Sideways

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Factual: Life Stories

Matthew Syed explores the ideas that shape our lives, making us see the world differently.

Best-selling author Matthew Syed explores the ideas that shape our lives with stories of seeing the world differently.

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Sideways: 10. Under the Influence

10. Under the Influence

BBC Radio 4 - Sideways, 10. Under the Influence

Matthew Syed examines the appeal of the myth of subliminal influence.

In 1990, metal band Judas Priest were accused of influencing the suicide and attempted suicide of two fans through subliminal messages. Matthew Syed examines the mind control myth.

It's 1990 and Birmingham metal band Judas Priest are on trial in court in Reno, Nevada. The band are accused of influencing the suicide and suicide attempt of two of their young fans by placing subliminal messages in their track Better By You, Better Than Me.
 
What follows is a six week trial - the first to be filmed for Court TV - in which the lives of the boys’ families are devastatingly pulled apart in front of the cameras, junk science is flung around the courtroom. The band will have to prove their innocence, in a classic piece of courtroom theatre, by explaining the suspicious nonsense phrases found when they play their music backwards.
 
Matthew Syed tells the story of the case and examines the stubborn myth of mind control and hidden influences. From the fascination with subliminal messages in mid-century advertising, to self-help tapes in the 1980s and the fear for the minds of young YouTube fans falling asleep to strange sounds in order to wake up with glowing skin, Matthew considers the misconceptions about the way we’re influenced.
 
With David Van Taylor, filmmaker and director of Dream Deceivers: Heavy Metal on Trial; Timothy E. Moore, professor in the Department of Psychology, Glendon College, York University; and Hugo Mercier, research scientist at the CNRS Institut Jean Nicod, Paris. Wilson B. Key interview on KPFK courtesy of Pacifica Radio Archives.

BBC Action Line
If you or someone you know are experiencing emotional distress, help and support is available here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4WLs5NlwrySXJR2n8Snszdg/emotional-distress-information-and-support2
 
Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer/Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Executive Producer: Max O'Brien
Music, Sound Design and Mix: Nicholas Alexander
Theme Music: Seventy Times Seven by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

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