On Directing

Mike Figgis

Film director Mike Figgis reflects on the hard lessons he learned in Hollywood.

• 15 mins

An Informal History of the Male Nude

Edith Hall

Edith Hall reflects on the meaning of the male nude in the art of the ancient world.

• 15 mins

An Informal History of the Male Nude

Partha Mitter

Partha Mitter explores the meaning of the male nude in the visual art of the subcontinent.

• 15 mins

An Informal History of the Male Nude

Gabriel Gbadamosi

Gabriel Gbadamosi considers the meaning of the male nude in African art.

• 15 mins

An Informal History of the Male Nude

Matthew Sweet

Matthew Sweet reflects on the male nude in Renaissance and Victorian art.

• 15 mins

An Informal History of the Male Nude

Sarah Kent

Critic Sarah Kent contemplates the place of the male nude in contemporary art.

• 15 mins

Wild Things II

Wild Ponies

Ruth Padel explores how history and literature have shaped our reactions to wild ponies.

• 15 mins

Wild Things II

The Owl

Ruth Padel on what owls mean to us and what they can show about the British landscape.

• 15 mins

Wild Things II

Wild Salmon

Ruth Padel explores the wild salmon's extraordinary life and its impact on humans.

• 15 mins

Wild Things II

The Squirrel

Ruth Padel explores our feelings towards squirrels in biology, history and literature.

• 15 mins

Wild Things II

The Snake

Ruth Padel on our feelings towards the snake through biology, history and literature.

• 15 mins

Listener, They Won It

Simon Barnes

Simon Barnes on the immortalisation of Roger Bannister's mile in a still photograph.

• 15 mins

Listener, They Won It

Lynne Truss

Writer Lynne Truss on the celebrity racehorse Eclipse captured in Stubbs's 1770 portrait.

• 15 mins

Listener, They Won It

Richard T Kelly

Author Richard T Kelly on rugby league in Lindsay Anderson's film This Sporting Life.

• 15 mins

Listener, They Won It

Richard Cohen

Former Olympic fencer Richard Cohen on swordplay in Dumas's The Three Musketeers.

• 15 mins

Listener, They Won It

Ed Smith

Writer and former England cricketer Ed Smith on cricket in the novels of JL Carr.

• 15 mins

The Case for Doubt

Alastair Campbell on Self-Doubt

Alastair Campbell on how self-doubt can be a remarkable source of energy and creativity.

• 15 mins

The Case for Doubt

Susan Greenfield on Scientific Doubt

Susan Greenfield argues that doubt among scientists should be 'as natural as breathing'.

• 15 mins

The Case for Doubt

Madeleine Bunting on Religious Doubt

Journalist and writer Madeleine Bunting discusses religious doubt.

• 15 mins

The Case for Doubt

Jennifer Michael Hecht on Doubt

American poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht argues doubt is 'a beautiful thing'.

• 15 mins

Bram Stoker

Catherine Wynne

Dr Catherine Wynne on the life of Dracula's creator, Bram Stoker, who died 100 years ago.

• 15 mins

Bram Stoker

Colm Toibin

Novelist Colm Toibin explores the origins of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

• 15 mins

Bram Stoker

Christopher Frayling

Christopher Frayling takes a trip to Transylvania inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula.

• 15 mins

Bram Stoker

Roger Luckhurst

Professor Roger Luckhurst explores Stoker's Egyptian horror The Jewel of Seven Stars.

• 15 mins

Bram Stoker

Jarlath Killeen

Dr Jarlath Killeen explores Bram Stoker's last novel, The Lair of the White Worm.

• 15 mins

Shakespeare and Love

Margaret Drabble

Writer Margaret Drabble explores how Shakespeare has deepened our concept of love.

• 15 mins

Shakespeare and Love

Stanley Wells

Stanley Wells argues that Shakespeare's many portrayals of love reflect his own life.

• 15 mins

Shakespeare and Love

Samuel West

Actor and director Samuel West talks of his own passion for Shakespearean love.

• 15 mins

Shakespeare and Love

Helen Hackett

Helen Hackett argues that Shakespeare used sonnets to speak a higher truth about love.

• 15 mins

Shakespeare and Love

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Writer and journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown examines interracial love in Shakespeare.

• 15 mins