BBC Radio Podcasts from The Essay

12/04/2024

Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor.

11/04/2024

Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor.

10/04/2024

Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor.

09/04/2024

Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor.

08/04/2024

Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor.

Unravelling plainness

Isabella Rosner explains why needlework challenges our idea of Quaker simplicity

What does feminist art mean?

Ana Baeza Ruiz shares reflections from artists in the 70s women's liberation movement.

Gas, oil and the Essex blues

Sam Johnson-Schlee draws links between Dr Feelgood, Canvey Island and energy policies

Unravelling plainness

Isabella Rosner explains why needlework challenges our idea of Quaker simplicity.

Rock, Paper, Saints and Sinners

Gemma Tidman describes a board game created by a Jesuit seeking Mohawk converts.

Arteries of tomorrow

Dan Taylor considers the way communities along the A13 are looking to the future.

The legacy of the laundries

Louise Brangan reflects on the legacies of Ireland's Magdalene laundries.

From algorithms to oceans

Kerry McInerney on the promises of the ‘sustainable AI’ movement and how AI may develop

Call Me Mother

How the shape of words for mother helps babies eat their food. Rebecca Woods explains

Gas, oil and the Essex blues

Sam Johnson-Schlee draws links between Dr Feelgood, Canvey Island and energy policies

From algorithms to oceans

Kerry McInerney explores the promises of the ‘sustainable AI’ movement and how AI develops

Weird Viking Bodies

Marianne Hem Eriksen on the meaning of a skull bone carved with 'pain' thrown onto a tip.

Germany’s Mary Wollstonecraft

Andrew Cooper on the school teacher who tried to ignite a feminist revolution in Germany.

Call Me Mother

How the shape of words for mother helps babies eat their food. Rebecca Woods explains.

How Did They Do That? Magic and Mesmerism

Traditional Variety through the lens of a writer’s childhood fascination.

Girls! Girls! Girls! Women in Variety

Traditional Variety through the lens of a writer’s childhood fascination.

It's The Animal In Me: Animal Acts in Variety Theatre

Traditional Variety through the lens of a writer’s childhood fascination.

Gokkle o’ Geer: Ventriloquists and their Dummies

Traditional Variety through the lens of a writer’s childhood fascination.

Singing, Dancing and Having a Laugh: The Backbone of Variety

Traditional Variety through the lens of a writer’s childhood fascination.

Christmas Pudding

Essays about our favourite puddings. Christmas pudding, the essence of a British yuletide.

Pavlova

Essays about our favourite puddings. A disputed antipodean Christmas classic: pavlova.

Crème Brûlée

Essays about our favourite puddings. A rich French classic with surprises: Crème brûlée.

Summer Pudding

Essays about our favourite puddings. The spectacular summer pudding has many surprises.

Tapioca

A series of essays about our favourite puddings, starting with the loved and hated tapioca

Khadijah Ibrahiim

Khadijah Ibrahiim looks at what changes to Leeds's environment tell us about its identity.

Ian Duhig

Ian Duhig takes us on a virtual poetic journey along Blind Jack Metcalf's road.

Michelle Scally Clarke

Michelle Scally Clarke talks about William Kenneth Armitage's statue Both Arms.

Jeremy Dyson

Jeremy Dyson takes us back to the Victorian architectural splendour and status of Leeds.

Malika Booker

The city of Leeds seen through its public art past, present and future.

5. Return

Ukrainian-American poet Ilya Kaminsky (author of Deaf Republic) on the city of his birth.

4. Crossing

Ukrainian-American poet Ilya Kaminsky (author of Deaf Republic) on the city of his birth.

The Bison

An Essay and reflection in poetry on the reintroduction of wild animals into the Highlands

The Beaver

An Essay and reflection in poetry on the reintroduction of wild animals into the Highlands

The Wallabies

An Essay and reflection in poetry on the reintroduction of wild animals into the Highlands

The Sea Eagle

An Essay and reflection in poetry on the reintroduction of wild animals into the Highlands

The Reindeer

An Essay and reflection in poetry on the reintroduction of wild animals into the Highlands

The Flat-Pack Cello

Kate Kennedy reflects on a reimagined cello whose story is yet to begin.

The Shipwrecked Cello

The unlikely story of the reconstruction of the 'Mara' Stradivarius.

The Auschwitz Cello

How the cellist of Auschwitz, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch's life was saved by her cello.

The Bee Cello

The story of an abandoned cello that a physicist has filled with 400,000 bees.

The Soul of Music

Kate Kennedy reflects on her quest to find Pal Hermann's cello, and his soul.

3. Watching

Ukrainian-American poet Ilya Kaminsky (author of Deaf Republic) on the city of his birth.

2. Departure

Ukrainian-American poet Ilya Kaminsky (author of Deaf Republic) on the city of his birth.

1. Ears

Ukrainian-American poet Ilya Kaminsky (author of Deaf Republic) on the city of his birth.

Frida Kahlo's Broken Column

Art historian Katy Hessel on the symbolism of the spine in Frida Kahlo's Broken Column.

Field of Dreams

Writer Sarfraz Manzoor discusses one moment in the Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

Sam Leith on his fascination with a background figure in Judith Kerr's classic book.

Joan Williams

Novelist Joan Williams, after a promising start, just disappeared. Why?

Philip Roth

How Philip Roth's writing alienated him from the Jewish community in America.

Norman Mailer

Michael Goldfarb looks at how Norman Mailer's misogyny eventually caught up with him.

Amiri Baraka

How poet and playwright Amiri Baraka cancelled himself in a single public appearance.

William Styron

Should a white man write about a black revolutionary?

Roy McFarlane on Bilston

Writers choose a Black Country scene to reveal something of this strangely hidden region.

R.M. Francis on Wren’s Nest, Dudley

Writers choose a Black Country scene to reveal something of this strangely hidden region.

Brendan Hawthorne on Toll End Road, Tipton

Writers choose a Black Country scene to reveal something of this strangely hidden region.

Emma Purshouse on St Bart’s Church, Wednesbury.

Writers choose a Black Country scene to reveal something of this strangely hidden region.

Liz Berry on Gorge Road, Sedgley

Writers choose a Black Country scene to reveal something of this strangely hidden region.

Geoff Dyer on DH Lawrence

Five more writers go in search of the final resting places of their literary heroes.

Brandon Taylor on Langston Hughes

Five more writers go in search of the final resting places of their literary heroes.

Helen Mort on Sylvia Plath

Five more writers go in search of the final resting places of their literary heroes.

Tracy Chevalier on Thomas Hardy

Five more writers go in search of the final resting places of their literary heroes.

Naomi Alderman on Mary Wollstonecraft

Five more writers go in search of the final resting places of their literary heroes.

Emilia Lanyer

Jerry Brotton looks at those from around the world who made their homes in Tudor England.

Mohammed al-Annuri

Jerry Brotton looks at those from around the world who made their homes in Tudor England.

Roderigo Lopez

Jerry Brotton looks at those from around the world who made their homes in Tudor England

Mary Fillis

Jerry Brotton looks at those from around the world who made their homes in Tudor England.

Chinano 'the Turk'

Jerry Brotton looks at those from around the world who made their homes in Tudor England.

Manteo

Jerry Brotton looks at those from around the world who made their homes in Tudor England.

Aura Soltana

Jerry Brotton looks at those from around the world who made their homes in Tudor England.

John Cabot

Jerry Brotton looks at those from around the world who made their homes in Tudor England.

John Blanke

Jerry Brotton looks at those from around the world who made their homes in Tudor England.

Lucy Baynham

Jerry Brotton looks at those from around the world who made their homes in Tudor England.

Professor Dame Marina Warner on Othello

Author and historian Marina Warner chooses a speech from early in Othello: Act 1, Scene 3.

Sir David Hare on Macbeth

Playwright David Hare chooses Macbeth's imagining of old age from Act 5, Scene 3.

Professor Islam Issa on Julius Caesar

Professor Islam Issa chooses a passage spoken by Julius Caesar in Act 2, Scene 2.

Michelle Terry on As You Like It

Actor Michelle Terry chooses a speech by 'love doctor' Rosalind from Act 3, Scene 2.

Sir Richard Eyre on King Lear

Director Richard Eyre chooses a speech by Lear to his daughter Cordelia - Act 5, Scene 3.

Children of the Waters

Sabina Dosani looks at the ritual of Mizuko Kuyo and modern ceremonies marking miscarriage

Fugitive slaves, Victorian justice

Oskar Jensen tells the tall tale of a court case inspired by a best-selling novel

A family of witches

Emma Whipday explores the demonisation of single mothers in English witch trials.

Fighting the colour bar

Shirin Hirsch explores the way boxer Len Johnson fought a Manchester pub ban.

Stupid Victorians

Louise Creechan looks at the impact of 19th-century ideas about intelligence.

Children of the Waters

Sabina Dosani on the ritual of Mizuko Kuyo and modern ceremonies marking miscarriage.

