Looking Good

Rachel Cooke

Five writers consider the pleasures of viewing a phenomenon or social activity closely.

• 14 mins

Looking Good

Lavinia Greenlaw

Five writers on the pleasures of viewing a phenomenon or social activity closely.

• 14 mins

All Miss Brodie's Girls

Ali Smith

Ali Smith presents the first in a series of essays celebrating the work of Muriel Spark.

• 14 mins

All Miss Brodie's Girls

Kate Clanchy

Kate Clanchy discusses the work of Muriel Spark - poet.

• 14 mins

All Miss Brodie's Girls

Janice Galloway

Janice Galloway discusses Muriel Spark- code maker and code breaker.

• 14 mins

All Miss Brodie's Girls

Val McDermid

Val McDermid discusses Muriel Spark - crime novelist.

• 14 mins

All Miss Brodie's Girls

Louise Welsh

Louise Welsh reflects on the uncanny in the novels of Muriel Spark.

• 14 mins

Walking The Lobster

Episode 1

Writer John Walsh explores the male desire to stand out, sartorially and in attitude.

• 15 mins

Walking The Lobster

Episode 2

Writer John Walsh examines the male desire to stand out, sartorially and in attitude.

• 15 mins

Walking The Lobster

Episode 3

Writer John Walsh examines the male desire to stand out, sartorially and in attitude.

• 15 mins

Walking The Lobster

Episode 4

Writer John Walsh examines the male desire to stand out, sartorially and in attitude.

• 15 mins

Walking The Lobster

Episode 5

Writer John Walsh examines the male desire to stand out, sartorially and in attitude.

• 15 mins

New Ways through the Glens

The Dark Years

Poet Kenneth Steven remarks on the history of the Scottish Highlands.

• 14 mins

New Ways through the Glens

The Moss Lairds

Kenneth Steven reveals how the central belt of Scotland was transformed by land clearance.

• 14 mins

New Ways through the Glens

The Colossus of Roads

Kenneth Steven looks at Thomas Telford's work in building roads through the Highlands.

• 14 mins

New Ways through the Glens

The Great Glen

Kenneth Steven looks at the project to build a canal through the heart of the Highlands.

• 14 mins

New Ways through the Glens

The Last Wolf

Kenneth Steven sees the new routes opening the Highlands to tourists for the first time.

• 14 mins

Are You Paying Attention?

A Worldwide Preoccupation

The writer Madeleine Bunting explores why attention has become a major social concern.

• 14 mins

Are You Paying Attention?

Multitaskers and Gorillas

The writer Madeleine Bunting continues her exploration of how we pay attention.

• 14 mins

Are You Paying Attention?

Escaping the Onslaught

Writer Madeleine Bunting presents her third essay on attention in the digital age.

• 14 mins

Are You Paying Attention?

Prayer and Snake Oil

Writer Madeleine Bunting explores some key moments in the history of attention.

• 14 mins

Are You Paying Attention?

Beyond the Crisis of Attention

In her final essay, writer Madeleine Bunting asks whether we are in a crisis of attention.

• 14 mins

The Free Thinking Essay

Welling Up: Women and Water in the Middle Ages

Hetta Howes looks at male fears + why Margery Kempe was criticised for crying and bleeding

• 15 mins

The Free Thinking Essay

Art for Health's Sake

Daisy Fancourt's research shows the arts can improve health so should we prescribe them?

• 15 mins

The Free Thinking Essay

Does Trusting People Need a Leap of Faith?

Tom Simpson on a study of suspicion in a 1950s Italian village and community relations now

• 15 mins

The Free Thinking Essay

Educating Ida

Eleanor Lybeck on the women campaigners satirised in an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan.

• 15 mins

The Free Thinking Essay

Doing Nothing

Alistair Fraser on teenagers, gangs and filling time.

• 15 mins

The Free Thinking Essay

A War of Words

Christopher Bannister on the way a fashion show in Buenos Aires helped win World War II.

• 15 mins

The Free Thinking Essay

Speaking Truth to Power in the Past and Present

Joanne Paul on satire, flattery and document leaks in the C16 and C17 centuries and now.

• 15 mins

The Free Thinking Essay

Kids With Guns

Emma Butcher looks at the view of war in the childhood writings of the Bronte family.

• 15 mins