23. Oostvaardersplassen: A Wild Idea

Matthew Syed explores ideas that shape our lives, making us see the world differently.

• 28 mins

24. Sweet Harmony

Matthew Syed asks whether thinking musically could bring us more harmony in our lives.

• 28 mins

The Nuclear Reckoning

Matthew Syed is calling for a nuclear awakening. Series starts 13th July 2022.

• 3 mins

25. A Nuclear Awakening

Matthew Syed explores urgent intellectual questions posed by nuclear weapons.

• 28 mins

26. War Games in the Pink Tower

Matthew Syed goes inside a wargame to explore the evolution of deterrence.

• 29 mins

27. A Blip on the Radar

Matthew Syed explores how we might deal with the extreme risks that nuclear weapons pose.

• 29 mins

28. Exiting the Bunker

Matthew examines the routes to a safer nuclear future.

• 28 mins

29. Fooling the Opposition

Matthew delves into deception in sport and how it gives us the upperhand.

• 28 mins

30. The Woman in the Portrait

How can understanding our ancestors make us feel whole?

• 28 mins

31. To Absent Friends

Matthew Syed explores why we make friends and the lifelong influence they have over us.

• 28 mins

Sideways Season Five – Coming soon…

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

• 3 mins

32. The Social Contagion

Matthew Syed examines the strange spread of illness in a school in Yorkshire.

• 28 mins

33. Doc and Jim: A Beautiful Partnership

How Dr William Key and his super smart horse 'Beautiful' Jim Key made America kinder.

• 29 mins

34. It Takes a Village

Matthew Syed thinks about how we can get more of the good stuff out of family life.

• 28 mins

35. The Riddle

Matthew Syed unravels a riddle set in the future, to consider the importance of legacy.

• 29 mins

36. All in a Name

Matthew Syed explores how finding the right words can help us tackle big wrongs.

• 29 mins

37. My Last 5p

Matthew Syed explores how one act of generosity can have profound consequences.

• 29 mins

Season Six – Coming soon…

Matthew Syed introduces season six, which explores leaps of trust and child prodigies.

• 3 mins

38. Past Your Peak

Matthew Syed unpicks the relationship between age and innovation.

• 28 mins

39. Please, I beg you.

Matthew Syed tells the story of how a leap of trust altered two strangers’ lives.

• 29 mins

40. The Embodiment of Music

Matthew Syed explores the passion and the pain of music.

• 29 mins

41. A Small Bowl of Rocket

Matthew Syed sticks his fork into the world of food to think about how taste is formed.

• 29 mins

42. The Big Reward

Matthew Syed explores the true cost of rewarding people.

• 29 mins

43. Do I really sound like that?

Matthew Syed explores how our accents become part of our identity.

• 29 mins

44. Matthew’s been telling tales

Matthew Syed explores the importance of storytelling for understanding ourselves.

• 28 mins

Introducing - China's Ping Pong Power

Matthew Syed tells the story of China’s rise in the 20th century through… ping pong.

• 2 mins

45. China's Ping Pong Power: Episode 1

Matthew Syed tells the story of China's rise in the 20th century - through ping pong.

• 29 mins

46. China's Ping Pong Power: Episode 2

Matthew Syed tells the story of China's rise in the 20th century - through ping pong.

• 29 mins

47. China's Ping Pong Power: Episode 3

Matthew Syed tells the story of China's rise in the 20th century - through ping pong.

• 29 mins

48. Love Thy Villain

Matthew Syed looks at the merits of embracing your inner 'villain'.

• 28 mins

49. Inside Marjorie's Parlour

Matthew Syed explores how music can become a powerful, transformational force.

• 28 mins

50. Take the First Step

Matthew makes a case for the impact that even the smallest adventures can have on us all.

• 28 mins

Sideways: Season eight - coming soon...

First loves, harsh critics and a celebration of mediocrity. Six new Sideways stories.

• 2 mins

51. The One Star Chef

Is the customer always right? Matthew Syed delves into the world of online reviews.

• 28 mins

52. First Loves

Matthew Syed finds out why our first loves can hold a special place in our hearts.

• 28 mins

53. Stories of a Father

Matthew Syed explores how a daughter found connection with the father she never met.

• 28 mins

54. Copy Cat

Matthew Syed hears from a painter who rose to fame by copying the works of others.

• 28 mins

55. Perfectly Mediocre

Matthew Syed asks what happens when we shun excellence and embrace mediocrity.

• 28 mins

56. A Cinderella Story

How a Cinderella film from 1970s Czechoslovakia became a Christmas tradition across Europe

• 28 mins

Sideways: Season nine - coming soon...

A slamming new season... starting with a pro wrestling grudge that got too real.

• 1 min

57. Grudge Match

A wrestling grudge spills out of the ring and into the real world.

• 28 mins

58. The Keeper of Lost Memories

One man’s mission to return lost photographs to their original owners.

• 29 mins

59. What's Your Name?

Matthew Syed explores the importance and influence of something we all have - our name.

• 29 mins

60. For the love of maths

Meet the former child star who considers mathematics to be 'a balm' for her brain.

• 29 mins

61. Brain Strain

Matthew Syed explores the uncomfortable psychological phenomenon of cognitive dissonance.

• 29 mins

62. Lost and Found

A 48-hour fight to survive, lost in a snowstorm. And the data that helps rescuers find us.

• 28 mins