Showing results by narrator "Ruth Smith" in All Categories

Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick.

Alfred Lord Tennyson is one of Britain’s greatest and most popular poets. Even during his lifetime, he was considered a national institution: Queen Victoria appointed him Poet Laureate in 1850, a position he held for 42 years, and in 1884 he became the first writer to be granted a baronetcy. In a long and fruitful career, he penned numerous classic works, and this BBC Radio collection showcases some of the very best. We begin with two of his masterpieces, dramatised by award-winning poet Michael Symmons Roberts.

The Overthinker’s Guide to Love offers hard-won insight-turned-straightforward practices for anyone seeking satisfying partnership in an increasingly complex landscape of dating and sexuality. Complete with data analysis and experiments that listeners can run at home, her combination of sincere storytelling and teaching reminds us that discovering who we are in love should be playful, fun, and always up for investigation.

Ko Puripaha te tapanga ka tukuna ki Te Pane Kaewa, a, ki Te Tairawhiti o Aotearoa e pakanga ana etahi kokoro tokorua kia whakawahia hai pane.

Ellie is a strong young woman faced with circumstances that are not her choice. When Ellie's older sister Regina dies at the birth of her third child, her parents request that Ellie break off her engagement to the man she loves and marry their son-in-law, John, so the children will stay in the family.

As a child, Benny Ribble bears the brunt of his parents’ anger. Never good enough, he nonetheless tries to please them and hear some words of praise. When he finds himself on the receiving end of a girl’s attention and affection, he thinks he’s finally escaped the abuse he’s suffered his whole life. Sadly, his marriage soon turns into another battlefield. Every time his wife, Alma, bursts his balloon of achievement with her put-downs, he sees himself once again failing to achieve his desire for approval.

With vivid memories of her very early life, Ruth Smith Meyer has spent seven decades processing what has made her feel different or unusual. Whether it was being born into a conservative Mennonite family, the differences in her physical composition, or the events of her life, they all contributed to the struggle and growth she experienced as she faced them one by one.