The discordant tale of Thomas Weelkes

Ellie Chan looks at the life and music of the Tudor composer who died 400 years ago.

Revolutionary free speech

Clare Siviter looks at attempts to liberate and then censor expression in 1790s France.

Fugitive slaves, Victorian justice

Oskar Jensen tells the tall tale of a court case inspired by a best-selling novel.

A family of witches

Emma Whipday explores the demonisation of single mothers in English witch trials.

Charles Babbage and broadcasting the sea

The father of modern computing thought the sea could communicate. Joan Passey tells us why

The South African Bloomsberries

Jade Munslow Ong reads 20s writing by Solomon T Plaatje, Roy Campbell and William Plomer.

WN Herbert

Five writers walk the beguiling routes of tidal causeways. Today, Lindisfarne.

Reasons to Cycle

There’s never been a better time to get on our bikes insists cycling devotee Andrew Martin

A Bike Ride

Andrew Martin and his bike catch a train to Derby to enjoy a long leisurely country cycle.

Cycling Apparel

Andrew Martin examines the intriguingly flamboyant history of cycling attire.

The Cyclist as Overdog and Underdog

Andrew Martin considers the changing politics of cycling over the ages.

My Life on a Bike

Writer Andrew Martin casts an affectionate eye over his long and colourful cycling career.

Ben Cottam

Five writers take us along the routes of tidal causeways. Today, Sunderland Point.

Claire McGowan

Five writers walk us along the beguiling routes of tidal causeways. Today, Burgh Island.

Evie Wyld

Five writers walk the beguiling routes of tidal causeways. Today, the Isle of Wight.

Patrick Gale

Five writers walk the beguiling routes of tidal causeways. Today, St Michael’s Mount.

Prepared Minds

Margaret Heffernan explores the benefits of uncertainty in both life and art.

Are we done?

Margaret Heffernan explores how an artist knows when to stop.

In the Bottom of the Well

Margaret Heffernan explores how artists tolerate the fear of uncertainty.

Where am I?

Margaret Heffernan considers how artists use uncertainty when starting a new project.

The Benefit of Doubt

Margaret Heffernan explores how artists embrace uncertainty to create their work.

Shinichi Sawada

Psychologist Professor Victoria Tischler celebrates outsider art.

Minnie Evans

Psychologist Professor Victoria Tischler celebrates outsider art.

Cape Malay South African Cuisine

Writer and broadcaster Lindsay Johns completes his exploration of South African food.

South African Indian Food

Lindsay Johns introduces us to bunny chow, a curry dish invented in Durban.

Coloured South African Food

Lindsay Johns introduces us to snoek, pickled fish and the Gatsby steak sandwich.

Black South African Cuisine

Lindsay Johns samples the cuisines of South Africa’s Xhosa and Zulu township communities.

Mary Barnes

Psychologist Professor Victoria Tischler celebrates outsider art.

White South African Food

Lindsay Johns finds out about the place of meat in white South African cuisines.

Madge Gill

Psychologist Professor Victoria Tischler celebrates outsider art.

Adolf Wölfli

Psychologist Professor Victoria Tischler celebrates outsider art.

1000 Coils of Fear

Tom Smith reads Olivia Wenzel’s novel, which was longlisted for 2020's German Book Prize.

The Heir of Redclyffe

Clare Walker-Gore revisits Charlotte M Yonge's best-selling novel from 1853.

Tales from the Garbage Hills

Sarah Jilani reads Latife Tekin’s magical realist novel about 1960s Istanbul shanty towns.

Iola Leroy

Xine Yao reads the first novel by African American writer Frances EW Harper (1825-1911).

The Paradise Crater

Sarah Dillon tells us about the nuclear short story by atomic energy adviser Philip Wylie.

A Dying Breed

Convent-educated, lapsed Catholic Olivia O'Leary asks where all the Irish nuns have gone.

The Rebels

Convent-educated, lapsed catholic Olivia O'Leary asks where all the Irish nuns have gone.

Class and the Convent

Convent-educated, lapsed catholic Olivia O'Leary asks where all the Irish nuns have gone.

Liberated Women

Convent-educated, lapsed Catholic Olivia O'Leary asks where all the Irish nuns have gone.

Chastity and Lots of Praying

Convent-educated, lapsed Catholic Olivia O'Leary asks where all the Irish nuns have gone.

In the Lives of Salmon

Bathsheba Demuth journeys to the Yukon River to investigate our relationship with salmon.

In the Land of Reindeer

Bathsheba Demuth explores the impact of reindeers' sensitivity to the Arctic climate.

In the Company of Walruses

Historian Bathsheba Demuth seeks human and animal traces in the Arctic ice and tundra.

In the Country of Whales

Bathsheba Demuth examines how different Arctic peoples have valued bowhead whales.

In the Minds of Dogs

Bathsheba Demuth looks at the shifting relationship between humans and dogs in the Arctic.

Unspoken Communication

Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.

Ownership of Communication

Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.

Visibility as Communication

Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.

Forms of Communication

Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.

Communication Withheld

Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.

1970s, Into the Mainstream

Nicholas Kenyon explores early music at the BBC in the 1970s.

1950s and 60s, Performance in Period Style

Nicholas Kenyon explores early music at the BBC in the 1950s and 60s.

1940s, New Life for Old Music

Nicholas Kenyon explores early music at the BBC in the 1940s.

1930s, Creating a National Music

Nicholas Kenyon explores early music at the BBC in the 1930s.

1920s, Reviving Old Ayres

Nicholas Kenyon explores early music at the BBC in the 1920s.

Diversity

Samuel West and Andrea Smith discuss diversity in BBC radio's productions of Shakespeare.

Radiophonia

Samuel West and Andrea Smith discuss sound in BBC radio's productions of Shakespeare.

A century of Juliets

Actor Samuel West and Dr Andrea Smith discuss changing styles of acting in Shakespeare.

Shakespeare in war and peace

Samuel West and Andrea Smith talk about performances of Shakespeare during WWII.

Finding a way

Samuel West introduces a centenary celebration of BBC radio productions of Shakespeare.

Vaughan Williams - Amanda Dalton

Personal essays on what Vaughan Williams means to five different writers.

Vaughan Willliams - Luke Turner

Personal essays on what Vaughan Williams means to five different writers.

Vaughan Williams - Adrian McNally

Personal essays on what Vaughan Williams means to five different writers.

Vaughan Williams - Dr Rommi Smith

Personal essays on what Vaughan Williams means to five different writers.

Vaughan Williams - Clare Shaw

Personal essays on what Vaughan Williams means to five different writers.

Alvin Pang

Alvin Pang performs an essay recorded at the BBC's Contains Strong Language Festival.

Anil Pradhan

Anil Pradhan performs an essay recorded at the BBC's Contains Strong Language Festival.

Isabelle Baafi

Isabelle Baafi performs an essay recorded at the BBC's Contains Strong Language Festival.

Roy McFarlane

Roy McFarlane performs an essay recorded at the BBC's Contains Strong Language Festival.

Tishani Doshi

Tishani Doshi performs an essay recorded at the BBC's Contains Strong Language Festival.

Casey Bailey

Returning to Birmingham after a holiday and reliving childhood memories in Nechells.

Naush Sabah

Re-visiting a childhood home in Sparkbrook, Birmingham

Professor Thomas Glave

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

Dr Shahed Yousaf

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

Helen Cross

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

Christopher Laing

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

Robert Adam

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

Deepa Shastri

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

Tina Kelberman

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

Sign Language through the Ages (Robert Adam)

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

Beats

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

Musicians

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

Artists

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

Writers

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

Actors

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

Miracle

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

The Lives of Others

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

Going for a Walk

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

Windows

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

Moments of Being

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

Paterson Joseph on Ignatius Sancho

Five writers go in search of the final resting places of their literary heroes.

Anita Sethi on Anne Brontë

Five writers go in search of the final resting places of their literary heroes.

Diana Souhami on Radclyffe Hall

Five writers go in search of the final resting places of their literary heroes.

Paul Muldoon on WB Yeats

Five writers go in search of the final resting places of their literary heroes.

Lauren Elkin on Oscar Wilde

Five writers go in search of the final resting places of their literary heroes.

Pause for Thought

Florence Hazrat looks at the history of punctuation marks (such as brackets) and emojis.

A Brazilian Soprano in Jazz-Age Paris

Adjoa Osei celebrates Elsie Houston, who mixed Afro-Brazilian folk with European opera.

African cinema, nationhood, and liberation

Sarah Jilani on the lessons about power in films by Ousmane Sembene and Souleymane Cissé.

Opium Tales

Fariha Shaikh reads accounts from Thomas de Quincey (1821) to Timothy Mo and Amitav Ghosh.

Alexander and the Persians

Julia Hartley asks why we call Alexander the Great.

The Paradox of Ecological Art

Vid Simoniti considers eco-art from Olafur Eliasson to videos by Bo Zheng.

John Baptist Dasalu and Fighting for Freedom

Jake Subryan Richards reads the letter sent by a captured man who arrived in Cuba in 1854.

