"The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve..."

Just as we're learning to live with endless wars, warming oceans and a new series of Traitors, along comes a nerdy scientist who tells us that AI might possibly destroy humanity. Thanks for cheering me up mate.

Of all the worries that we have to face in the world, our everyday struggles and anxieties, there's nothing more guaranteed to raise the blood pressure than this little snippet of jollity reported recently that 'there's a 10 per cent chance the world is about to be destroyed by robots.'

How on earth are we supposed to get on with our lives with all this nonsense screaming in our ears? Shakespeare may have wondered this too, living in an era when the end of the world was expected every second Thursday.

Shakespeare found a number of ways to deal with the doomers and gloomers, not always with fun and laughs - although joking about it certainly helps. He also dared to confront the new King, James the first who was himself a true believer in the apocalypse, with plays that explained how every problem happening in the world was not created by celestial conjunctions, evil devils or the big hand of Him, but almost invariably a human being. A person, just like you and me.

I know I'm supposed to be reassuring you and I've probably just made things worse. But we have survived 180 separate predictions of the world's end since 1500 alone so you never know, there's life in the old planet yet.

Plays mentioned in today's show: Macbeth is the biggie, but honourable mentions also for Richard the Third and a selection of Sonnets dealing with the end of the world as we know it.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Be not afeard: the isle is full of noises, sounds and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not.”

Have you ever waited for a reply to your email and panicked after five minutes that the person hasn't got back to you because they've been made so angry by it they're never going to talk to you again, ever? Or been ever so slightly concerned when someone leaves an AI company because he's 10 per cent convinced they're about to destroy humanity, including you, your best mate and the entire neighbourhood?

It's okay my friend, let me take you by the hand and lead you, gently, to a place of rational equanimity. With a bit of help from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. CBT is a simple easy-to-apply therapy developed in the 1960s that helps you to take your darkest thoughts and dial them down to something you can cope with - but guess what, the whole thing is based on a singe line of Shakespeare's that's guaranteed to calm you an instant. I'd love to tell you what it is but in ye ancient time-honoured tradition of clickbait I'm afraid you have to listen to the show to find out what it is.

Listen to how Brutus justifies killing Julius Caesar and work out that in order to take action you don't necessarily have to go down the 'assassinate the supreme leader' route.

Plays mentioned in this episode are Hamlet and Julius Caesar, which are more than enough to solve all your cognitive behavioural issues.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Whiles I am a beggar, I will say there is no sin but to be rich; and being rich, shall say there is no vice but beggary."

Why don't we ever talk about money? Especially if we're struggling with it. It's because we feel guilty, embarrassed, ashamed. We're made to feel bad for wanting to borrow a few quid while giant American corporations are literally throwing billions of dollars at a bunch of middle aged sci-fi nerds even as they explain that their plan is to inadvertently destroy humanity. We really do have the most ridiculous attitude to money don't we.

This week, I'm hoping with the help of Shakespeare to develop a healthier attitude to money, explain why our emotions are so tied in to our financial transactions, and to come to terms with not having as much as we like. Oh and explain why 'neither a borrower or a lender be' is crap advice. (Shakespeare understood that. And he also had a dad who was terrible with money. Luckily for dad his son was minting it from an early age).

Plays mentioned in today's show: The Merchant of Venice (yes I know, it's a show about the money, money, money), Timon of Athens, King Lear, and a selection of financial sounding Sonnets.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.