Description

Heal Thyself: A History Of Self-HelpBroadcast on BBC Radio 4August 5th to 19th 2014For those who associate the self-help movement with the middle-of-the-night Anthony Robbins infomercials of the 1980s, this series will be an eye-opener. Self-help is by no means a modern idea, as personified by the likes of Susan Jeffers and her highly successful 1987 book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.The Greeks also recognised man’s need for self-improvement, and — via Samuel Smiles’s Self-Help; with Illustrations of Character and Conduct (1859) — it has since become a publishing phenomenon. Comedian Robin Ince looks into the history of the $13 billion industry, and tries to understand whether anyone ever becomes richer, happier or wiser thanks to the psychological patter of these gurus. And if you’re wondering whether such inner fortitude runs in families, Smiles is the great-great-grandfather of Bear Grylls.Presented by Robin InceProduced by Alex MansfieldNote: the episode descriptions included with the upload are much more elaborate.—Episode 1 – HappierFrom Marcus Aurelius to Men Are From Mars, let’s get richer, happier and more productive.First broadcast: 05 Aug 2014—Episode 2 – HealthierRobin Ince looks at the early modern and 19-century self-helpers.First broadcast: 12 Aug 2014—Episode 3 – RicherIn the last episode of the series, Robin Ince looks at the trends in self-help that took it away from soulful wellbeing towards business and the arts of making money.First broadcast: 19 Aug 2014—Recorded from iPlayer.Audio Codec: MPEG-1 Layer 3Audio Sample Rate: 44100 HzAudio BitRate Type: CBRAudio Channels: 2Audio Bitrate (kbps): 128Duration: 3 x 30 mins