Ruffs in Jamestown

Lauren Working on what fashion reveals about life for C16 English settlers in America.

Contesting an Alphabet

Mirela Ivanova on the countries claiming to be the birthplace of the Cyrillic script.

Walking with the Ghosts of the Durham Coalfield

Jake Morris-Campbell carries the ashes of poet Bill Martin from Sunderland to Durham.

Boy with a Pearl Earring

Lauren Working explores the cavalier look from Charles I to Harry Styles.

Uniforms - An Alternative History

Tom Smith links school blazers and clothes worn by East German soldiers to clubbing.

Drama, Dressing-up and Droopy & Browns

Jade Halbert looks at the designs inspired by English history created by Angela Holmes.

In a Handbag

Shahidha Bari looks at what the contents of a handbag can tell us.

Body Armour

Sophie Oliver looks at a Mina Loy corselet and the history of reshaping bodies.

Nuala O'Connor on Penelope

Nuala O'Connor explores a passage from the novel's final episode, Molly Bloom's soliloquy.

Mary Costello on Ithaca

Mary Costello chooses a passage from an episode towards the end of Ulysses: Ithaca.

Colm Tóibín on Sirens

Colm Tóibín explains singing in Ulysses, exploring a passage from the Sirens episode.

John Patrick McHugh on Calypso

Short story writer John Patrick McHugh chooses the fourth episode of Ulysses: Calypso.

Anne Enright on Telemachus

Anne Enright gives us a close reading of the opening pages of James Joyce's Ulysses.

Euphoria

Novelist Glenn Patterson on Belfast's hairdressers and clothes shops during the Troubles.

Chalk on the Wall

Writer Claire Mitchell peels back the layers of her hometown to find a radical history.

The Art of Staying

Poet Míchéal McCann navigates the careful etiquette of a rural Northern Irish wake.

Searching with Shorelines

Poet Gail McConnell on the inspiration of the sea in Louis MacNeice's work and her own.

Traybakes

Author Jan Carson on the women who kept her church supplied with tea and traybakes

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

From sea level to volcanic crater in search of the entrance to the centre of the earth.

Voices in the Dark

As wreathes of mist lift from a moorland, birdsong is captured in the darkness.

The Wake

The songs of invisible birds are captured in the isolation of a lake in Finland.

Island Isolation

A quest for nocturnal sounds at the pinnacle of an isolated sea rock as sirens sing below.

The Great White Silence

Chris Watson vividly recalls how he captured the sounds of 'The Great White Silence'.

Himiko: Shaman Queen

The early powerful ruler who summoned spirits as well as armies.

Murasaki Shikibu: Imperial Insider

The 11th-century courtier who wrote what is thought to be the world's first novel.

Oda Nobunaga: Warlord

The terrifying warlord who brought much of Japan under his control

Tezuka Osamu: Godfather of Manga

The creator of Atom Boy, who brought Japanese cartoons to the world.

Daimatsu 'The Demon' Hirobumi

The brutal coach who achieved a gold medal for Japan at the 1964 Olympics.

King Zog - And Time to Leave

Joanna Robertson is living in Albania and meets the king. But can she stay?

Scoop

It's the mid-90s in Albania, all hell breaks loose and Joanna Robertson gets her scoop.

North and South

It's the mid-90s and Joanna Robertson explores Albania's rural north and riotous south.

Tirana

It’s the mid-90s, and Joanna Robertson explores life in Albania’s capital Tirana.

Setting Off

It's the mid-1990s and Albania is in turmoil, so Joanna Robertson sets off to live there.

Colin Grant on VS Naipaul

A personal memory of the controversial Nobel laureate, who began his career in radio.

Jen McDerra on Gladys Lindo

The Jamaican woman of letters behind Henry Swanzy discovered hidden in the archives

Kei Miller on Louise Bennett

A moving recollection of 'Miss Lou', maternal love and Jamaican dialect

Paul Mendez on Andrew Salkey

Reimagining the man at the centre of the black literary scene in the mid-20th century

Sara Collins on Una Marson

A personal search for the poetry and 'voice' of a trailblazing Jamaican broadcaster

Vera Hall

Peter Brathwaite shares his love of the voice of Vera Hall and why it is so special.

Robert McFerrin

Peter Brathwaite shares his love of the voice of Robert McFerrin and why it is so special.

Eric Bentley

Peter Brathwaite shares his love of the voice of Eric Bentley, and why it is so special.

Leontyne Price

Peter Brathwaite shares his love of the voice of Leontyne Price and why it is so special.

Marian Anderson

Peter Brathwaite shares his love of the voice of Marian Anderson and why it is so special.

In Praise of Flatness

Noreen Masud finds inspiration in fenlands, polished tables and Kazuo Ishiguro's novels.

A Norwegian Morality Tale

Lucy Weir learns dark lessons from newspaper coverage of Black Metal and satanic rituals.

Beyond the Betting Shop

Darragh McGee on the history of gambling, from 18th-century card games to phone apps.

Colonial Papers

Alexandra Reza's Essay considers the Gilets Noirs, Ousmane Sembène and Nathalie Quintane.

Battlefield Finds

Seren Griffiths tells the story of the soldier turned archaeologist Francis Buckley.

The Inscrutable Writing of Sui Sin Far

Xine Yao suggests that a poker Chinese face can be a good way of fighting back

Hoarding or Collecting?

Diarmuid Hester sorts through stuff saved by Francis Bacon, Vivian Maier and his own dad.

A Social History of Soup

Tom Scott-Smith uses four recipes to track social reforms and changes in what we value.

New Generation Thinkers Jean Rhys's Dress

Sophie Oliver on motherhood, a dress and rereading Wide Sargasso Sea

New Generation Thinkers: The Feurtado's Fire

Christienna Fryar looks at Caribbean earthquakes and fires and lessons for rebuilding now

Books to Make Space For on the Bookshelf: There's No Story There

Lisa Mullen looks at depictions of war-time factory workers in the novel by Inez Holden

Books to Make Space For On The Bookshelf: Closer

4/5 New Generation Thinker Diarmuid Hester on the transgressive writing of Dennis Cooper

Books to Make Space For on the Bookshelf: Sindhubala

Preti Taneja on the writing and politics of Bengali author and activist Mahasweta Devi

John Halifax, Gentleman

2/5 Clare Walker Gore explores how Dinah Mulock Craik subverted Victorian expectations

The Black Lizard

New Generation Thinker Christopher Harding reads the Japanese equivalent of Conan Doyle.

England and the Touch of Rain

Nandini Das curates essays from across the globe on differing sensory responses to rain.

Paris and the Look of Rain

Nandini Das introduces another essay about the global differences in our response to rain.

Australia and the Smell of Rain

Nandini Das curates global essays on five different sensory experiences of rain.

Japan and the Taste of Rain

Nandini Das curates essays from across the globe on five different experiences of rain.

India and the Sound of Rain

Nandini Das curates essays from across the globe on five different experiences of rain.

Wind

James Burke leads us via steam engines and iron coffins to the modern orchestra.

Ivories

James Burke touches on pine trees, chintz, bowler hats – and ends up on the ivories.

Impression

James Burke connects Italian electricity to Debussy via a baron's seances and your fridge.

Romance

James Burke links planetary orbits, the teeny-weeny and fake Scottish literature.

Enlighten

Broadcaster James Burke links organisms that might not exist to a freemason’s opera.

The acting coach

Geoffrey Colman invites us to join him on a walk through a day as an acting coach.

How reality TV has changed acting

Geoffrey Colman describes the ways in which reality TV has changed acting.

On stage and on screen

Geoffrey Colman explores the differences between acting on stage and on screen.

How to become an actor?

Geoffrey Colman discusses drama schools in his second Essay on acting.

What is good acting?

Geoffrey Colman considers the art of acting and asks: what makes a great actor?

The Essex Way

Writer Gillian Darley celebrates the unsung and lesser-known delights of mid-Essex.

Brightening from the East

Writer and social historian Ken Worpole introduces us to Essex's radical past.

The Refusal of Place

Writer Lavinia Greenlaw takes us back to the formative landscape of her childhood.

Washed Up in Essex

Writer AL Kennedy takes us on a watery journey through the county she now calls home.

Metropolitan Essex

Billy Bragg explores the London-Essex borderland that fuelled his childhood imagination.

