To understand all that is now wrong with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and what was once so right with it, listen to “Slime Moulds”, first broadcast in January of this year. You might have thought that having decided to produce a programme with that title, the BBC would try to sex it up. You would be wrong. “Hello,” said the presenter. Slime mould is “a single-celled organism that scientists have struggled to categorise”. The programme went on to explain different slime moulds’ life cycle (revolting); their appearance (often like “dogs’ vomit”) and their preferred habitat (often dung).