''The Mark Steel Solution'' was initially broadcast on BBC Radio 5 for a series, before three series were broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. The show's original slogan was "Give me thirty minutes and I’ll convince you of anything!" Delivered by

Mark Steel Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is an English author, broadcaster, stand-up comedian and newspaper columnist. He has made many appearances on radio and television shows as a guest panellist, and has written regular columns in ''The Guardian'', ' ...

, each scripted lecture presents persuasive, yet witty, arguments for a seemingly bizarre solution to a contemporary social problem by highlighting the flaws in the present system. Many of the arguments are illustrated by miniature sketches, featuring Mark Steel, Pete Sinclair, Maria McErlane, and Kim Wall. It was produced by Phil Clark, and was written by Mark Steel and Pete Sinclair.

Episode list (incomplete)

Series 1, 1992 (BBC Radio 5) *S01 E01 - The Royal Family - "The Royal Family should be chosen by weekly lottery" (9 October 1992) *S01 E02 - The

Family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

- "Nobody should be allowed to live in the same family for more than a year" (16 October 1992) *S01 E03 - Judges - "Criminals should be recruited as high courts judges" (23 October 1992) *S01 E04 -

School A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

- "Nobody should go to school until they're 35" (30 October 1992) *S01 E05 -

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

- "Anyone born in England should be deported" (6 November 1992) *S01 E06 - The

Economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

- "All government economic policy should be decided by sport" (13 November 1992) Series 2, 1994 (BBC Radio 4) *S02 E01 -

Unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

- "Having a job should be illegal" (15 July 1994) *S02 E02 -

Transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

- "Transport should only be paid for by people who don't use it" (22 July 1994) *S02 E03 -

Housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether i ...

- "Everyone in Britain should be rehoused at random" (29 July 1994) *S02 E04 - The Royal Family - "The Royal Family should be chosen by weekly lottery" (paraphrasing S01 E01) (presumably 5 August 1994) Series 3, 1995 (BBC Radio 4) *S03 E01 - Sexuality - "Everyone should have to be gay for two years" *S03 E02 -

Charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

- "Anybody who gives to charity should be jailed" *S03 E03 -

Crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

- "Criminals should decide their own punishment" (Uses some sketches from S01 E03) *S03 E04 -

Immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

- "Anyone born in England should be deported" (paraphrasing S01 E05) Series 4, August and September 1996 (BBC Radio 4) *S04 E01 -

Religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

- "People should have to change their religion every Monday" *S04 E02 -

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

- "Anyone in charge of the media should be sacked after thirty minutes" *S04 E03 -

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

- "Nobody should go to school until they are 36" (paraphrasing S01 E04) *S04 E04 -

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

- "Pessimists should be persecuted by law"

Episode list (incomplete)

See also