How and why we talk

John Gallagher hears about Gaelic consonants, tongue shapes and accent prejudice

• 44 mins

Food

Lisa Mullen hears about new research into eating habits and ideas about hospitality.

• 44 mins

Women, art and activism

Naomi Paxton and guests on exhibitions at Tate Britain, the Barbican and Modern Art Oxford

• 44 mins

Ursula Le Guin and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Naomi Alderman, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson and others discuss the politics of this 1973 fable.

• 44 mins

Sam Selvon and The Lonely Londoners

Selvon's evocative 1956 novel discussed at the British Library by Shahidha Bari & guests.

• 44 mins

Postwar Germany

Forging the modern German nation from the moral and material ruins of World War II.

• 44 mins

Lorca

As the National Theatre stages The House of Bernarda Alba, Rana Mitter discusses Lorca

• 44 mins

Libraries

From Alexandria to mid-Wales, Laurence Scott and guests look at library history.

• 44 mins

Kadare, Gospodinov, Kafka and Dickens

Lea Ypi and Roger Luckhurst join Matthew Sweet to look at novels, dreams and bureaucracy.

• 44 mins

Humboldt, soil, gardens and Frank Walter

Jago Cooper, Barbara Paca, Jim Scown and Camilla Allen talk trees, soil, art and advocacy.

• 44 mins

Narnia and CS Lewis

Exploring the literary and theological terrain of C.S. Lewis's Narnia

• 44 mins

JG Ballard's Crash

Iain Sinclair, Mark Blacklock, Muriel Zagha and Jo Stanley join Matthew Sweet.

• 44 mins

The Life of Objects

Timothy Morton, Steve Connor, Caroline Edwards and Rachele Dini talk to Lisa Mullen.

• 44 mins

Margaret Cavendish

Nandini Das and guests discuss the Duchess of Newcastle - philosopher, poet and scientist.

• 44 mins

Harry Belafonte's career

The long career of the American singer, film star & activist with Matthew Sweet & guests.

• 44 mins

Prize Winners 2023

Nandini Das, Tania Branigan, Halik Kochanski, Ed Yong, John Vallaint talk to Rana Mitter

• 44 mins

Greek myth, goddesses and art

From classic myths rewritten by Natalie Haynes to the art of John Craxton in Crete.

• 44 mins

Dickens, Disney and copyright

Matthew Sweet looks at copyright rules for Mickey Mouse and Dickens in C19th America.

• 44 mins

Travel, pleasure and peril

From preventing strangulation on the railways to guide maps and the art of travel posters.

• 44 mins

Game playing

Shahidha Bari finds out how to win at rock, paper, scissors and to make a Windrush game.

• 44 mins

Essay writing

From Montaigne to modern Scottish writing - Rana Mitter discusses what makes a good essay.

• 44 mins

Dust, dirt and domesticity

From mould to desertification Naomi Paxton and guests on the impact of dirt,heat and damp

• 44 mins

Shakespeare's Women

The women who crop up in Shakespeare's life, his plays and who helped conserve his legacy.

• 44 mins

What is normal?

Sarah Chaney, Louise Creechan and Robert Chapman discuss neurodiversity with Matthew Sweet

• 44 mins

Heidegger and Anti-Semitism

Matthew Sweet discusses the influential German philosopher's relationship with Nazism.

• 44 mins

The Kyoto School

Chris Harding investigates the flourishing of Japanese philosophy in the 1930s and beyond.

• 44 mins

Holocaust history

Ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day (Jan 27) Anne McElvoy hears testimony and new research.

• 44 mins

Secrets, lies and Irish History

Clair Wills, Martin Doyle, Scott McKendry and Louise Brangan discuss secrets and conflict.

• 44 mins

East/West religious connections

Authors Rowan Williams & Christopher Harding and artist Gayle Chong Kwan join Rana Mitter.

• 44 mins

On the Silver Globe

Matthew Sweet and guests discuss Andrzej Zulawski's compelling science fiction film.

• 44 mins