Degrees of failure: is university still worth it?

This week:  The cover of The Spectator magazine looks at whether after years of Covid-based disruption, rising cost and lecturer strikes, university students are getting what they paid for. The Spectator’s data editor Michael Simmons writes a sidebar in which he rails against some of the changes that are happening to university freshers’ week and joins the podcast alongside Emma de Saram, Guild president at the Exeter University Student’s Guild. (01:26)  Also this week: In the magazine we are running an interview by The Spectator's special projects editor Ben Lazarus with professor Jim Skea – the new head of the UN intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) and arguably the most important man in climate science. Ben and Jim kindly allowed us to share a section of their discussion, where they talk about the 1.5 degree target, activist groups and if the messaging on climate has failed. (14:55) And finally: do dogs want ice cream?  That’s the question that Mary Wakefield wrestles with in her column this week in The Spectator. With supermarkets now stocking everything from dog ice cream to dog caviar, she argues that we have lost our collective minds. Sir Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology at the University of Manchester, joins the podcast. (24:00) Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson.