Journalist Paul Mason and graphic novelists Mary and Bryan Talbot discuss Louise Michel, the revolutionary feminist anarchist dubbed 'The Red Virgin of Montmartre', who fought on the barricades defending the Paris Commune in 1871. UC Berkeley psychologist Dr Dacher Keltner explores what he calls the power paradox. The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia by Bryan and Mary Talbot is out now. The Power Paradox by Dacher Keltner is out now. Producer: Jacqueline Smith
May 11, 2016•44 min
Anne McElvoy invites three novelists into the studio to discuss Love - the theme of each of their new novels. A L Kennedy's Serious Sweet examines love in later life, Tahmima Anam explores different aspects of young love in The Bones of Grace and Alain de Botton says no-one lives happy ever after, we should talk a lot more about what comes next - hence the title of his book The Course of Love. Aside from whether Romanticism is plague or blessing, the writers also discuss whether writers themselv...
May 05, 2016•44 min
Philip Dodd talks to the artist Olafur Eliasson who famously created artificial sunlight in the Weather Project at Tate Modern. He's also been responsible for engineering four man-made waterfalls in New York, founded a company producing solar powered LED lights, and has just published a cook book. The Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov discusses his latest, The Bickford Fuse, an allegorical study of the Soviet soul set between the end of World War 2 and the fall of communism. And to consider the Rus...
May 04, 2016•44 min
Author Marina Lewycka discusses Lubetkin's social housing with Matthew Sweet in a programme which considers concrete homes past and present. Curator Helen Pheby describes transporting a former council house which has been turned into a kind of blue grotto by artist Roger Hiorns as the Yorkshire Sculpture Park hosts an exhibition on the theme of Home. Lynsey Hanley talks about the experience of growing up on a Birmingham council estate and the powerful connections between concrete and class. And ...
May 03, 2016•44 min
Playwright Howard Brenton and director Adrian Noble discuss stage plays drawing on the life of TE Lawrence. Journalist John Preston has explored MP Jeremy Thorpe's downfall. And Philip Dodd is joined by Chris Bryant for a wider discussion about privacy in public life. And Mary Beard joins us to discuss another imperial endeavour, Rome. Howard Brenton's new play Lawrence After Arabia runs at the Hampstead Theatre from April 28th to June 4th. Adrian Noble is directing Terence Rattigan's play Ross ...
Apr 28, 2016•45 min
“To unpathed waters, undreamed shores” Matthew Sweet discusses The Winter’s Tale, written just 6 years before Shakespeare died and still regarded as one of his most intriguing works. With actor Samuel West, and scholars Michael Dobson(University of Birmingham) and Carol Rutter( University of Warwick) joining Matthew in Stratford-upon-Avon in the Radio 3 prop up studio at the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Other Place theatre as part of Radio 3's Sounds of Shakespeare season. The Winter's Tale i...
Apr 27, 2016•44 min
Rana Mitter is joined by Edith Hall, Nandini Das and Beatrice Groves to explore the books which inspired Shakespeare from the Bible and classical stories to the writing of some of Shakespeare's contemporaries. Edith Hall is Professor in the Classics Department and Centre for Hellenic Studies at King's College London. Her most recent book is Introducing The Ancient Greeks. Nandini Das is Professor of English Literature at the University of Liverpool. She is also a New Generation Thinker on the sc...
Apr 26, 2016•44 min
As Sicily: culture and conquest opens at The British Museum, Anne McElvoy gathers three experts round the Free Thinking table - the historian of Sicily, John Julius Norwich, Helena Atlee who approaches the island from the point of view of its legendary citrus fruit and Anna Sergi, a criminologist at the University of Essex who explains how Cosa Nostra reflects much of the closed culture of the modern island. Tom Stoppard drops by to celebrate The London Library at 175 and as the 400th anniversar...
Apr 21, 2016•45 min
Slavoj Zizek is in conversation with Philip Dodd. The title of the latest book from the Slovenian philosopher, cultural critic and Marxist scholar is 'Against the Double Blackmail: Refugees, Terror and Other Troubles with the Neighbours'. Producer: Laura Thomas
Apr 21, 2016•44 min
In a special Landmark edition, Matthew Sweet discusses Tarkovsky's 1979 film Stalker with the director Sophie Fiennes, the journalist Konstantin Von Eggert, whose family knew Tarkovsky, film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, the writer Geoff Dyer, and the academic and former tour guide in the Chernobyl Zone Dr Nicholas Rush Cooper from Durham University. Stalker tells the story of three men - Writer, Professor, and Stalker. We are never quite sure who Stalker is, or what he represents, but it's his jo...