Jess Gillam on Bach

Radio 3 presenter Jess Gillam celebrates German composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Jumoké Fashola on Nina Simone

Radio 3 presenter Jumoké Fashola celebrates the American singer-songwriter Nina Simone

Ian Skelly on Jean Mouton

Radio 3 presenter Ian Skelly celebrates the French composer Jean Mouton

Elizabeth Alker on Sofia Gubaidulina

Radio 3 presenter Elizabeth Alker celebrates the Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina

Hannah French on Barbara Strozzi

Radio 3 presenter Hannah French celebrates the Venetian composer Barbara Strozzi

Sonny Rollins

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

Stan Tracey

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

Americans in Britain

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

The British Audience

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

On Not Being a Jazzer

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

Cape Town

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

Fort-de-France

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

Kingston

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

Philadelphia

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

Marseille

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

The woman with the spoon

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

The man with the pipe

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

The man with the French horn

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

The boy with the monkey on his back

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

The man with the ship on his head

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

Metacom

David J Silverman explores the motivations of resistance leader Metacom

Susanna White-Winslow

Rebecca Fraser’s portrait of Susanna White-Whitlow, Mayflower passenger

John Alden

Michael Goldfarb on crew member turned colonist John Alden.

Squanto

Margaret Verble considers the role of Squanto in the Mayflower myth.

400 years on

Nick Bryant reflectis on what the Mayflower 400th anniversary means to Americans in 2020.

Egyptian Satire

Dina Rezk explores the power of humour in protest.

Pogroms and Prejudice

Brendan McGeever looks at anti-Semitism, from Russian attacks to the present day.

Prison Break

New Generation Thinker Jeffrey Howard asks if it is ever ok to escape from prison.

Facing Facts

From duelling injuries to eye patches - Emily Cock asks how we respond to people's faces.

Facing Facts

From duelling injuries to eye patches - Emily Cock asks how we respond to peoples' faces.

Not Quite Jean Muir

How does sewing a dress add to Jade Halbert's understanding of disappearing skills.

Digging Deep

Susan Greaney asks whether Neolithic attitudes to the earth could shape our thinking.

Tudor Virtual Reality

The link between VR dinosaurs and a Tudor wall painting of the Judgement of Solomon.

Coming out Crip and Acts of Care

Ella Parry-Davies draws on experiences of migrant domestic workers in the UK and Lebanon.

Berlin, Detroit, Race and Techno Music

Tom Smith on the early pioneers of Berlin's music scene and arguments about whiteness.

The Holy Island

Kenneth Steven visits another island and responds to its landscape in poetry and prose.

Barra

Kenneth Steven visits another island and responds to its landscape in poetry and prose.

Staffa

Kenneth Steven visits another island and responds to its landscape in poetry and prose.

Jura

Kenneth Steven visits another island and responds to its landscape in poetry and prose.

Mingulay

Kenneth Steven visits another island and responds to its landscape in poetry and prose.

Ian Sansom: Mince on Toast with Christopher Isherwood

Ian Sansom reflects on the supreme sociability of Christopher Isherwood.

Ian Sansom: Cheese Dreams with Graham Greene

Ian Sansom explores his own and Graham Greene’s active dream life.

Helen Mort: More Than Enough

Helen Mort's daily walks echo the explorations of Dorothy Wordsworth in the Lake District.

AL Kennedy: Hope On, Hope Ever

AL Kennedy on the fortitude and humanity of Edward Wilson's Antarctic diaries.

AL Kennedy: The Towers We Founded and the Lamps We Lit

AL Kennedy pursues the ever-restless wanderings of Robert Louis Stevenson.

The Essay - Let Me Take You There - 10.Aida Edemariam

leading writers share their secrets of places of inner sanctuary 10.Aida Edemariam

The Essay - Let Me Take You There - 9.David Constatine

Leading writers share the secrets of places of inner sanctuary 9.David Constantine

The Essay - Let Me Take You There - 8.Michael Morpurgo

leading writers on places of inner sanctuary in times of crisis 8.michael morpurgo

The Essay - Let Me Take You There - 7. Evie Wyld

leading writers on a place of inner refuge in times of crisis 7.evie wyld

The Essay - Let Me Take You There - 6.David Almond

leading writers share the secrets of their internal places of refuge in times of crisis

The Essay - Let Me Take You There - 5. Alice Oswald

Leading writers share secrets of their place of internal refuge 5.Alice Oswald

The Essay - Let Me Take You There - 4.Tessa Hadley

leading writers share the secrets of places of internal refuge in crisis 4.Tessa Hadley

The Essay - Let Me Take You There - 3. Tahmima Anam

leading writers evoke places of internal refuges which they visit in times of crisis

The Essay - Let Me Take You There - 2.Inua Ellams

Leading writers share the secrets of places of internal refuge in times of crisis

They Essay - Let Me Take You There 1

Writers on personal places of refuge in times of crisis 1.Alan Hollinghurst

Paul Robeson in Five Songs: 5. Joe Hill

Marybeth Hamilton on the ghosts of Joe Hill and Paul Robeson and their linked fates.

Paul Robeson in Five Songs: 4. Zog Nit Keynmol

Paul Robeson's life and struggle through songs .Tayo Aluko on Robeson's Zog Nit Keynmol.

Paul Robeson in Five Songs: 3. The Canoe Song

Paul Robeson's life and struggle told through music. Matthew Sweet on the Canoe Song.

Paul Robeson in Five Songs: 2. Ol' Man River

The life of Paul Robeson in songs. Granddaughter Susan Robeson on Ol' Man River.

Paul Robeson in Five Songs: 1. No More Auction Block

Paul Robeson's life and struggle through song. Shana Redmond on No More Auction Block.

The Preseli Mountains

Jon Gower explores the five mountain ranges of Wales.

Epynt

Jon Gower explores the five mountain ranges of Wales.

The Brecon Beacons

Jon Gower explores the five mountain ranges of Wales.

The Black Mountains

Jon Gower explores the five mountain ranges of Wales.

Snowdonia

Jon Gower explores the five mountain ranges of Wales.

Margaret Oliphant

The Scottish writer whose comic heroine Miss Marjoribanks bucks 19th-century conventions.

Lady Mary Wroth

The English Renaissance poet whose reputation at court was ruined by her writing.

Charlotte Turner Smith

The Romantic poet who inspired Wordsworth is profiled by Sophie Coulombeau.

Storm Jameson

A Yorkshire-born writer with a European outlook who campaigned for World War II refugees.

Yolande Mukagasana

Zoe Norridge describes translating the testimony of a Rwandan survivor.

Sophie Coulombeau - Walking Matilda

In York, author and academic Sophie Coulombeau finds a city and self changed by motherhood

Nat Segnit - The Other Ibiza

Writer and walker Nat Segnit seeks recovery and retreat in the unseen mountains of Ibiza.

Stephanie Victoire - Dark Hollow Falls

Writer Stephanie Victoire has a haunting hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia.

Michael Donkor - On Wandsworth Bridge

Writer Michael Donkor crosses Wandsworth Bridge, from childhood memory to adulthood

Jenn Ashworth - The Abiding Mental Riches of Preston

Lancastrian writer Jenn Ashworth ponders the promises of Preston's Harris Library.

10: The Resurrection

The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.

9: The Missing

The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.

8: The Echo

The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.

7: The Love Story

The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.

6: The Persona

The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.

5: The Deserter

The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.

4: The Living Artwork

The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.

3: The Most Hated Art Critic in France

The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.

2: The Boxer

The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.

1: The Poet

The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.

Philippa Gregory on Jane Eyre

Historical author Philippa Gregory writes a new end for Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.

Elif Shafak on Anna Karenina

Elif Shafak chooses Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.

AL Kennedy on The Wind in the Willows

AL Kennedy chooses Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows

Bernardine Evaristo on Mrs Dalloway

Man Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo chooses Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway.

Ian Rankin on Lord of the Flies

Ian Rankin chooses William Golding's Lord of the Flies.

Dance Till You Bleed: The World According to Hans Christian Andersen - Episode 5

The Wicked Prince. Thing. Toby Jones stars in five fairy-tale adaptations. 5/5

Dance Till You Bleed: The World According to Hans Christian Andersen - Episode 4

The Ice Maiden. Toby Jones stars as in five fairy-tale adaptations by Lucy Catherine. 4/5

Dance Till You Bleed: The World According to Hans Christian Andersen - Episode 3

Anne Lisbeth. Toby Jones stars in five fairy-tale adaptations by Lucy Catherine. 3/5

Dance Till You Bleed: The World According to Hans Christian Andersen - Episode 2

The Red Shoes. Toby Jones stars in five fairy-tale adaptations by Lucy Catherine. 2/5

Dance Till You Bleed: The World According to Hans Christian Andersen - Episode 1

The Most Incredible Thing. Toby Jones stars in five fairy-tale adaptations. 1/5

John Ocansey

Caryl Phillips reflects on young African John Ocansey exercising his freedom in Liverpool.

Mary Prince and Sally Hemings

Author Anne Bailey reflects on two remarkable women, Mary Prince and Sally Hemings.

Sarah Forbes Bonetta

David Olusoga on the life of a girl sold into slavery and gifted to Queen Victoria.

Isaac

Daina Ramey Berry reflects on Isaac, whose life ended in a final act of defiance.

Philip Quaque

Caryl Phillips reflects on the life of African priest Philip Quaque.

Episode 5

Ute Lemper looks at the enduring appeal of Weimar music and song.

Episode 4

Film critic Clarisse Loughrey looks at the cinema of the Weimar Republic.

