Letters to a Young Poet

Moniza Alvi

A letter by TS Eliot Prize-shortlisted poet Moniza Alvi.

• 15 mins

Letters to a Young Poet

Don Paterson

Inspired by Rilke's classic text, Don Paterson writes a letter to a young poet of today.

• 15 mins

The Book that Changed Me

Alan Johnson on David Copperfield

Politician Alan Johnson on how Dickens's David Copperfield affected the course of his life

• 15 mins

The Book that Changed Me

Tracey Thorn on The Female Eunuch

Singer Tracey Thorn on how Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch spoke to her as a teenager.

• 15 mins

The Book that Changed Me

Simon McBurney on And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief as Photos

Actor Simon McBurney on John Berger's And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief as Photos.

• 15 mins

The Book that Changed Me

Malorie Blackman on The Color Purple

Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman on Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple.

• 15 mins

The Book that Changed Me

Luke Johnson on The Magic of Thinking Big

Entrepreneur Luke Johnson celebrates the classic self-help book The Magic of Thinking Big.

• 15 mins

England Ejects

On Not Boasting

Novelist Andrew Martin laments why 'not boasting' is fading from our lives.

• 15 mins

England Ejects

On Not Eating Too Much

Novelist Andrew Martin laments the loss of 'not eating too much'.

• 15 mins

England Ejects

On the Old Rules, or Gentility

Novelist Andrew Martin considers the loss of the 'old rules' and 'gentility'.

• 15 mins

England Ejects

On the Joys of Manual Work

Novelist Andrew Martin celebrates 'manual work', which he says fewer embrace today.

• 15 mins

England Ejects

On Sunday Church-Going

Novelist Andrew discusses the decline of Sunday church-going.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

The Establishment of the Islamic State

Professor Hugh Kennedy explains how the Islamic state was established.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Ali ibn Abi Talib

Professor Robert Gleave discusses Ali ibn Abi Talib and the origins of Shia Islam.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Imam Bukhari

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi gives her personal take on Persian scholar Imam Bukhari.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Paper

Jonathan Bloom explains how Islamic scholars and thinkers became early adopters of paper.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Harun al-Rashid

Julia Bray explores the figure of Harun al-Rashid from the Thousand and One Night tales.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Rabia Balkhi and Mahsati Ganjavi

Narguess Farzad of SOAS discusses Persian poetesses Rabia Balkhi and Mahsati Ganjavi.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Al-Khwarizmi

Jim Al-Khalili explores the legacy of mathematician and astronomer al-Khwarizmi.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Al-Kindi

Professor James Montgomery discusses the life and work of Arab philosopher Al-Kindi.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Al-Tabari

Hugh Kennedy discusses the life and times of the great historian of early Islam, al-Tabari

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Al-Farabi

Professor Peter Adamson discusses the great Muslim philosopher Al-Farabi.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Avicenna

Dr Tony Street assesses the great philosopher and physician Avicenna.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Islamic Architecture

Dr Sussan Babaie discusses the architectural glories of the Islamic world.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Al-Biruni

Professor James Montgomery discusses the Islamic scholar Al-Biruni.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Al Hakim

Dr Simonetta Calderini discusses Al Hakim, the controversial Egyptian imam-caliph.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Al-Ghazali

Professor Mona Siddiqui discusses religious thinker and mystic Al-Ghazali.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Ibn Rushd

Professor Charles Burnett considers the philosopher Ibn Rushd.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Cities of Learning

Dr Amira Bennison considers the intellectual powerhouses of Baghdad and Cairo.

• 15 mins

The Islamic Golden Age

Salah al-Din

Historian Jonathan Phillips reassesses the influence of 12th-century hero Saladin.

• 15 mins