A Social History of the Piano

Michael Goldfarb explores the three-hundred-year history of the piano.

• 45 mins

After the Gold Rush - The Poetry of California

Dana Gioia traces developments in Californian poetry since the Beats in the 1950s.

• 45 mins

The Dragon with Two Tongues

Poet Gwyneth Lewis explores the modern revival of Welsh language.

• 45 mins

Queen's University - Belfast Built

The history of Queen's University in political, cultural and intellectual life in Belfast.

• 60 mins

Way off the Beaten Track

Stephen Smith asks if it matters if travel writing is unreliable.

• 45 mins

On Napoleon

Tolstoy and Napoleon

Rosamund Bartlett explores the truth and the fiction of Tolstoy's War and Peace.

• 45 mins

On Napoleon

Stendhal and Napoleon

Andy Martin on how Stendahl followed Napoleon across Europe in 1812 and changed fiction.

• 45 mins

On Napoleon

British Romanticism and Napoleon

Simon Bainbridge explores how Napoleon shaped poetry in Britain, especially the Romantics.

• 45 mins

Reader Meet Author

Exploring unexpected literary influences on Byron, Tennessee Williams and Virginia Woolf.

• 45 mins

Stop Calling Me 'Doctor Sex'

Matthew Sweet uncovers the extraordinary career of Alex Comfort, author of The Joy of Sex.

• 45 mins

Verdi 200: Viva Verdi

Roger Parker explores Verdi's status as an Italian national figure.

• 60 mins

A Brief History of Being Cold

Alexandra Harris presents a cultural history of the cold from the Anglo-Saxons to today.

• 45 mins

Margaret Are You Grieving? A Cultural History of Weeping

Thomas Dixon explores the history of weeping as an aesthetic response to works of art.

• 45 mins

Modernism Redux

Will Self rebroadcasts an imaginary archive of modernist radio.

• 45 mins

The Idea of Sin

In the Beginning Was Sinning

The Rev Richard Coles explores what is meant by sin and its origins.

• 45 mins

The Idea of Sin

Lead Me Not into Temptation

Richard Coles on temptation and the practical challenges of sin in the contemporary world.

• 45 mins

The Idea of Sin

The Road to Redemption

The Rev Richard Coles focuses on the idea of redemption in sacred and secular societies.

• 45 mins

The Ideas that Shaped the Baroque

Professor Tim Blanning explores the shifting ideas that nurtured and shaped the Baroque.

• 45 mins

RS Thomas - Always Seeking Greater Silence

Jon Gower explores poet RS Thomas's life and work through the prism of birdwatching.

• 1 min

50 Years of the Traverse Theatre

Joyce McMillan on the past, present and future of Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre, now 50.

• 45 mins

Along the Highland River

Poet Kenneth Steven goes to the source of Neil Gunn's novel Highland River.

• 45 mins

Renzo Piano's Music Boxes

Tom Service investigates how architect Renzo Piano uses music to inspire his buildings.

• 45 mins

Jan Morris - Travels Round My House

Jan Morris, who first reported the conquest of Everest, looks back on her adventures.

• 45 mins

Wagner - Making a National Hero

Stephen Johnson explores Wagner's heroes and charts how Wagner became a national hero.

• 44 mins

A Cultural History of Syphilis

Writer Sarah Dunant explores the social, cultural and human histories of syphilis.

• 44 mins

Stirring Up a Revolution

Tarek Osman explores the significance of the café and how it has shaped the Middle East.

• 45 mins

The Gospels Come Home

Author David Almond explores what the Lindisfarne Gospels mean to people in the North East

• 45 mins

Significant Others - Jewish Life in Poland

Episode 1

Writer Eva Hoffman charts the rise of a Jewish civilisation in eastern Europe.

• 45 mins

Significant Others - Jewish Life in Poland

Episode 2

Eva Hoffman explores the Jewish presence in Poland in its terrible 20th century and beyond

• 45 mins

Living and Present: Laurie Anderson on Performance Art

Pioneering artist Laurie Anderson traces the roots of contemporary performance art.

• 45 mins