About the Boys - Episode 1

In this series, teenage boys from all over the UK talk frankly to Catherine Carr about sex, consent, life online, fun and friendship. They discuss porn, their struggles at school and becoming men.

In the first episode, they talk candidly about what it is like to be a boy in 2024. They reflect on where they get their ideas about masculinity from, and whether those might be different if they lived elsewhere in the country. They also discuss the importance of role models - if they have them. Catherine also hears from adults making a difference in boys’ lives and finds out how examples of masculinity online can put real pressure on boys thinking about what it means to be a ‘successful man’.

To listen to the rest of the series, just search for About the Boys on BBC Sounds.

Thanks to

South Dartmoor Community College
Dr Martin Robb, Open University
DRMZ Carmarthen Youth Project
Thomas Lynch from Dad's Rock
Elliott Rae Founder of MusicFootballFatherhood
Cambridge St Giles Cricket Club
Dance United Yorkshire
Movember
Rebecca Asher Author ‘Man Up How Do Boys Become Better Men?’

Producer: Catherine Carr
Researcher: Jill Achineku
Executive Producer: Marie Helly

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4