Themes

Question 1

1.1 - Charlie Brooker: ‘Too much talk for one planet: why I’m reducing my word emissions’

Answer 1

Toxicity, Cancel Culture, Societal Pressure, Vindication

Question 2

1.2 - Ian Birrell: ‘As gay people celebrate, the treatment of the disabled just gets worse’

Answer 2

Discrimination, Hypocrisy, Inequality, Morality

Question 3

2.1 - ‘De Profundis’ by Oscar Wilde

Answer 3

Isolation, Disillusionment, Identity, Transgression

Question 4

2.2 - ‘Mom & Me & Mom’ by Maya Angelou

Answer 4

Maternalism, Prejudice, Isolation, Relationships

Question 5

3.1 - Diary: ‘What I did in 2013’ by Alan Bennett

Answer 5

Passage of Time, Grief, Transgression, Resilience

Question 6

3.2 - Eye-witness account written by a young radio operator in the First World War

Answer 6

Patriotism, Religion, Violence, War Myth (Illusion vs Reality)

Question 7

4.1 - Blog by George Scott: ‘A ride of two halves’

Answer 7

Resilience, Nature, Passage of Time, Danger

Question 8

4.2 - Past Masters Podcast: ‘The Truth is in Here: UFOs at The National Archives’

Answer 8

Scepticism, Science Fiction, Passage of Time, Testimony

Question 9

5.1 - BBC1 Panorama Interview between Martin Bashir and Princess Diana

Answer 9

Vindication, Societal Pressure, Isolation, Betrayal

Question 10

5.2 - Jay Leno’s Interview with President Obama

Answer 10

Idolisation, Presidential Life, Leadership, Danger

Question 11

6.1 - ‘The King’s Speech’ by David Seidler

Answer 11

Stubbornness, Equality, Isolation, Objectification

Question 12

6.2 - ‘When I lived in Peru’ by Andrew Viner

Answer 12

Passage of Time, Materialism, Humour, Irony

Question 13

7.1 - Chris Rainier: ‘Tsunami Eyewitness Account by Nat Geo Photographer’

Answer 13

Violence, Supernatural, Death, Gratitude

Question 14

7.2 - Jessica Read: ‘Experience: I survived an earthquake while scuba diving’

Answer 14

Passage of Time, Fear of the Unknown, Disbelief, Destruction

Question 15

8.1 - Flemmich Webb on ‘Boxer Handsome’ by Anna Whitwham

Answer 15

Toxic Masculinity, Family, Violence, Vulnerability

Question 16

8.2 - Martin Hoyle on the TV drama ‘The Bridge’

Answer 16

Ambiguity, Death, Sarcasm, Passage of Time

Question 17

9.1 - JFK’s Inaugural Address in Washington on January 20, 1961

Answer 17

Pragmatism, Liberty, Patriotism, Idealism

Question 18

9.2 - Colonel Tim Collins to 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, in Iraq in 2003

Answer 18

Pragmatism, Religion, Duty, War

Question 19

10.1 - ‘Sea and Sardinia’ by D.H. Lawrence

Answer 19

Sublime, Pain, Isolation, Appreciation

Question 20

10.2 - ‘Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China’ by Paul Theroux

Answer 20

Hedonism, Passage of Time, Monotony, Isolation