What is Public Luxury?

Food as a public service: the forgotten British Restaurant

At a time of soaring food prices and rising inequality, it’s striking that Britain once had a national network of public restaurants—and has almost entirely forgotten it. During WWII, British Restaurants fed millions with good quality, affordable meals—about £1.50 in today’s money. There were over 2,000 of these state-subsidised dining rooms across the country, serving everyone, not just the poor. This episode explores their remarkable history and enduring relevance. We speak to Professor Bryce Evans, who has written extensively on the scheme, to uncover how these restaurants functioned as joyful, universal social spaces. We then look to the present with Abigail McCall of Nourish Scotland, who is helping revive this model for the 21st century, and Jo Poulton, a sustainable agriculture specialist, on how a public food service could reshape our food system from farm to fork.

What is Public Luxury?

From Helsinki’s awe-inspiring Oodi Library to Red Vienna’s communal laundries and Argentina’s social tourism, this episode asks how luxury might look when it’s shared, not gated. We talk with Professor Helen Hester and the authors of Öffentlicher Luxus about reimagining comfort, care, and culture as common goods—from lidos and libraries to maker spaces, nurseries, and truly great public transport. Rather than austerity’s bare minimum, public luxury means abundance by design: high-quality amenities, time saved from domestic drudgery, and democratic control over how resources are used. If luxury has long been exclusive, what happens when we make it for everyone? Tune in to find out.

Universal Basic Services: an introduction

In this opening episode, we introduce Universal Basic Services (UBS): a transformative vision for a society where everyone has unconditional access to life’s essentials. We explore the principles behind UBS, its origins in policy, and how it’s being trialled across the UK—from digital inclusion and food delivery to low-carbon mobility. Through conversations with scholars, policy experts, and local government leaders, we unpack why UBS isn’t a utopian dream, but a practical and necessary response to inequality, ecological crisis, and the cost of living. UBS is more than a policy—it’s a framework for rethinking care, ownership, and the role of the state in everyday life.