BBC World Service

I tune in the 'The World Today' at ten pm every night, as a way of catching up with what's going on outside these walls (!)...

Last night, would it be talk of the G20 and global financial dislocation? Would it be about Merkel and the protests in Germany? Would it be about the bankruptcy of Ireland? Would it be about Sarkozy getting rid of the Minister who protested the Roma expulsions? Would it be about the growing movement in the USA, led by Ron Paul, to end the Fed? Would it be about the earthquakes off the coast of Yemen? Would it be about Israel's agreement to stop more settlement building (except in East Jerusalem) in return for concessions from the States?

Answer: none of the above. 20 minutes solid, in a 60-minute programme, on Aung Sun Suu Kyi in Burma, followed by a 'you the people' speak phone-in, about same, followed by the Most Amazing Win in 25 years of Motor Racing History, followed by The Most Amazing Philipino Boxer In History.

When it gets this bad, you know something big is happening. I think I wasted twenty quid on the radio.