Decimalisation
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Britain was one of the last countries to go decimal – and had Margaret Thatcher not abolished the Metrication Board, we might have abandoned miles and pints too. Ros Taylor finds out how Britons were persuaded of the merits of getting rid of shillings and farthings, and why the revolution went unfinished. is an art historian who works with the Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa) and is the author of . Warwick Cairns is the author of . Seth Thévoz voiced a Commons by the MP for Horsham, Peter Hordern, in 1970. He also read an extract from a Guardian article by Anthony Burgess, Damned...
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Women's Trousers
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“Ask a man whether women should wear slacks and the answer is almost certain to be a firm ‘No.’” How did women get to wear the trousers? Ros Taylor talks to fashion expert Belinda Naylor and Purna Sen, who wore trousers to her sixth form in 1978 – and was thrown out. Belinda Naylor is a producer with an MA in fashion curation. Her Instagram, where you can find some of her favourite women in trousers, is . is the former head of human rights at the Commonwealth Secretariat and a visiting professor at London Metropolitan University. The in 1952 is voiced by Seth Thévoz. The from The...
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Malaya
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In 1948 Britain declared an Emergency in Malaya It wasn’t really an emergency. It was a guerrilla war. And Britain would spend 12 years trying to drive communists out of its territory. What were we doing there? Ros Taylor talks to Open University history professor Karl Hack and Economist bureau chief Dominic Ziegler about what the UK did in Malaya, and why Singapore cultivates positive memories of British occupation. The Imperial War Museum’s exhibition is on until 26 March. is Professor of Asian and Imperial History at the Open University. He is the author of (Cambridge...
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RP
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‘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 and are voiced by historian . Alix Dunmore runs . is Professor of Phonetics at the University of Reading. She is the author of...
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Jabs
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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. is an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense and the author of . is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Amsterdam and the author of . and are on YouTube. is at the Wellcome...
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Milton Keynes
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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 , the author of and the presenter of His forthcoming book, , 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. and an are available on...
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Kids' TV
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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. 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. is the author of Nikhil & Jay...
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An announcement, and a request
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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 and hit the link at the top of the page that says "Have Your Say on Series 5." Or just click here: See you on 28th August, when we'll be back with episode eight.
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Fish
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Pound for pound, fish is small fry for the British economy – but it has long been vital to our sense of sovereignty. From skirmishes with Dutch boats to the Cod Wars and Brexit, Ros Taylor finds out why fish matter so much to us. Maritime historian Richard Blakemore and marine biologist Bryce Stewart join the show. is an Associate Professor in social and maritime history at the University of Reading. He’s the author of , published by Pegasus Books. is a senior research fellow at the Marine Biological Association. Voiceovers are by . The MPs quoted are James Johnson...
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Servants
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“No matter how hard you work or how capable you are, you can't do it all yourself. You have to seek reliable help.” Those were Margaret Thatcher’s words in 1990. Who are the ‘help’? How did they enable women to have successful careers? Ros Taylor talks to Lucy Delap and Emma Casey about how the servant died out after the two world wars – but domestic help never went away. Lucy Delap is Professor in Modern British and Gender History at the University of Cambridge. She is the author of . Emma Casey is the author of . She is a reader in sociology at the...
info_outline“No matter how hard you work or how capable you are, you can't do it all yourself. You have to seek reliable help.” Those were Margaret Thatcher’s words in 1990. Who are the ‘help’? How did they enable women to have successful careers?
Ros Taylor talks to Lucy Delap and Emma Casey about how the servant died out after the two world wars – but domestic help never went away.
Lucy Delap is Professor in Modern British and Gender History at the University of Cambridge. She is the author of Knowing Their Place: Domestic Service in Twentieth Century Britain.
Emma Casey is the author of The Return of the Housewife: Why Women are Still Cleaning Up. She is a reader in sociology at the University of York.
Voiceovers were by Seth Thévoz.
The Hoover ad (1987) is at The Laundry Lab YouTube channel.
The Findus Crispy Pancakes ad is part of a YouTube compilation.
I drew on Lucy Delap’s ‘Yes ma’am: domestic workers and employment rights’, Mistress and Maid at the Wiener Holocaust Library, Helen McCarthy’s chapter on feminism, family and work in The Neoliberal Age: Britain since the 1970s (UCL Press, 2021), Margaret Thatcher’s Pankhurst Lecture (1990), Silvia Federici’s Wages Against Housework (1974), and the University of Aberystwyth’s Domestics - Refugees from National Socialism in Germany.