Nature or Nurture?
Cultural discussion programme. Mary-Ann Sieghart looks at studies of health, wellbeing and life chances with Helen Pearson, Oliver James, Marcus Munafo and Joseph Bullman.
On Start the Week Mary-Ann Sieghart asks why some people succeed while others fail. She talks to the journalist Helen Pearson about the Life Project, a study of the health, wellbeing and life chances of thousands of British children, started in 1946. The television producer Joseph Bullman also charts a series of families back to the Victorian times to look at social mobility through the generations. The psychologist Oliver James wades into the nature/ nurture debate by arguing that we are the result of our environment and upbringing, but the scientist Marcus Munafò says there is increasing evidence of genetic links to who we are and what we do.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
Last on
![]()
The Life Scientific - George Davey-Smith
Epidemiologist Prof George Davey-Smith talks to Jim Al-Khalili about health inequalities
Oliver James
Oliver James is a psychologist and author.
Not in Your Genes: The real reasons children are like their parents is published by Vermilion.
Marcus Munafo
Marcus Munafò is Professor of Biological Psychology at the University of Bristol.
Helen Pearson
Helen Pearson is a science journalist and editor for the international science journal Nature.
The Life Project: The Extraordinary Story of Our Ordinary Lives is published by Allen Lane.
Joseph Bullman
Joseph Bullman is a documentary maker.
The first episode of The Secret History of My Family is on Thursday 10 March at 8.00pm on BBC Two.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Mary Ann Sieghart |
| Interviewed Guest | Helen Pearson |
| Interviewed Guest | Oliver James |
| Interviewed Guest | Marcus Munafo |
| Interviewed Guest | Joseph Bullman |
| Producer | Katy Hickman |
Broadcasts
- Mon 29 Feb 2016 09:00BBC Radio 4
- Mon 29 Feb 2016 21:30BBC Radio 4
Podcast
-
![]()
Start the Week
Weekly discussion programme, setting the cultural agenda every Monday
