Episode description

Margaret Cavendish was born exactly 400 years ago, and her many achievements include writing The Blazing World, arguably the first ever sci-fi novel. Novelist Siri Hustvedt and biographer Francesca Peacock discuss the enduring legacy of this pioneering woman, with extracts read by Rhiannon Neads

Margreth Olin tells Samira about her film Songs of Earth, for which she returned to the valley in Western Norway where she grew up, and the year she spent learning from her elderly parents and from nature.

Graham Kibble-White, Deputy Editor of Total TV guide magazine and TV critic and broadcaster Scott Bryan share their top festive viewing tips – from ghosts stories to soaps, documentaries to children’s viewing.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Julian Wilkinson