The Essay

Leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, themed across a week - insight, opinion and intellectual surprise.

Radio 3,2136 episodes

Episodes

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Erland Cooper's Mythic Mountains
Bald Mountain
A late night visit to Bald Mountain on the witches' sabbath
25 Apr 2025,14 mins
Erland Cooper's Mythic Mountains
Mount Killaraus
A medieval voyage to Ireland, in search of the origins of Stonehenge
24 Apr 2025,14 mins
Erland Cooper's Mythic Mountains
Hnitbjorg
A late night journey to a mountain from Norse mythology, in search of the mead of poetry
23 Apr 2025,14 mins
Erland Cooper's Mythic Mountains
Kunlun Shan
An imaginary adventure in China, exploring the mythical Kunlun mountain.
22 Apr 2025,14 mins
Erland Cooper's Mythic Mountains
Mount Qaf
Erland and author Elif Shafak take an imaginary trip to explore the magic of Mount Qaf
21 Apr 2025,14 mins
New Generation Thinkers 2024
Digging for Words
Jade Cuttle explores new words in nature writing
04 Apr 2025,14 mins
New Generation Thinkers 2024
Workplace performance
Jaswinder Blackwell-Pal looks at “service with a smile”
03 Apr 2025,14 mins
New Generation Thinkers 2024
The crime of creation
Jack Symes considers how we value life and face death
02 Apr 2025,14 mins
New Generation Thinkers 2024
Mothers on trial
Shona Minson explores the pardoxical thinking around sending mothers to prison
01 Apr 2025,14 mins
New Generation Thinkers 2024
Land Cinema
Becca Voelcker describes experiments in filmmaking in China, Japan and the Philippines
31 Mar 2025,14 mins
New Generation Thinkers 2024
The intimacy of radio
Jacob Downs considers what it means to listen closely to the radio.
28 Mar 2025,14 mins
New Generation Thinkers 2024
Birth Stories
From 'lying in' to bedside cots: Emily Baughan traces childbirth changes.
27 Mar 2025,14 mins
New Generation Thinkers 2024
Losing Yourself in Books
Janine Bradbury questions our motivation when choosing what to read.
26 Mar 2025,14 mins
New Generation Thinkers 2024
A Philosophical Forgery?
Jonathan Egid tells the story of a mysterious Ethiopian thinker named Zera Yacob.
25 Mar 2025,14 mins
New Generation Thinkers 2024
Technicolor Wars
Kirsty Sinclair Dootson on the dark side of colour film.
24 Mar 2025,14 mins
Vivaldi - A Man for All Seasons
Going digital
Phil Hebblethwaite uncovers how a lost composer returned to fame.
21 Mar 2025,14 mins
Vivaldi - A Man for All Seasons
Let's murder Vivaldi
Phil Hebblethwaite uncovers how a lost composer returned to fame.
20 Mar 2025,14 mins
Vivaldi - A Man for All Seasons
A classic of Italian music
Phil Hebblethwaite uncovers how a lost composer returned to fame.
19 Mar 2025,14 mins
Vivaldi - A Man for All Seasons
Monks, music and Mussolini
Phil Hebblethwaite uncovers how a lost composer returned to fame.
18 Mar 2025,14 mins
Vivaldi - A Man for All Seasons
The seeds of a revival
Phil Hebblethwaite uncovers how a lost composer returned to fame.
17 Mar 2025,14 mins
The Little Secrets of Great Works
Leoš Janáček’s Sinfonietta
Essays on the small, underappreciated aspects of famous artistic pieces.
14 Mar 2025,14 mins
The Little Secrets of Great Works
Ulysses
Essays on the small, underappreciated aspects of famous artistic pieces.
13 Mar 2025,14 mins
The Little Secrets of Great Works
Spirited Away
Essays on the small, underappreciated aspects of famous artistic pieces.
12 Mar 2025,14 mins
The Little Secrets of Great Works
Howard’s End
Essays on the small, underappreciated aspects of famous artistic pieces.
11 Mar 2025,14 mins
The Little Secrets of Great Works
Neil Young’s ‘Out On The Weekend’
Essays on the small, underappreciated aspects of famous artistic pieces.
10 Mar 2025,14 mins
The Little Secrets of Great Works
Frida Kahlo's Broken Column
Art historian Katy Hessel on the symbolism of the spine in Frida Kahlo's Broken Column.
29 Sep 2023,14 mins
The Little Secrets of Great Works
Field of Dreams
Writer Sarfraz Manzoor discusses one moment in the Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams.
28 Sep 2023,14 mins
The Little Secrets of Great Works
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
Sam Leith on his fascination with a background figure in Judith Kerr's classic book.
27 Sep 2023,14 mins
The Little Secrets of Great Works
Sibelius's Fifth Symphony
Financial Times journalist Stephen Bush on the third movement of Sibelius's Symphony No 5.
26 Sep 2023,14 mins
The Little Secrets of Great Works
You've Got Mail
Children's novelist Elle McNicoll discusses one line from Nora Ephron's romantic comedy.
25 Sep 2023,14 mins