe will have to fight with everything he ...

61. Brain Strain

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1972, at the liberal Vassar College in New York, 18-year-old Rick Shenkman stood out for his unwavering support of Richard Nixon, especially as the...

60. For the love of maths

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As a child, Kate Ertmann starred in commercials, in soap operas and on Broadway. But acting wasn’t her first love - mathematics was. She considered ...

59. What's Your Name?

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What's your name? You might think you know, but in this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed discovers the answer could be more complicated than you firs...

58. The Keeper of Lost Memories

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2020, David Gutenmacher began to buy old photographs and videos that he came across in second hand shops. He was sad about the prospect that famili...

57. Grudge Match

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lee and Drew have been like brothers ever since adolescence. So when Drew betrays Lee in the heat of a tumultuous night in Glasgow, the two men find t...

Sideways: Season nine - coming soon...

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed kicks off the new season of Sideways with a story of one of the most brutal grudges ever seen in pro wrestling. Matthew asks us to consid...

56. A Cinderella Story

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On a summer's day in 1974, Norwegian actor Knut Risan steps up to the mic for a voiceover job. It's for a Cinderella movie that's just been acquired b...

55. Perfectly Mediocre

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cornell University is known for it's elite a cappella scene. It was even the inspiration for the hit film Pitch Perfect. But in 2018 a new group arriv...

54. Copy Cat

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David Henty had a talent for art from a young age. He grew up poring over Hogarth drawings. For a long time, it didn’t feel like something that he c...

53. Stories of a Father

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Violinist and composer Diana Yukawa lost her father, Akihisa Yukawa, in the Japan Air Lines Flight 123 plane crash of August 1985. The crash was just ...

52. First Loves

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After Kate and Guenther shared their first kiss on Torquay's pier in the summer of 1989, their blossoming love was soon interrupted by the distance be...

51. The One Star Chef

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When chef and independent restaurateur Davide Cerretini first opened his restaurant, it was a dream come true. But that dream quickly soured when he c...

Sideways: Season eight - coming soon...

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

First loves, harsh critics and a celebration of mediocrity - Sideways returns with six new stories about seeing the world differently and the ideas th...

50. Take the First Step

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2014 Angela Maxwell was feeling stuck. She wanted something fresh, something exciting. After a chance encounter she landed upon her goal - she was ...

49. Inside Marjorie's Parlour

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Every Sunday afternoon for over 30 years now, Marjorie Eliot has played a jazz concert in her Harlem apartment for anyone who comes. It all began on a...

48. Love Thy Villain

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Three different women, who lead three very different lives, but all became villains...or did they? In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed explores ...

47. China's Ping Pong Power: Episode 3

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the final episode of this mini series from Sideways, former professional ping pong player, Matthew Syed, tells the story of how ping pong fared in ...

46. China's Ping Pong Power: Episode 2

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Former England international table tennis player, Matthew Syed, continues this three-part mini series from Sideways, with a moment that changed the co...

45. China's Ping Pong Power: Episode 1

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed is a former Olympic table tennis player for Great Britain. As Matthew travelled in China, competing against some of the world’s greates...

Introducing - China's Ping Pong Power

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed is a former Olympic table tennis player for Great Britain. As Matthew travelled in China, competing against some of the world’s greates...

44. Matthew’s been telling tales

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a story Matthew Syed likes to tell. And he’s told it a lot. It’s about a turning point in his life. It’s about learning from a failure...

43. Do I really sound like that?

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Julie Matthias is in the middle of a regular shift at her hairdressing salon when she begins to feel really strange.Julie is taken to hospital with th...

42. The Big Reward

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Kevin Burkart dove into a murky lake to find a lost wedding ring, he did it for nothing. But did he really gain something much more? In this epis...

41. A Small Bowl of Rocket

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lydia Harris has always struggled with food. For as long as she can remember, she has avoided fruit and vegetables - their texture simply disgusts her...

40. The Embodiment of Music

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A musician is halfway through a public performance when they realise they might not make it to the end. Their body is fighting them, they’re in extr...

39. Please, I beg you.

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Ben Taylor receives a Facebook message from a stranger in Liberia, asking in badly spelled English for financial or business assistance, he quick...

38. Past Your Peak

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

John Nunn learnt to play chess aged four. Since before he can remember, he’s had an exceptional talent for maths. In 1970, aged just 15, he started ...

