Five Kinds of Beethoven

Thangam Debbonaire

Thangam Debbonaire MP shares what Beethoven means to her.

• 14 mins

Thinking Black

Peter Fryer

Colin Grant explores whether it’s appropriate for a white writer to write black history.

• 14 mins

Thinking Black

John Howard Griffin

Colin Grant examines how black people often experience invisibility in wider society.

• 14 mins

Thinking Black

Bert Williams

Writer Colin Grant explores the history and evolution of minstrelsy.

• 14 mins

Thinking Black

Sandra Laing

Writer Colin Grant explores the history and consequences of racial passing.

• 14 mins

Thinking Black

Michael Manley

Writer Colin Grant asks who is black and who isn’t – and who gets to decide?

• 14 mins

Discovering Black Portraiture

The man with the ship on his head

Peter Brathwaite takes us into the world of his Rediscovering #BlackPortraiture project

• 14 mins

Discovering Black Portraiture

The boy with the monkey on his back

Peter Brathwaite takes us into the world of his Rediscovering #BlackPortraiture project

• 14 mins

Discovering Black Portraiture

The man with the French horn

Peter Brathwaite takes us into the world of his Rediscovering #BlackPortraiture project

• 14 mins

Discovering Black Portraiture

The man with the pipe

Peter Brathwaite takes us into the world of his Rediscovering #BlackPortraiture project

• 14 mins

Discovering Black Portraiture

The woman with the spoon

Peter Brathwaite takes us into the world of his Rediscovering #BlackPortraiture project.

• 14 mins

Africa in the City

Marseille

Lindsay Johns discusses how Marseille has been influenced by African migration.

• 14 mins

Africa in the City

Philadelphia

Lindsay Johns continues exploring cities influenced by African migration, in Philadelphia.

• 14 mins

Africa in the City

Kingston

In Kingston, Jamaica, Lindsay Johns explores another city influenced by African migration.

• 14 mins

Africa in the City

Fort-de-France

Lindsay Johns's tour of cities influenced by Africa continues in Fort-de-France.

• 14 mins

Africa in the City

Cape Town

Lindsay Johns ends a series of essays on cities changed by African migration in Cape Town.

• 14 mins

Composers and Their Dogs

Newfoundlands

Famous composers devoted to certain dog breeds. Wagner’s turbulent life with Newfoundlands

• 14 mins

Composers and Their Dogs

Old English Sheepdogs

Famous composers devoted to dogs. Dame Ethel Smyth’s obsession with Old English sheepdogs.

• 14 mins

Composers and Their Dogs

Poodles

Composers' links to certain dog breeds. Haydn’s poodle tale and Chopin’s poodle myth.

• 14 mins

Composers and Their Dogs

Dachshunds

Famous composers’ devotion to dogs. Britten and Bernstein were obsessed with dachshunds.

• 14 mins

Composers and Their Dogs

Cocker Spaniels

Famous composers devoted to dogs. Edward Elgar was inseparable from his spaniel, Marco.

• 14 mins

Jazz Among the British

On Not Being a Jazzer

Geoffrey Smith reflects on perceptions of jazz in Britain and questions the term 'jazzer'.

• 14 mins

Jazz Among the British

The British Audience

Geoffrey Smith looks at the how the audience for jazz in Britain has evolved over time.

• 14 mins

Jazz Among the British

Americans in Britain

Geoffrey Smith on how Britain influenced the work of two celebrated American jazz artists.

• 14 mins

Jazz Among the British

Stan Tracey

Geoffrey Smith on the work of Stan Tracey, paragon of British jazz and of jazz in Britain.

• 14 mins

Jazz Among the British

Sonny Rollins

Geoffrey Smith on the connection Sonny Rollins forged with his British audience.

• 14 mins

New Generation Thinkers at 10

Should biographers imitate their subjects?

Deep diving into the trail of an Indian guru: Martin Goodman's adventures in life writing

• 14 mins

New Generation Thinkers at 10

Byron, celebrity and fan mail

Would Byron have embraced twitter? Corin Throsby considers the letters fans sent him.

• 14 mins

New Generation Thinkers at 10

Beastly Politics

Alasdair Cochrane re-imagines a political world that takes animal rights seriously.

• 14 mins

New Generation Thinkers at 10

Politician and Pioneer: Writing the Life of Arthur Kavanagh

Clare Walker Gore on what a C19th MP without hands and feet tells us about stereotypes.

• 14 mins