Poetic Provocations

Sunflowers

A very personal exploration of poetic starting points from writer Inua Ellams.

• 14 mins

Poetic Provocations

Carrots

Inua Ellams explores how African barber shops provide spaces where men can be vulnerable.

• 14 mins

Adrian Edmondson - Signs of Life (Series 2)

Creativity

Adrian Edmonson reflects on what went wrong with the highly successful sitcom Bottom.

• 14 mins

Adrian Edmondson - Signs of Life (Series 2)

Money

How Adrian Edmondson tricked the bank, ran away from school and almost got expelled.

• 14 mins

Adrian Edmondson - Signs of Life (Series 2)

Nuts

Five reflections on his life by comedian, actor and writer, Adrian Edmondson.

• 14 mins

Adrian Edmondson - Signs of Life (Series 2)

Fandom

Adrian Edmondson ponders the nature of being a fan and the object of others' recognition.

• 14 mins

Adrian Edmondson - Signs of Life (Series 2)

The Jacobite Rebellion

Adrian compares battles on tour with Bonnie Prince Charlie’s flight across the country.

• 14 mins

Moments of Being

Unlike Virginia Woolf, Joanna Robertson celebrates the minutiae of daily life.

• 14 mins

Moments of Being

Windows

Joanna Robertson celebrates the impact the views from her windows have on her life.

• 14 mins

Moments of Being

Going for a Walk

Joanna Robertson celebrates the minutiae of life, showing they are not small but infinite.

• 14 mins

Moments of Being

The Lives of Others

Joanna Robertson celebrates the minutiae of daily life by imagining the lives of others.

• 14 mins

Moments of Being

Miracle

Sitting in a cafe becomes miraculous when all around it coalesces into the one moment.

• 14 mins

Bohemians in T-Shirts

Actors

Michael Goldfarb on why Marlon Brando and Stanley Kowalski took to wearing T-shirts.

• 14 mins

Bohemians in T-Shirts

Writers

Michael Goldfarb explores why black US writer James Baldwin took to wearing T-shirts.

• 14 mins

Bohemians in T-Shirts

Artists

Michael Goldfarb tells the story of Jackson Pollock, another T-shirt-wearing bohemian.

• 14 mins

Bohemians in T-Shirts

Musicians

Michael Goldfarb, in his study of US bohemians, turns to Charlie Parker and Miles Davis.

• 14 mins

Bohemians in T-Shirts

Beats

The influence of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg on postwar US non-conformists.

• 14 mins

Larkin and Believing

The Mower

Raymond Antrobus explores faith and belief in response to Philip Larkin's 'The Mower'.

• 14 mins

Larkin and Believing

Absences

Sinead Morrissey explores questions of faith in response to Larkin's poem 'Absences'

• 14 mins

Larkin and Believing

Water

Jean Sprackland explores her own faith in response to Philip Larkin's poem 'Water'.

• 14 mins

Larkin and Believing

Ambulances

Vidyan Ravinthiran explores questions of belief in response to Larkin's poem 'Ambulances'.

• 14 mins

Larkin and Believing

Going

Helen Mort explores questions of faith and belief in response to Larkin's poem 'Going'

• 14 mins

Sign Language Is My Language

Sign Language through the Ages (Robert Adam)

Personal essays exploring the history, layers and nuances of British Sign Language.

• 14 mins

Sign Language Is My Language

Tina Kelberman

Personal essays exploring the history, layers and nuances of British Sign Language.

• 14 mins

Sign Language Is My Language

Deepa Shastri

Personal essays exploring the history, layers and nuances of British Sign Language.

• 14 mins

Sign Language Is My Language

Robert Adam

Personal essays exploring the history, layers and nuances of British Sign Language.

• 14 mins

Sign Language Is My Language

Christopher Laing

Personal essays exploring the history, layers and nuances of British Sign Language.

• 14 mins

Coming Home

Helen Cross

Memories of clubbing in 90s Birmingham and an encounter with an oil painting

• 14 mins

Coming Home

Dr Shahed Yousaf

Driving home to Birmingham after a very demanding day at work in prison.

• 14 mins

Coming Home

Professor Thomas Glave

Returning from London on a train at night to home in Birmingham.

• 14 mins