
Why Do People Pretend to Be Working Class? (Your Radical Questions with Sophie Pender)
From Radical by BBC Radio 4
July 13, 2026 · 24 min
About this episode
Sophie Pender discusses class, privilege, and education, addressing listener questions on social mobility and the impact of private schools.
Sophie Pender, founder of The 93% Club, returns to answer your questions on class, privilege and education. In the main episode, Sophie told Amol why she thinks Britain needs to stop talking politely about social mobility and confront the power of private schools. Now, listeners ask whether class identity has become too slippery, whether people downplay their own privilege, and whether support for state-school students risks helping those who are already advantaged. Sophie also discusses oracy, accent and confidence in the classroom, the culture shock of elite universities, the case for and against grammar schools, and why she thinks vocational education should be about aptitude rather than origin. GET IN TOUCH: * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: [email protected] Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and Monday. Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC’s media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper. Series producer: Rufus Gray Producers: Oscar Pearson, Julian Paszkiewicz Digital producers: Leona Gasper, Joe Wilkinson Technical producer: Jonny Hall Senior…
People in this episode
Host: Amol Rajan
Guest: Sophie Pender
Topics covered
- class identity
- privilege
- education
- social mobility
- private schools
- vocational education
Keywords
- class
- privilege
- education
- social mobility
- private schools
- grammar schools
- vocational education
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The 93% Club, BBC Radio 4, BBC One, The Independent
More episodes of Radical
- The Best of Radical with Amol Rajan · July 16, 2026 · 1h 15m
- We Need to Talk About Class: Is It Time to Abolish Private Schools? (Sophie Pender) · July 9, 2026 · 1h 9m
- What Is The Secret To Happiness? (Your Radical Questions with Lord Richard Layard) · July 6, 2026 · 19 min
- Happiness Rules: Should Wellbeing Dictate Government Policy? (Lord Richard Layard) · July 2, 2026 · 51 min
- Should Phones Be Banned in Pubs? (Your Radical Questions with Oisín Rogers) · June 29, 2026 · 21 min
- Last Call for the Local: Are Old Pubs the Solution to Modern Crises? (Oisín Rogers) · June 25, 2026 · 1h 3m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Radical podcast page.