Season Six – Coming soon…

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed introduces season six, which explores stories about letting your guard down and making a leap of trust, reaching the peaks of our powers,...

37. My Last 5p

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s December 2013 and Toni Osborne is struggling, emotionally and financially. She’s five pence short of keeping her electricity on over Christma...

36. All in a Name

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1970s, Sandra Bundy was working hard at her job at the Department of Corrections in Washington DC. She loved her job, but just turning up to wo...

35. The Riddle

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 2113, a riddle will be solved under the Eiffel Tower. Matthew Syed tells the story of a riddle hidden in the video game Trials Evolution (Ubisoft R...

34. It Takes a Village

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1970s, Al Garthwaite and some friends move in together in Leeds. They’re about to embark on a big experiment.  They’re living commun...

33. Doc and Jim: A Beautiful Partnership

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of how Dr William Key and his super smart horse “Beautiful” Jim Key became one of the biggest acts in America, only to disappear into hi...

32. The Social Contagion

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On Armistice Day 2015, Mel gets a phone call from her son’s school, asking her to come in. When she arrives, she finds the car park filled with ambu...

Sideways Season Five – Coming soon…

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed introduces season five, which looks at being less cynical, family and legacy.

31. To Absent Friends

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nicosia, Cyprus, 2018. Kiri Sofocleous sits down to write a Facebook message to a man she has never met. It has been 40 years since Kiri saw her child...

30. The Woman in the Portrait

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed follows the story of Bernice Bennett, a woman driven to uncover the truth behind a treasured family portrait. When Bernice was growing up...

29. Fooling the Opposition

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 1980, underdog English table tennis player John Hilton stunned audiences with his style of play, effortlessly confounding talented European opponen...

28. Exiting the Bunker

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A pigeon sparks a spy hunt. The clock is ticking and the bunker is calling.In this final episode of our four part nuclear series, Matthew Syed examine...

27. A Blip on the Radar

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Angie Zelter is on her way to Loch Goil in Scotland. It’s a beautiful summer’s day, and her friends have packed a picnic. But that’s not the rea...

26. War Games in the Pink Tower

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 1961, a group of American officials decided to play a game of war. Sitting around a table, they tried imagining a nuclear crisis - and how it could...

25. A Nuclear Awakening

13 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a little girl’s eighth birthday. She wakes to a sight that looks like the end of the world. A radioactive mushroom cloud rises 130,000 feet ...

The Nuclear Reckoning

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this new mini series from Sideways, Matthew Syed is calling for a nuclear awakening. Since the end of the Cold War, when relations between two of t...

24. Sweet Harmony

22 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

James Campbell's family were unusual. They were the 'singing family'. Everyone on their street knew it - and heard it. They would sing at the drop of ...

23. Oostvaardersplassen: A Wild Idea

15 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Flevoland, the Netherlands, 1968. A new patch of land is being carved out of the sea. Destined initially for agriculture or industry, when nature begi...

22. Inspiring Bill Strickland

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Back in the 1960s, Bill Strickland was a listless teenager but life as he knew it was about to change forever. One afternoon, while skipping class, so...

21. The Woman Who Brought Down the Mob

01 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On a January night in Manhattan, a team of lawyers is working to crack open an organised crime case. And at the centre of it all, is Eunice Carter - t...

20. An appointment with Dr Leech

25 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boston, Massachusetts, 1985. Dr Joe Upton is struggling to reattach a severed ear onto a little boy. Using incredible skill and the best in modern equ...

19. Is This What Success Looks Like?

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Lee Chambers is an undeniable success. From his parents' single bedroom, with the boiler humming away day and night, he founds an e-commerce video gam...

18. Tongue-Tied

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

At a school assembly, 16-year-old Simon Day discovers an acute fear of public speaking. Faced with a crowd of expectant faces, panic begins to set in....

17. The Endurance of Arlene Blum

03 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Arlene Blum has scaled some of the most treacherous peaks in the Himalayas. When she’s not climbing mountains, she’s fighting to get toxic chemica...

Series 3 Coming Soon

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed introduces the new series, which focuses on endurance, courage & resilience.

16. Big Head

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Syed has come to a horrible realisation about himself. He is in danger of becoming a big head. He’s worried that, with a successful podcast ...

15. Best Feet Forward

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When the Danish men’s football team are called up to replace Yugoslavia in the 1992 European Championships, just 10 days before the start of the tou...