# Michael Buerk
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Michael Duncan Buerk (born 18 February 1946) is an English journalist and newsreader. He presented BBC News from 1973 to 2002 and has been the host of BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze since 1990. He was also the presenter of BBC One's docudrama 999 from 1992 to 2003.
Is the World Cup morally compromised?
The 2026 World Cup is the biggest in the tournament's history, with 48 teams playing 104 matches across three countries: The United States, Mexico and Canada.
For many, this summer's competition reveals that the game has drifted irreversibly from its working-class roots. Ticket prices are prohibiti…
What Makes Us Human?
In his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV warned that artificial intelligence threatens the dignity of the human person.
Human exceptionalism - the belief that we are special, both within the animal kingdom and in the eyes of God - rests on a single distinction. We don't just think…
Do we care more about the place where we live than about the nation we live in?
If Andy Burnham has a four-word philosophy, it is 'the politics of place', a phrase he uses often. Burnham argues that politics must concentrate on meeting local needs, on the devolution of power and on 'levelling up' the places that have been doing badly.
While he was winning in Makerfield, the Sc…
Are America's founding ideals a reality or a myth?
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal, endowed with unalienable rights... life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. During his lifetime Jefferson owned more than 620 slaves. As America marks 250 years since the Declaration, that contradiction is impossible to look past: …
Are networks the glue of society or the architecture of privilege?
Michael Buerk chairs a special debate from the Hay Festival examining the morality of networks.
The release of the Epstein files has been a reminder that power often flows not just through formal institutions, but through webs of connection: political friendships, old school ties, and professional …
Data Centres: Whose Thirst Comes First?
AI data centres are expanding across the UK and around the world. Tech giants and governments see them as essential infrastructure for future prosperity; the engines of economic growth, scientific innovation, improved healthcare and national security. Advocates believe they will bring about the nex…
How should we respond to rising mental distress?
A record one in seven people in England were prescribed antidepressants in the last year, according to NHS figures. More than nine million patients now take the drugs, and while they may be essential in many cases, the prevalence of mental ill-health – stress, anxiety, burnout – is a moral issue as…
How should we respond to warnings of end times and catastrophe?
America’s Vice-President, J. D. Vance, has been talking about the end of the world, saying he “wouldn’t be shocked” if the Anti-Christ was walking amongst us.
Most people are living incomparably better lives than generations ago - and history is full of warnings of apocalypse - so how should we res…
Is empathy ever a weakness?
Reform's Robert Jenrick has described Britain’s welfare system as “suicidal empathy.” It’s also the title of a recent book by the Canadian marketing Professor Gad Saad, who argues that a misdirected sense of empathy can lead to favouring certain people over others – for example, the criminal over t…
Has Remembrance Failed?
Every year, Britain falls silent on Armistice Day. The bugle plays the "Last Post", and we collectively agree: “Never Again”.
At the same time, war has returned to Europe. Governments are increasing defence spending to levels not seen since the Cold War. Politicians speak of a nation “on a war foot…
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