'Oh, bugger orf!' We all know Received Pronunciation when we hear it. But what makes this accent distinctive? Why do people still pay to learn how to speak RP – and does it really bring the advantages it used to? Ros Taylor talks to voice coach and actor Alix Dunmore and Professor of Phonetics Jane Setter about how to spot an RP speaker – and how the accent has changed over the past century. Speeches by Lord Brabazon of Tara and Lord Wedgwood are taken from a Lords debate in 1943 and are voiced by historian Seth Thévoz. Alix Dunmore runs Alix Dunmore Accent Coaching. Jane Setter is Professor of Phonetics at the University of Reading. She is the author of Your Voice Speaks Volumes: It's not what you say but how you say it, the Cambridge Handbook of Phonetics and the Oxford Handbook of Language and Prejudice, as well as co-editor of the Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary. Queen Elizabeth II's 1957 Christmas speech is available at the Royal Family YouTube channel. Prince William' interview is here. 1943 BBC Archive audio is on Facebook, as is Daniel Craig reverting to Scouse. The BBC has investigated how Queen Elizabeth's accent changed during her reign. Stephen Fry, an RP speaker, hosted an entertaining episode of Fry's English Delight about spoken English.
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31:43
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31:43
Jabs
No one dies of diphtheria or polio in Britain any more. Since World War Two, we've virtually wiped out the diseases that used to kill tens of thousands of children every year. But rolling out a vaccine isn't always easy. Ros Taylor talks to public health historian Gareth Millward and Stuart Blume, the author of Immunisation, about jabs and why some people refuse them. Gareth Millward is an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense and the author of Vaccinating Britain: Mass vaccination and the public since the Second World War. Stuart Blume is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Amsterdam and the author of Immunization: How Vaccines Became Controversial. Diphtheria Immunisation and Big Whoop are on YouTube. Surprise Attack is at the Wellcome Collection. Polio Diagnosis and Management is at the BFI. I also drew on the National Library of Medicine, the Science Museum and the Office for National Statistics.
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41:20
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41:20
Milton Keynes
It's built for cars. The buses are baffling. But it's got the most energy efficient housing in Britain. What did it take to build a city from almost nothing? And a university where there are no students on campus? With architectural historian John Grindrod, Ros Taylor tells the story of Milton Keynes and the Open University. With thanks to John Grindrod, the author of Iconicon, Concretopia and Outskirts and the presenter of Monstrosities Mon Amour. His forthcoming book, Tales of the Suburbs, on LGBTQ people in suburbia, is out in February 2026. Seth Thévoz read Lords speeches by Baron Richard Mitchison and Lord Gerald Gardiner, both in Hansard. Milton Keynes: Shopping as it Should Be and an ITN report from 1967 are available on YouTube. Clips of Harold Wilson and Jennie Lee are at the Open University Digital Archive, which explains the OU's founding. This was an invaluable source of OU history. I also drew on the vast resources at the Milton Keynes Living Archive and the original Plan for Milton Keynes.
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29:26
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29:26
Kids' TV
It was silly. It was addictive. For decades, millions of kids would gaze at the same people and laugh at the same jokes at the same time. How did children's TV shape their minds? And what will it look like in a world of unlimited digital content? Ros Taylor talks to Anna Home, who joined the BBC in the 1950s, and screenwriters Chitro Soundar and Angela Salt. Anna Home was an English TV producer and executive and is the chair of the Children's Media Foundation. She is the author of Into the Box of Delights: A History of Children's Television. Chitra Soundar is the author of Nikhil & Jay and a writer for children's books, TV and theatre. Angela Salt is a screenwriter for international children's TV. Herbert Morrison was speaking in the Commons in 1952 about the BBC charter. The BFI and the Science and Media Museum have useful resources on early kids' TV. This is the first episode of Play School. Episodes of Grange Hill, Jackanory, Basil Brush, Thunderbirds and many other series are available on YouTube. The BBC interviewed people about Grange Hill in 1980.
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An announcement, and a request
More Jam Tomorrow is taking a two-episode break. We'll be back in less than a month, on 28th August. In the meantime, I have one big ask. Please let me know if you would support a fifth series of Jam. Just go to morejamtomorrow.com and hit the link at the top of the page that says "Have Your Say on Series 5." Or just click here: https://tally.so/r/wv85Xd See you on 28th August, when we'll be back with episode eight.
From teeth to Trident — post-war British history as you've never heard it before.
In each episode, Ros Taylor delves into the truth about how our lives changed after World War Two — and what it means for politics now.
Now independent, this is the sequel to the hit "Jam Tomorrow" podcast.
Australia