Adventures in Social Mobility Radio 4
As podcasts are now springing up all over the show like dandelions, I only ever listen in real time when I’m in the car.
It’s like television – you can have what you like, when you like... who is a slave to the schedules these days?
So I recommend the Moth Hour and the TED talks and Woman’s Hour and Money Box and a million other shows – just go out there.
But age is beginning to catch up. Vlogger and comic actress Lilly Singh is an internet sensation and appeared on Woman’s Hour to talk about How to be Bawse ... yes, stuck already.
She made her name on Youtube. She has a book out about conquering life, she chatted unicorns and superwoman – but it was all so fast that I’m not sure I got it. Something says I’m the wrong demographic.
Lots of people end up in that wrong demographic.
Sometimes your face just doesn’t fit.
Hashi Mohamed arrived in the UK from Somalia as a nine-year-old child. His father had died, his mother sent her children ahead to the UK. It would take her four years to follow.
He was a refugee with very little English. He lived in a three-bedroomed house that had 18 people in it.
He got average GCSEs, he did not go to a prestigious university for his first degree. But he did a post graduate degree at Oxford and ended up as a successful barrister in London. It wasn’t easy.
He is beautifully spoken. He is eloquent, articulate and self motivated.
But it took more than that... he needed a few lucky breaks and help fitting into that world.
Is he the exception to the rule? Perhaps. Certainly being white and public school educated makes for a smoother path.
What are the unwritten rules you must learn to get a top job? The programme asked a lot of big questions.