Apr 19, 2016•44 min
Anne McElvoy talks to Syrian architect Marwa Al-Sabouni about her country's built environment its impact on the behaviour of the people who live there. Also the politics of judging book prizes is debated by Professor Geoffrey Hosking, emeritus professor of Russian history, School of Slavonic & East European Studies, University College London and Fleur Montanaro, Administrator of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction. Writers Lasha Bugadze and Aka Morchiladze discuss Georgian literature ...
Apr 14, 2016•44 min
Philip Dodd is joined by artist Bruce McLean and critic Sarah Kent to consider the history and politics of British Conceptual Art on show at Tate Britain. Also Richard Nisbett gives his view on how "smart thinking" can help us improve our lives. Richard Nisbett is Theodore M. Newcomb Distinguished Professor of Social Psychology and Co-director of the Culture and Cognition program at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He is cited by Malcolm Gladwell as an influence and is the author of a bo...
Apr 13, 2016•45 min
Jonathan Coe, author of books including The Rotter's Club, What a Carve Up and his most recent novel Number 11, joins playwright Richard Cameron and presenter Matthew Sweet in a programme recorded in front of an audience at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Jonathan Coe's 2001 novel, The Rotter's Club, depicts teenage life in Birmingham in the 1970s, against a backdrop of strikes at the local car factories. It's been adapted for the stage by Richard Cameron - whose other plays include The Glee C...
Apr 12, 2016•44 min
Anne McElvoy looks at current debates about economics, British manufacturing and entrepreneurialism talking to Juliet Michaelson from the New Economics Foundation, the politicians Liam Byrne and John Redwood and entrepreneur Luke Johnson. They also consider the arguments in new books from Yanis Varoufakis and Thomas Piketty. The panel is joined by theatre critic Matt Wolf who'll be reflecting on the way business and economics are represented on stage reporting on recent openings on Broadway and ...
Apr 07, 2016•45 min
Rana Mitter talks to playwright Anders Lustgarten whose latest work is set in a small village in China, Rotten Peach Village, over 60 years. Communism arrives and the villagers embrace it. Lustgarten has also written a new play partly inspired by the painter Caravaggio which opens at the RSC at the end of this year. Also a consideration of the satirical short stories about Edwardian England published by Saki - the pen name of Scottish author Hector Hugh Munro (1870 - 1916). Rana is joined by the...
Apr 06, 2016•44 min
A celebration of Evelyn Waugh to mark the 50th anniversary of his death. Matthew Sweet is joined by two writers who are long term admirers - Adam Mars-Jones and Bryony Lavery and by Waugh's latest biographer, Philip Eade and his grandson and editor, Alexander Waugh. Brideshead Revisited - adapted by Bryony Lavery - runs at York Theatre Royal from Fri 22 Apr - Sat 30 Apr and then goes on tour to Bath, Southampton, Cambridge, Malvern, Brighton, Oxford, Richmond. Evelyn Waugh - A Life Revisited by ...
Apr 05, 2016•45 min
In a programme exploring light, Anne McElvoy is joined by Ann Wroe - who has walked the South Downs for her latest book considering painters including Ravilious and Samuel Palmer. Prof. Lucie Green has written a journey to the centre of the sun. The fluorescent creations of Dan Flavin the post war American artist go on show at Birmingham's Ikon Gallery curated by director Jonathan Watkins. And in Blackpool - home of the Illuminations - the Grundy Art Gallery is adding to its collection of light ...
Mar 31, 2016•44 min
Jerry Brotton talks to Rana Mitter about the links between Elizabethan England and the Islamic World. They're joined in studio for a conversation about the history and growth of nationalism around the world by the Turkish novelist Elif Shafak, by Professor John Breuilly from the London School of Economics and by the novelist Gillian Slovo - who has written a thriller inspired by the Tottenham riots and a verbatim drama based on interviews asking why young Muslim men and women from across Western...
Mar 30, 2016•44 min
Anne McElvoy is joined by New Generation Thinker Shahidha Bari to explore the history of the suit as the Jewish Museum in London opens an exhibition on men's fashion. American playwright Neil LaBute is the author of plays including The Shape of Things, Bash, The Mercy Seat and Fat Pig. He discusses happiness as he follows up Reasons to be Pretty with a new drama called Reasons to be Happy. Moses, Mods and Mr Fish: The Menswear Revolution runs at the Jewish Museum in London from March 31st - June...
Mar 24, 2016•44 min
Rana Mitter considers the myth of the Green Man and our relationship to Nature, talking to George Monbiot, writing at the interface of politics, equality and nature, Nina Lyon whose exploration of Green Man rising takes her from Wales to London and american novelist Charlie Jane Anders whose sci-fi story takes in wicca magic and technological uber-geekiness. Joining them in the studio, Kate Maltby, expert in renaissance literature and political commentator. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Ja...