Episode 3

Author Katie Sutton looks at sexuality in the Weimar Republic.

Fiery the Angels Fell - David Thomson

Film critic and historian David Thomson stares back at Ridley Scott's puzzling future.

Zhora and the Snake - Dr Beth Singler

Dr Beth Singler explores the ethics of AI sexbots in Zhora and the Snake.

The Year of Blade Runner 3: More Human Than Human - Ken Hollings

Five writers explore Blade Runner's legacy. 3: More Human Than Human - Ken Hollings.

The Year of Blade Runner 2: Sounds of the Future Past

Five writers explore Blade Runner's legacy of ideas and images. 2: Frances Morgan on sound

Los Angeles 2019

Five writers explore Blade Runner's legacy of ideas. 1: Deyan Sudjic on the city.

Episode 2

Camilla Smith looks at the art of the Weimar Republic.

Episode 1

Historian Jochen Hung presents his view of the Weimar Republic from Berlin.

Philip Hoare - The Haunted Sea

Author Philip Hoare transcends the elements and talks about being reshaped by the sea.

Ed Vulliamy - Forever Young

Writer and journalist Ed Vulliamy talks about the musicians crossing the age barrier.

Wendy Erskine - Knock Knock, Who's There?

Writer Wendy Erskine takes us through doorways that open up portals into other worlds.

Stephen Sexton - The Tory Islanders

Poet Stephen Sexton talks about the margins between language and image.

Sinead Gleeson - Pain, Borders and Averting Our Gaze

Irish writer Sinead Gleeson talks about how pain, inequality and borders separate us.

Mirkwood

The forests of Middle Earth explored by Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough.

The Wood Beyond the World

Enjoy the lush, romantic delights of the Pre-Raphaelite forest.

Scents of the Forest

Perfumer, Roja Dove, explains the power of the heady scents of the forest.

Outlaws of the Forest

Forests are the perfect place for outlaw artists to hide, says writer Will Ashon.

Forest Folk

Singer Nancy Kerr explains why forests provide such perfect metaphors in folk music.

Kate Molleson on Eliane Radigue

Radio 3 presenter Kate Molleson celebrates French composer Eliane Radigue.

Andrew McGregor on Thomas Tallis

Radio 3 presenter Andrew McGregor celebrates Thomas Tallis's powerful Lamentations.

Kathryn Tickell on Percy Grainger

Radio 3 presenter Kathryn Tickell celebrates composer and folksong fanatic Percy Grainger.

Tom McKinney on Olivier Messiaen

Radio 3 presenter Tom McKinney celebrates French composer Olivier Messiaen.

Penny Gore on Leoš Janáček

Radio 3 presenter Penny Gore celebrates the Czech composer Leoš Janáček.

Petroc Trelawny on Lennox Berkeley

Radio 3 presenter Petroc Trelawny celebrates English composer Lennox Berkeley.

John Toal on Maurice Ravel

Radio 3 presenter John Toal celebrates French composer Maurice Ravel.

Clemency Burton-Hill on George Enescu

Clemency Burton-Hill celebrates Romanian composer George Enescu

Ian McMillan on Ralph Vaughan Williams

Radio 3 presenter and poet Ian McMillan celebrates the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Fiona Talkington on Joseph Canteloube

Radio 3 presenter Fiona Talkington celebrates French composer Joseph Canteloube.

Rame Head Chapel

Author Natasha Carthew on Rame Head Chapel, near Whitsand Bay, Cornwall.

Trinity Theatre

Writer Bridget Collins takes us backstage to Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells.

Malcolm's Place, Uig, Isle of Lewis

Author James Rebanks, the Lake District shepherd, talks about Malcolm's place in Uig.

The Dead Dad Show

A would-be comedian has a strange encounter on the train from London to Edinburgh.

Dodo

An elderly woman finds herself trapped in a small aircraft heading for disaster.

Rochdale Town Hall

Novelist Beth Underdown on Rochdale Town Hall.

Glasgow School of Art

Author Louise Welsh reflects on Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Glasgow School of Art.

The Hard Man in the Call Centre

Alistair Fraser on the fates and fortunes of Glaswegian tough guys.

'Bedford, do you call this thing a coat?' The History of the Three-Piece Suit

Sarah Goldsmith on an immortal trio jacket, waistcoat and trousers.

Comrades in Arms

Tom Smith on the East German Military's fascination with its soldiers' sexuality

Sword to Pen: Redcoat and the Rise of the Military Memoir

Emma Butcher on the publishing phenomenon that was the traumatised Napoleonic Redcoat

The Well-Groomed Georgian

Alun Withey on what made 18th-century men shave off centuries of manly growth.

Le Festival de Men

A young woman looks for love at the first-ever Festival de Men.

Every Night

A man with compulsive cravings finds unexpected solace when he meets a young woman.

Reluctant Spirit

A young girl with a disability describes her relationship with her mother.

Daniel Hahn

The Essay from Hay Festival 2019

Alys Conran

Alys Conran reflects on what it's like to read Robinson Crusoe as a novelist.

Alex Wheatle

Alex Wheatle reflects on Robinson Crusoe's themes of imperialism and slavery.

Horatio Clare

Horatio Clare explores the castaway myth.

Fiona Stafford

Reflections on Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel, Robinson Crusoe, from the 2019 Hay Festival.

Swimming the Avon

Poet Elizabeth-Jane Burnett swims the River Avon in search of inspiration.

The Power of the Thames

Helen Czerski shares a physicist's view of the River Thames

The Art of Zen Fly Fishing

Once lead singer of The Undertones, Feargel Sharkey now gets his kicks from rod and line.

Medway Mudlarks

Driftwood, a Victorian poison bottle and a sailor's lost boot. Potent inspiration for art.

Gaelic Waters

Folk singer Julie Fowlis conjures kelpies, selkies and waterfall banshees from Gaelic song

Dear William...

Ian Sansom writes to William Trevor to ask if every silver lining must have a cloud.

Dear Marianne ...

Ian Sansom writes to poet Marianne Moore to finally ask her about that tricorn hat

Dear Oscar...

Ian Sansom is in the gutter looking at the stars again as he writes to Oscar Wilde.

Dear Mary...

Ian Sansom writes to Frankenstein author, Mary Shelley, to ask her how on earth she coped?

Dear Dante...

Ian Sansom drops a quick line to Dante.

Where Do Human Rights Come From?

Dafydd Mills Daniel looks at links between the UN, Richard III and Disney's Jiminy Cricket

Should Salman Rushdie Live and Let Die ?

What the BBFC archives tell us about censorship debates & a film depicting Salman Rushdie.

Who Wrote Animal Farm?

Lisa Mullen looks at the contribution of Orwell's wife Eileen to his writing.

Shopping Around the Baby Market

Gulzaar Barn asks questions about commercial surrogacy and the way we view our bodies.

Why Trespassing Is the Right Way To Go

Ben Anderson looks at fights over land rights, access to nature & care of the environment

Cooking and Eating God in Medieval Drama

Daisy Black conjures up images of breaking bread and cannibalism in mystery plays

A City is not a Park

Des Fitzgerald is a sociologist at Cardiff Uni. researching health, illness & cities

Woman on the Edge of Time

Comedian and author Viv Groskop explores five forgotten feminist futures.

The Female Man

Comedian and author Viv Groskop explores five forgotten feminist futures.

Herland

Comedian and author Viv Groskop explores five forgotten feminist futures.

Mizora: A Prophecy

Comedian and author Viv Groskop explores five forgotten feminist futures.

Three Hundred Years Hence

Comedian and author Viv Groskop explores five forgotten feminist futures.

Cary Grant

Sarah Churchwell celebrates various stars of the silver screen from the 1930s and 1940s.

Joel McCrea

Sarah Churchwell celebrates various stars of the silver screen from the 1930s and 1940s.

Charles Boyer

Sarah Churchwell celebrates various stars of the silver screen from the 1930s and 1940s.

Frederic March

Sarah Churchwell celebrates various stars of the silver screen from the 1930s and 1940s.

Clark Gable

Sarah Churchwell celebrates various stars of the silver screen from the 1930s and 1940s.

Make Some Noise

Writer AL Kennedy concludes her exploration of voice.

Your Master's Voice

Writer and broadcaster AL Kennedy explores voice.

Words, Words, Words

Writer and broadcaster AL Kennedy continues her exploration of voice.

Not Killing Conversation

Writer and broadcaster AL Kennedy on voice and the importance of being heard.

Voices, Voices, Everywhere

AL Kennedy on the power of voice.

25/01/2019

Andrew Martin's five essays that muse on the county of his birth and upbringing.

24/01/2019

Andrew Martin's five essays that muse on the county of his birth and upbringing.

23/01/2019

Andrew Martin's five essays that muse on the county of his birth and upbringing.

22/01/2019

Andrew Martin's five essays that muse on the county of his birth and upbringing.

21/01/2019

Andrew Martin's five essays that muse on the county of his birth and upbringing.

