Free Thinking in Summer 2013

York Festival of Ideas - Wars of the Roses

Rana Mitter examines the legacy of the War of the Roses at the 2013 York Festival of Ideas

• 45 mins

Free Thinking in Summer 2013

Philosophy Night

Rana Mitter chairs a debate from the Philosophy Night marathon at the Insitut Français.

• 45 mins

Free Thinking in Summer 2013

HowTheLightGetsIn Festival

Philip Dodd examines The Problem with Love at the How the Light Gets In festival in Hay.

• 45 mins

Free Thinking in Summer 2013

Chalke Valley History Festival

A debate on how the British have looked to their history for a sense of national identity.

• 45 mins

Free Thinking in Summer 2013

York Festival of Ideas

Rana Mitter with a debate from the York Festival of Ideas. Can we afford ethical business?

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

Derry-Londonderry's Cultural History

How Derry-Londonderry and its citizens have been shaped by political and religious history

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

Michael Grigsby's Film-making Career

Matthew Sweet discusses the work of the late film director Michael Grigsby.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

Michael Marmot on Self-Control

Michael Marmot's Free Thinking Lecture, asking 'Is self-control the key to a long life?'.

• 60 mins

2013 Festival

Are We at a Tipping Point? Controlling Infection and Combatting Disease

Professor Sally Davies, chief medical officer for England, lectures on disease.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

Science Fiction and Surveillance: Zamyatin's We

Matthew Sweet discusses Zamyatin's 1919 novel We, which depicts spying in a glass city.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

Power to the People: What Choices Do We Have?

David Skelton, David Aaronovitch and Julie Moore discuss power and consultation.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

How on Earth Can We Cope with Less?

Philip Dodd chairs a discussion about scarcity, sustainability and creativity.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

Controlling Moods and Minds: Depression and Smart Drugs

A debate about depression, decision-making and the morality of medical treatments.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

Teaching the Teachers: The Future of Education

Lecture in which Professor Sugata Mitra talks about teaching ourselves using computers.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

An Interview with John Waters

Filmmaker John Waters talks to Samira Ahmed about Hairspray, hitchhiking and Baltimore.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

Controlling the Countryside

Fiona Reynolds and Simon Thurley discuss planning and power pressures on rural areas.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

Who's Got Hold of Children's Imaginations?

Authors Patrick Ness and Professor Charles Fernyhough discuss children's imaginations.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

Boneless, Bloodaxe and Hairy Breeches: What Did the Vikings Ever Do for Us?

Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough on the power battles between Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings.

• 15 mins

2013 Festival

The Real Game of Thrones: Power in 15th-Century England

Sarah Peverley explores shifts in royal power during the Wars of the Roses.

• 15 mins

2013 Festival

False Conception: Female Sexuality in Victorian England

New Generation Thinker Fern Riddell discusses women's rights activist Annie Besant.

• 15 mins

2013 Festival

Breeding the Mongrel: Language Wars in Early Modern England

John Gallagher on how 16th and 17th-century global travellers shaped English speech.

• 15 mins

2013 Festival

In Search of Ecstasy

Jules Evans explores rationalists' suspicions about states of high elation.

• 15 mins

2013 Festival

Wombs on Legs? Science Fiction and the Control of Reproduction

Sarah Dillon explores roles for women in science fiction and asks if the genre is sexist.

• 15 mins

2013 Festival

Autobiographical Memory and Contemporary Fiction

Alice Hall explores the effect of blogs, YouTube and phone apps on telling life stories.

• 15 mins

2013 Festival

Science and Sensibility

Gregory Tate asks what controls humans: rational thought or unconscious emotion.

• 15 mins

2013 Festival

Cutting Tradition

Rebecca Steinfeld investigates the place of religious traditions involving genital cutting

• 15 mins

2013 Festival

Therapy Versus Prayer

Christopher Harding explores religion and counselling in Japan and the UK.

• 15 mins

2013 Festival

Why Are Maps Still So Powerful?

A discussion asking if maps can reveal too much and how they direct our thinking.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

Are Audiences Killing Culture?

Matthew Sweet presents a debate asking if the arts are leading or following public taste.

• 45 mins

2013 Festival

What's Eating You?

Authors Lionel Shriver and Val Curtis ask if we are too obsessed with food and body image.

• 45 mins