Is War Good for Us?

Anne McElvoy explores the impact of war, Afghan elections and childhood violence.

• 45 mins

Betty Balfour Profile, James Lovelock, Peter Buwalda

Lucy Porter and Bryony Dixon profile silent film star Betty Balfour with Matthew Sweet.

• 45 mins

Originality

Nicholas Penny, Simon Stephens and Geoff Mulgan join Philip Dodd to discuss originality.

• 45 mins

Are We Living Through a New 18th Century?

Philip Dodd explores the parallels between the 18th-century London and now.

• 45 mins

18th-Century Power Politics

With Anne McElvoy. Historians including Amanda Foreman on 18th-century monarchy and power.

• 45 mins

Mandeville's View of 18th-Century Economics

Matthew Sweet on the lessons about finance outlined in Mandeville's Fable of the Bees.

• 45 mins

18th-Century Crime and Punishment

Philip Dodd explores 18th-century attitudes to the law, crime and punishment.

• 45 mins

Dame Janet Suzman

Actress and director Dame Janet Suzman is in extended conversation with Philip Dodd.

• 45 mins

Stealing Banksy? Vice Media, Chris Marker Profile

Samira Ahmed asks who owns street art, and whether it should be up for sale.

• 45 mins

Eighteenth-Century Sexual Politics

Philip Dodd explores the sexual mores of 18th-century England.

• 45 mins

The Radiophonic Workshop

Matthew Sweet meets members of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

• 44 mins

Thom Gunn's Poetry, Michael Cunningham

Samira Ahmed discusses the poems of Thom Gunn, who died in 2004.

• 45 mins

Charles Kingsley's Water Babies, Edward St Aubyn

Matthew Sweet discusses Charles Kingsley and is joined by writer Edward St Aubyn.

• 45 mins

Eleanor Marx, David Henry Hwang

Philip Dodd meets playwright David Henry Hwang, plus Rachel Holmes discusses Eleanor Marx.

• 45 mins

Representing cities - in politics and plays

Anne McElvoy looks at how cities are represented in politics and in theatre.

• 45 mins

Godzilla and Hayao Miyazaki, Simon Armitage's version of The Iliad

Matthew Sweet reviews Godzilla and The Wind Rises, plus Lily Cole in The Last Days of Troy

• 45 mins

Ivan Klima, the East-West divide in Europe, Science Fiction in Theatre

Philip Dodd talks to Czech novelist Ivan Klima and asks if Europe always needs an East.

• 45 mins

Nick Payne's Incognito, Penny Dreadful on TV, Helen McCarthy and Baroness Neville-Jones on Female Diplomats

Anne McElvoy talks about the brain to Nick Payne; Victorian Gothic on TV in Penny Dreadful

• 45 mins

John Clare, Jimmy Wales and the Right to be Forgotten, Borowczyk Retrospective

Iain Sinclair talks to Matthew Sweet about a walk to mark John Clare's death 150 years ago

• 45 mins

Writers and their notebooks

Lawrence Norfolk, AS Byatt, Wendy Cope, Bidisha and David Mitchell on writers' notebooks.

• 45 mins

Essay writing, Tim Winton

Anne McElvoy looks at the resurgence of non-fiction writing and the essay as a form.

• 45 mins

Cities, Export of Empire, India's New Story

Rana Mitter and Tristram Hunt on how Britain's empire gave shape to today's global cities.

• 45 mins

Hay Festival: PJ O'Rourke, Steven D Levitt, Stephen J Dubner

PJ O'Rourke and writers of Freakonomics join Rana Mitter at the 2015 Hay Festival.

• 45 mins

Arianna Huffington, Stress in Business, Zia Haider Rahman, Maya Angelou Tribute

Arianna Huffington talks to Anne McElvoy about measuring success using 'The Third Metric'.

• 45 mins

Sir Terry Farrell, London's Skyline, Joshua Ferris

Matthew Sweet talks to American novelist Joshua Ferris. Plus how high should London build?

• 45 mins

Tiananmen Square and Modern China

Rana Mitter discusses modern China and the anniversary of uprisings in Tiananmen Square.

• 45 mins

Kenneth Clark's Civilisation and the Future of Arts Broadcasting

Philip Dodd chairs a debate about arts broadcasting past and present.

• 45 mins

Belle, Fathers and Sons, Globalisation and the Environment, 'Proper' Libraries

With Matthew Sweet. Includes Belle, Fathers and Sons, globalisation and a 'proper' library

• 45 mins

The Figure in Arts and Science, Julian Baggini, Ziauddin Sardar on community

Philip Dodd discusses the human body in art and scientific research.

• 45 mins

Eimear McBride and Nathan Filer, Mr Burns

Eimear McBride and Nathan Filer join Anne McElvoy to discuss literary experimentation.

• 45 mins