Paul Batchelor on Ode to Psyche

Paul Batchelor explores possibly the least familiar of the great Keats odes of 1819.

Sasha Dugdale on Ode to a Nightingale

John Keats's stunningly fertile year - 1819 - celebrated by five contemporary poets

Sean O'Brien on Ode on Melancholy

Sean O'Brien explores the depth and meaning of Keats's Ode on Melancholy,

Alice Oswald on Keats's Ode on a Grecian Urn

Alice Oswald explores Keats's great poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn.

Frances Leviston on Ode to Autumn

Frances Leviston celebrates perhaps Keats's Ode to Autumn.

Harold Godwinson

Clive Anderson discusses the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, Harold Godwinson.

Edward the Confessor

Stephen Baxter creates a portrait of Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor.

Aethelred the Unready

Simon Keynes discusses the life of the Anglo-Saxon monarch Aethelred.

The Smith - Gold and Black

Leslie Webster on the life of the smith and his ambivalent status in Anglo-Saxon society.

Alfred the Great

Michael Wood discusses Alfred the Great, King of Wessex and king of the Anglo-Saxons.

Bede, the Father of English History

Scholar of the Anglo Saxons Lilian Groves explores the life and times of St Bede.

The Beowulf Bard

The late Seamus Heaney's exploration of the great bard of the Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf.

Eadfrith the Scribe

Richard Gameson explores the literary, historical and artistic legacy of scribes..

Cuthbert

Historian Tony Morris explores the life of Cuthbert, the popular saint of the Northeast/

King Raedwald

Martin Carver on the inhabitant of the magnificent Sutton Hoo ship burial

Dear Caravaggio

Ian Sansom corresponds with Caravaggio on the links between fine art and violence.

Dear Frida Kahlo

Ian Sansom wonders how Frida Kahlo feels about her merchandise.

Dear Julia Margaret Cameron

Ian Sansom pens a missive to Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.

Dear Picasso

Ian Sansom asks Picasso about his mid-life crisis.

Dear Albrecht Dürer

Ian Sansom thanks Albrecht Durer for his instructive, selfless vanity.

Episode 4

The impact of World War One on great artists through the prism of a single work of art.

Episode 3

The impact of World War One on great artists through the prism of a single work of art.

Episode 2

The impact of World War One explored through single works of art by great artists.

Episode 1

The impact of World War One on great artists through the prism of a single work of art.

Ted Hughes and Tenderness

Poet Simon Armitage talks about finding an unexpected in tenderness Ted Hughes's work.

Ted Hughes and the River of Time

Poet Zaffar Kunial explores Ted Hughes's personal obsession with dates and anniversaries.

Crows, Loss and a Violent Melancholia

Poet Karen McCarthy Woolf on finding solace in Hughes's work during a troubled childhood.

Ted Hughes and Animal Encounters

Poet Helen Mort reads Hughes's poems about creatures in light of her own animal phobia.

Ted Hughes v Philip Larkin

Sean O'Brien returns to his native Hull to consider the work of two very different poets.

100 Acre Wood

Brian Sibley guides Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough around the home of Winnie the Pooh.

The Jungle Book

Join Mowgli and Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough in the forest of Kipling's imagination

Brothers Grimm

Dare to enter the dark Germanic forest of the Brothers Grimm.

Fate

Joanna Robertson now lives in France, but more despite the food than because of it.

Family

Joanna Robertson's deep connection with food has created families, and changed them.

Disorder

Joanna Robertson's deep and intimate relationship with food goes disastrously wrong.

Artists

Joanna Robertson's deep connection with food leads her to top artists and musicians.

Origins

Since early childhood, Joanna Robertson has been lured by both real and fictional food.

Why the Lloyd George museum is so small

Twm Morys looks into the reputation of Lloyd George in the village of his birth

Devils

Twm Morys tells the story of Jack Ystumllyn, an African man in North Wales in the 1770s

Saint Teilo - A Surplus of Arms

Poet Twm Morys delves into the cultural links between Brittany and Wales

Ma-Hw

Twm Morys looks at the poetry of ploughing songs

Dinogad's Jerkin – The oldest lullaby in Britain

Poet and musician Twm Morys tells the story of the oldest lullaby in Britain.

Joan Crawford

Sarah Churchwell discusses her affection for the work of Hollywood actress Joan Crawford.

St Kilda

Poet Kenneth Steven on the Scottish islands.

Rum

Poet Kenneth Steven reflects on on Scottish island life.

Iona

Poet Kenneth Steven reflects on Scottish island life.

Jean Harlow

Sarah Churchwell discusses the original 'blonde bombshell', actress Jean Harlow.

Barbara Stanwyck

Sarah Churchwell discusses the work of actress Barbara Stanwyck.

Katharine Hepburn

Author Sarah Churchwell explains how actress Katharine Hepburn inspired her.

Dear Agatha Christie...

Novelist Ian Sansom has a theory to put to Queen of crime, Agatha Christie.

Dear Virginia Woolf...

A letter of apology to Virginia Woolf from novelist, Ian Sansom.

Dear George Eliot...

Novelist Ian Sansom pens a missive to George Eliot...

Dear Geoffrey Chaucer...

Novelist Ian Sansom fires off a letter to Geoffrey Chaucer...

The Underground Railroad

How a novel about American slavery is used to train medical students.

To The Lighthouse

Dr Rita Charon traces literary parallels in the responses of New Yorkers to 9/11.

Never Let Me Go

What does it mean to be human, and how can physicians respond to life's mysteries?

The Wings of the Dove

Finding a model for the physician in the pages of Henry James.

Sonny's Blues

How James Baldwin's short story helped break down divisions of class, age and race.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Women's Rights

Joanna Cohen looks back at the manifesto which remodelled the Declaration of Independence.

John Gower, the Forgotten Medieval Poet

Curing lovesickness or learning alchemy's secrets. Seb Falk on Chaucer's friend John Gower

Sarah Scott and the Dream of a Female Utopia

Lucy Powell tells the story of a radical community of women set up in 1760s rural England.

The Forgotten German Princess

The tale of Mary Moders, a C17 bigamist and media sensation, is retold by John Gallagher.

Rehabilitating the Reverend John Trusler

Sophie Coulombeau challenges the way we look at failure in the story of a C18 entrepreneur

Forest Fire

What's the most creative force in the forest? Andrew C Scott believes that it's fire.

Forests of the Imagination

Fiona Stafford asks why artists are drawn to the imaginative possibilities of the forest.

Mab Jones on Jane Eyre

Mab Jones on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.

Francesca Rhydderch on Orlando

Francesca Rhydderch on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.

Fiona Sampson on Mother Courage

Fiona Sampson on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.

Bettany Hughes on Helen of Troy

Bettany Hughes on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.

Afua Hirsch on Maggie Tulliver

Afua Hirsch on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.

The Shopping News: Paris

How buying food in Paris is not just for the tastebuds, but also a serious part of culture

Tirana

Joanna Robertson on buying dreams of wealth in Tirana in the aftermath of communism.

Berlin

How shopping for toys in Berlin reveals an attitude to childhood that is unique to Germany

New York

Joanna Robertson on how book-shopping in New York can be about intellectual validation.

Rome

Joanna Robertson argues that when Romans go shopping they buy into a local identity.

Japan Refusal

Does mental illness in Japan indicate a rejection of a narrow modernity?

The Art of the Heist

How a famous crime is also a metaphor for 1960s Japan.

Rebranding the Buddha

How Buddhism was reimagined in the service of Japanese militarism.

Happy Families

Chris Harding explores contrasting models of 'family' in turn-of-the-century Japan.

Deer Cry Hall

Japan's uneasy embrace of modernity, exemplified by a controversial 19th-century building.

Secret Admirers: Kate Molleson on Eliane Radigue

Celebrating the French composer and her inspirational long-form sense of perspective.

Secret Admirers: Andrew McGregor on Thomas Tallis

Reflections on the powerful Lamentations of English composer Thomas Tallis.

Secret Admirers: Kathryn Tickell on Percy Grainger

Folk musician Kathryn Tickell celebrates the Australian-American folksong fanatic.

Secret Admirers: Tom McKinney on Olivier Messiaen

Celebrating the birdsong-inspired music of the 20th-century French composer, Messiaen.

Secret Admirers: Penny Gore on Leoš Janáček

Celebrating a composer whose music is shot through with the uncertainties of life.

Episode 3

Artist and writer Harland Miller reveals how an eventful past has fed into his work..

Episode 2

Artist and writer Harland Miller reveals how an eventful past has fed into his work.

Episode 1

Artist and writer Harland Miller reveals how an eventful past has fed into his work.

Inua Ellams on Terry Pratchett

The poet and playwright on the fantasy comedy 'Pyramids'.

Alastair Campbell on 'Madame Bovary'

Tony Blair's former spokesman on how Flaubert inspired his love of French culture.

Zarah Hussain on The Arabian Nights

The artist describes the inspiration of these legendary tales.