Mar 23, 2016•45 min
Ahead of a major retrospective at the British Film Institute, Matthew Sweet shines a light on the career of director Alan Clarke with filmmaker Clio Barnard, his daughter Molly Clarke, and actor Phil Davis, who appeared in The Firm alongside Gary Oldman. Ken Loach pays tribute to Barry Hines, the Yorkshire writer behind one of his most memorable films, Kes. The American cartoonist Daniel Clowes talks about his latest graphic novel, Patience. The Alan Clarke BFI retrospective runs from March 28th...
Mar 22, 2016•45 min
Anne McElvoy and Julian Barnes discuss images of Russian cultural figures on display at the National Portrait Gallery. Director Roxana Silbert and playwright Suhayla El-Bushra discuss putting Russian satirical dramas on stage in Britain. And Soumaya Keynes from teh Institute of Fiscal Studies, journalist Ann Treneman and journalist and director of the Institute for Government Peter Riddell discuss the theatre of the budget. Russia and the Arts: The Age of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky runs at the Nati...
Mar 17, 2016•44 min
Matthew Sweet and guests discuss the state of academic philosophy in the UK today. It’s often thought of as being difficult, abstract, and far-removed from the concerns of every-day life. It even came up recently in the US Presidential campaign, when Republican hopeful Marco Rubio claimed America needs fewer philosophers and more welders. So what is the place of philosophy in today’s universities? And what role can it play in wider culture? Few people in the UK have done more to help philosopher...
Mar 16, 2016•44 min
Martin Parr has curated an exhibition bringing together views of the UK taken by international photographers including Tina Barney from the USA. Both join Philip Dodd, plus journalists Tim Stanley and Ben Judah, and philosopher Mahlet Zimeta to examine what British identity looks like in 2016. Strange and Familiar: Britain as Revealed by International Photographers runs at the Barbican 16 March 2016 - 19 June 2016 Unseen City: Photos by Martin Parr City of London photographer-in-residence since ...
Mar 15, 2016•44 min
Rana Mitter reads a new history of the Holy Roman Empire written by Chichele Professor of History Peter H Wilson and discusses Christianity today with the religion editor of the TLS Rupert Shortt and Professor Janet Soskice. Iranian artist Reza Derakshani is presenting new work including paintings from his ongoing Hunting series, which draws on traditions of Persian miniature painting and upon the American Abstract Expressionist movement which he encountered while living in exile in New York. Th...
Mar 10, 2016•45 min
In a programme exploring Spanish culture and politics, Philip Dodd is joined by the influential novelist, columnist and translator Javier Marias - author of 16 books and former winner of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Also, following the opening of a new musical version of Don Quixote at the Royal Shakespeare Company, what is the the influence of Cervantes 400 years after his death? Ben Okri has been to Stratford and joins Javier Marias to discuss Cervantes. Plus, as the country's political fu...
Mar 09, 2016•44 min
Performance poet Hollie McNish has written a book and a series of poems about motherhood. Composer Emily Hall has been commissioned to write a childrens' opera for Hull 2017. Scientist Helen Pearson has researched and written about the longest runnning study of human development. Edwina Attlee is a writer with an interest in launderettes, sleeper trains, fire escapes, greasy spoons, postcards, and the working lives of women. She'll be sharing audio tales from the National Life Stories Archive at...
Mar 08, 2016•45 min
As a best-selling German biography of Hitler is published in English Anne McElvoy explores the way German historians view Hitler now talking to Volker Ullrich and historian Richard J Evans from the University of Cambridge. New Generation Thinker Catherine Fletcher reviews Botticelli Reimagined at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Botticelli Reimagined runs at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from 5 March - 3 July 2016. Hitler by Volker Ullrich is now published in English. Catherine Fletche...
Mar 03, 2016•44 min
In the year that John Osborne's Look Back In Anger turns 60 Philip Dodd considers the eruption of rage in the recent politics of the US and India with Jonah Goldberg, Kit Davis, Pankaj Mishra and Sunil Khilnani. Pause for a moment and you realise it's impossible to ignore the Black Lives Matter protests or the urgent polemics of the writer and activist Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose passionately angry new book about race in the US, The Beautiful Struggle, comes out this week. It's difficult to turn a b...
Mar 02, 2016•44 min
Neil Jordan talks to Matthew Sweet about his novel The Drowned Detective and the difference between writing fiction and making films. Olivia Laing and John Haldane explore loneliness and solitude in art, philosophy and religion. Rowan Moore on creating contemporary global cities that answer the needs of the people who live and work in them. The Drowned Detective by Neil Jordan is published by Bloomsbury The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing is published by Canonga...
Mar 01, 2016•45 min