Henry Marsh on 'War and Peace'

Neurosurgeon and writer Henry Marsh on the influence of Tolstoy's epic novel.

Afua Hirsch on 'Wide Sargasso Sea'

How journalist and writer Hirsch changed her view of Jean Rhys's novel.

Paul Morley

Paul Morley concludes the series of essays debating music as a civilising force.

Jameela Siddiqi

Jameela Siddiqi explores the civilising force of music from an Indian perspective.

Professor Kofi Agawu

Professor Kofi Agawu examines the civilising force of music from an African perspective.

Professor Alice Roberts

Anatomist and osteoarchaeologist Alice Roberts looks at music's humananising force.

Sir Roger Scruton

Sir Roger Scruton explores the civilising force of music.

What Do You Do If You Are a Manically Depressed Robot?

Simon Beard, from the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, on AI and Douglas Adams.

Kids With Guns

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

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.

When Shakespeare Travelled with Me

New Generation Thinker Islam Issa looks at Shakespeare in 1916 Egypt to Arabic pop songs.

A War of Words

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

Doing Nothing

Alistair Fraser on teenagers, gangs and filling time.

Educating Ida

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

Does Trusting People Need a Leap of Faith?

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

Art for Health's Sake

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

Welling Up: Women and Water in the Middle Ages

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

The Last Wolf

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

The Great Glen

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

The Moss Lairds

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

The Dark Years

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

Louise Welsh

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

Val McDermid

Val McDermid discusses Muriel Spark - crime novelist.

Janice Galloway

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

Kate Clanchy

Kate Clanchy discusses the work of Muriel Spark - poet.

Ali Smith

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

Lavinia Greenlaw

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

Rachel Cooke

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

Nicholas Shakespeare

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

Lauren Elkin

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

James Fox

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

Clay Bricks

Poet Fiona Hamilton contrasts clay's different states, before and after it's baked hard.

Gypsum and Alabaster

Archaeologist Rose Ferraby gets to grips with gypsum, the key mineral in plaster.

North Sea Oil and Gas

Esther Woolfson contrasts Aberdeen, the 'Granite City', with its oil and gas industry.

Lewisian Gneiss

Writer Sara Maitland conjures with Lewisian gneiss, two-thirds the age of the earth.

Flint

Alan Garner sparks with flint, the stone that has enabled human civilisation.

Watershed

Nikesh Shukla on Watershed in Bristol and how it helped him fall in love with the city.

Hafod Eryri

Travel writer Phoebe Smith on Hafod Eryri and the chutzpah of building on mountains.

Chingle Hall

Andrew Hurley on the haunting qualities of a 17th-century manor house near Preston.

Gladstone's Library

Novelist Melissa Harrison on the joy of 'sleeping with books' at Gladstone's Library.

Wigmore Hall

Pianist Stephen Hough on Wigmore Hall and how its 'shoebox' design catches the ear.

Dear William Trevor

Ian Sansom writes to Irish novelist and playwright, William Trevor

Dear Oscar Wilde

Ian Sansom is in the gutter looking at the stars as he writes to Oscar Wilde

Dear Mary Shelley

Ian Sansom writes to Frankenstein author, Mary Shelley, to ask her how on earth she coped

Dear Dante

Ian Sansom drops a quick line to Dante

Dear Marianne Moore

Ian Sansom writes to poet Marianne Moore and asks her about that tricorn hat

10 Eisenstein

Silent movie accompanist Neil Brand reappraises Eisenstein's influential film October.

9 Moisei Ginzburg

Political historian Tariq Ali recalls a tour of Constructivist Moscow in the 1980s.

8 The State Porcelain Factory

Ceramicist Claire Curneen tells the strange story of the State Porcelain Factory.

7 Akhmatova and Tsvetaeva

Writer Elaine Feinstein compares the impact of the Revolution on two great Russian poets.

6 Mosolov

Musicologist Tamsin Alexander considers the industrially inspired music of Mosolov.

5 Tatlin

Art historian Christina Lodder describes the influence of sculptor Vladimir Tatlin.

4 Meyerhold

Richard Eyre appraises the Revolution's impact on theatre director Meyerhold.

3 Nijinsky

Former ballerina Deborah Bull on Nijinsky and the impact of his ballet The Rite of Spring.

2 John Reed, Eye-Witness

Historian Helen Rappaport reappraises American eyewitness to the Revolution, John Reed.

1 Choices

Writer Martin Sixsmith considers how the Russian Revolution affected choices for artists.

Memory and the landscape

Catherine Loveday explores the relationship between memory loss and landscape.

The Tricks of Memory

How do we remember facts or details? Professor David Shanks tells us the secret techniques

The Fallibility of Memory

Forensic psychologist Fiona Gabbert explores the strength and weaknesses of human memory.

False Memories

Psycologist Chris French looks at childhood memories and asks how reliable they are.

Touching the Void

Adam Zeman on the void of amnesia and how it impacts identity and consciousness.

My Mother's House

How do you deal with the stuff from your late mother's house while in the depths of grief?

Books and Letters

Getting rid of stuff is hard at the best of times, but books and personal letters?

Decluttering

Decluttering is all the rage - so how do the stylish Parisians go about it? Or do they?

Tidy Home, Tidy Mind

Joanna Robertson aims for a 'tidy home, tidy mind'.

Moving House

Why does stuff have such an emotional hold on us? Joanna Robertson on moving house.

Robert Frost's 'Design'

Poet Don Paterson reflects on Robert Frost's 'Design'.

Sylvia Plath's 'Cut'

Poet Don Paterson reflects on Sylvia Plath's poem 'Cut'.

Elizabeth Bishop's 'Large Bad Picture'

Poet Don Paterson reflects on Elizabeth Bishop's 'Large Bad Picture'.

Michael Donaghy's 'The Hunter's Purse'

Poet Don Paterson reflects on Michael Donaghy's 'The Hunter's Purse'.

Seamus Heaney's 'The Underground'

Poet Don Paterson reflects on Seamus Heaney's 'The Underground'.

John Siddique

John Siddique reflects on the 70-year legacy of Partition as reflected in Indian culture.

There Was No Them There (An Autobiography of Stella F Duffy)

Writer Stella Duffy on growing up as a lesbian in New Zealand in the 1960s and 70s.

Dining with the Nightmare

Daisy Hay on the role in the history of English Romanticism of publisher Joseph Johnson.

A Tale of Restoration Murder, Barbarous and Inhumane

Tom Charlton explores press reporting, scandal and politics in the 17th century.

Resisting Tyranny

Jonathan Healey on changing ways of resistance to state control and prevailing ideology.

A Focus on Fasting

Christopher Kissane from the London School of Economics explores the history of fasting.

A Romanticist Reflects on Breastfeeding

Corin Throsby explores attitudes towards breastfeeding.

Isaac Rosenberg's Dead Man's Dump

Santanu Das explores the poetic world of Bristol-born Isaac Rosenberg.

Mata Hari's Final Performance

Elif Shafak on the elaborate and provocative performances and photo shoots of Mata Hari.

Siegfried Sassoon's Letter to The Times

Joanna Bourke on Siegfried Sassoon and his celebrated protest against the conflict.

Gertrude Bell

Tarek Osman considers the writing of Gertrude Bell.

Marcel Duchamp

Heather Jones on the war connections and controversy around Marcel Duchamp's work Fountain

Philip Melanchthon

Brian Cummings tells the story of Philip Melanchthon, Martin Luther's right-hand man.

Johann Walther

Dr Stephen Rose discusses Johann Walther, the man behind Luther's musical Reformation.

Katharina von Bora

Charlotte Woodford on the contribution of Katharina Von Bora to Luther's Reformation.

Thomas Muntzer

Andy Drummond profiles Thomas Muntzer, the failed revolutionary of the Reformation.

Martin Luther

Lyndal Roper profiles the father of the Reformation, Martin Luther.

Late Style: Penelope Lively

Thoughts on writing fiction as you get older from the novelist Penelope Lively.

Sex Shops

Author Andrew Martin discusses sex shops, especially those in London's Soho.

Late Style: Douglas Dunn

Writing back the years: thoughts on poetry after retirement by Douglas Dunn.

Late Style: Diana Hendry

Writing age: thoughts on keeping going by Diana Hendry.

Vicki Feaver

Poet Vicki Feaver gives her thoughts on writing as one becomes older.

Late Style: Paul Bailey

The novelist Paul Bailey discusses writing in his ninth decade.

The Milkman

Author Andrew Martin discusses milkmen and their floats.

The Telephone

Author Andrew Martin explains his liking for traditional telephones.

The Ventriloquist Doll

Andrew Martin on ventriloquists' dolls, one of the social phenomena managing to survive.

The Boating Pond

Andrew Martin celebrates the pastime of sailing model boats on ponds.

Killing Time in Imperial Japan

Christopher Harding discusses Tokyo in the early 20th century.

England's First European

Exploring Fynes Moryson's An Itinerary, a European travel book from the early 17th century

Russia's Sacred Ruins

Victoria Donovan explores the dilemmas of post-war reconstruction in Soviet Russia.

Creating Modern India

Preti Taneja on the architectural links between Letchworth Garden City and New Delhi.

The Magic Years

Medical historian Matthew Smith explores 1970s US psychiatry: a time of hope and promise.

Faith, Fire and the Family

Catherine Fletcher on the story of her grandfather, a missionary in India.

The British Writer and the Refugee

Katherine Cooper on the work by British writers to save colleagues in Europe during WWII.

Alexander the Great's Lost City

The story of Alexander the Great's lost city, buried beneath Bagram air base, Afghanistan.

In the Shadows of Biafra

New Generation Thinker Louisa Egbunike explores the legacy of the Biafran war.

Monks, Models and Medieval Time

Seb Falk discusses the 14th-century monks who studied astronomy.

Bette Davis

Author and broadcaster Sarah Churchwell discusses the work of actress Bette Davis.

Naomi Alderman

Naomi Alderman describes a trip to the Arctic, where she spent much time confined to bed.

John Walsh

Writer John Walsh describes sleeping in a hammock in the jungle in Guyana.

Philip Hoare

Philip Hoare on spending a night in a hospital observation ward after falling off his bike

Rachel Cooke

Journalist Rachel Cooke on spending a night in accommodation in the wilds of Scotland.

Colin Thubron

Colin Thubron recalls booking into a room that once belonged to a merciless Chinese leader

Skin

Poet and writer Salena Godden explains her relationship with her skin.

Black and White: Messrs Smith and Carlos and Norman

Lindsay Johns explains the inspiration he draws from a black and white photo on his desk.

Black and White: Yin and Yang

Xiaolu Guo remembers lessons learned from her father growing up in China.

Black and White: Words on the Page

Writer Glyn Maxwell on whether we have become too black and white, and too binary.

Black and White: Parental Advisory Explicit Lyrics

Farrah Jarral talks about what it means to be fluent in something one doesn't understand

The Essay - Gun Culture -The Howth Mauser

Heather Jones explores the deadly symbolism of the Howth Mauser

The Essay - Gun Culture - Sniper

Nicholas Rankin explores the emergence of the deadly 'force reducer' that is the sniper

The Essay: Gun Culture: Pistols At Dawn

John Gallagher duels with the noisy story of guns 300 years ago

The Essay: Gun Culture: Gotham's Gun Baron

Brian DeLay reveals the life & arms deals of the most dangerous man you've never heard of

Taking Aim - Renaissance-style

Catherine Fletcher unveils handguns' explosive Renaissance origin

Billy Liar

Simon Heffer explores Billy Liar, the 1963 British New Wave film starring Tom Courtenay.

This Sporting Life

Simon Heffer examines the powerful 1963 film version of This Sporting Life.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Simon Heffer explores the 1962 film The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

How Alan Sillitoe's novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was made into a film.

Room at the Top

Simon Heffer re-examines the 1959 British New Wave film Room at the Top.

Cornerstones: Chalk

Poet Alyson Hallett is drawn to chalk landscapes and the large horse at Westbury in Wilts

Cornerstones: Fire Rocks

Novelist Sarah Moss discusses basalt and dolerite, the fire rocks that underpin castles.

Cornerstones:Coal

Writer Paul Evans traces a family line back through Shropshire's seams of coal.

Cornerstones:Millstone

Derbyshire poet and climber Helen Mort visits Stanage Edge, famed for its millstone grit.

Cornerstones: Quartz

Linda Cracknell reflects on the appeal of the quartz on Ben Lawers, her local Munro.

Bethany Bell

Journalist Bethany Bell on living in Modling, a town near Vienna where Schoenberg lived.

Tom McKinney

Tom McKinney on his 'first contact' with the music of Webern: Five Pieces for Orchestra.

Gillian Moore

Gillian Moore talks about Alban Berg's relationships with the women in his life.

Stephen Johnson

Stephen Johnson discusses Schoenberg's String Quartet No 2.

Sarah Walker

Sarah Walker on learning and playing Schoenberg's Suite for Piano, Op 25, for her MA.

The Further Realm: Episode 5

Andrew tells tales of the undead from resonant times of the year.

The Further Realm: Episode 4

Andrew celebrates the tome Phantasms of the Living.

The Further Realm: Episode 3

Andrew considers the contrast between 'solid' Medieval ghosts ephemeral modern sightings.

The Further Realm: Episode 2

Andrew reflects on sightings, with even Google Street View having recorded a ghost.

The Further Realm: Episode 1

Andrew contemplates whether he actually believes in ghosts.

Time

Author Julian Barnes considers whether his perception of time has changed over the years.

Books

Julian Barnes on his changing views about books and their authors, especially EM Forster.

Politics

Author Julian Barnes discusses his changing views about politics over the years.

Words

Julian Barnes on how he uses words, asking what did they ever mean and what they mean now.

Memory

Author Julian Barnes explores ideas of vacillation, uncertainty and memory.

Dear Agatha Christie...

Novelist Ian Sansom has a theory to put to the Queen of Crime.

Dear Virginia Woolf...

A letter of apology to Virginia Woolf from novelist Ian Sansom.

Dear George Eliot...

Novelist Ian Sansom pens a missive to George Eliot...

Dear Jonathan Swift...

Ian Sansom writes an imaginary letter to Jonathan Swift and interrogates him about his art

Dear Geoffrey Chaucer...

Novelist Ian Sansom fires off a letter to Geoffrey Chaucer...

Sir Richard Eyre

Director Sir Richard Eyre on how he was inspired by Angus Calder's book The People's War.

Tacita Dean

Artist Tacita Dean on how Marguerite Yourcenar's book Fires changed her life and art.

Ben Anderson

Journalist Ben Anderson explains how The Autobiography of Malcolm X inspired him.

Pauline Black

Singer Pauline Black discusses Harper Lee's book To Kill a Mockingbird.

David Simon

Creator of the TV series The Wire David Simon on the book Let us Now Praise Famous Men.

Novelist Kit de Waal reflects on the architecture of the prison where she worked.

Novelist Kit de Waal reflects on the architecture of the prison where she once worked.

Queensferry Crossing, Scotland

Dr Gavin Francis on the largest balanced cantilever bridge ever to be built.

Chesterfield's Crooked Spire, Derbyshire

Poet Helen explains why Chesterfield's Crooked Spire Church has inspired her.

Impington College, Cambridge

Painter Humphrey Ocean introduces Impington College, built by architect Walter Gropius.

288a Main Road

Novelist Mark Haddon reflects on the house in Northamptonshire that was his childhood home

The Rise and Fall of the Hairdresser

New Generation Thinker Seán Williams on the depiction of hairdressers in prints and prose

Strindberg and 'the Woman Question'

Leah Broad considers 'the woman question' in 19th-century Scandinavian countries.

Telephone Terrors

Poet Sarah Jackson explores the phone and its voices in philosophy and fiction.

Partitioned Memories

Anindya Raychaudhuri considers people's memories of India and Pakistan in 1947.

Food: Are We What We Eat?

Christopher Kissane explores the role of food in past and present conflicts over identity.

Marina Lewycka - Up the Eiffel Tower

Marina Lewycka takes a trip up the Eiffel Tower to reflect on a lifetime of visiting Paris

Gervase Phinn: On the Camino de Santiago

Gervase Phinn joins the pilgrims on a visit to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Edwina Currie: A Ferry Across the Mersey

Edwina Currie returns to the Mersey, where she once took part in a schoolgirl ritual.

Michael Rosen: On the Trail of DH Lawrence

Michael Rosen visits Eastwood and the childhood home of DH Lawrence, who inspired him.

Lisa Appignanesi: A Visit to the Savoy Hotel

Lisa Appignanesi visits the Savoy Hotel, where she reflects on the glamorous Belle Epoque.

Poet Kenneth Steven on the Scottish islands

Poet Kenneth Steven writes on the remote islands of St Kilda.

Poet Kenneth Steven reflects on Scottish island life

Poet Kenneth Steven writes on Raasay, an island close to Skye.

Poet Kenneth Steven reflects on Scottish island life

Kenneth Steven looks at Rum, a wild and windswept Hebridean island.

Poet Kenneth Steven on Scottish island life

Poet Kenneth Steven writes on Hoy in the archipelago of the Orkney islands

Poet Kenneth Steven reflects on Scottish island life

Kenneth Steven writes on the Hebridean island of Iona.

Donald Sturrock on the events that made the man and writer

Dahl's biographer Donald Sturrock recalls meeting the storyteller in his writing hut.

Michael Rosen on the exuberance of Dahl's poetry

Michael Rosen celebrates the dazzling language and clever observation of Dahl's poetry.

Laura Dockrill on Dahl's heroine Matilda

Performance poet Laura Dockrill remembers growing up with Dahl's heroine Matilda.

Jeremy Dyson on the delicious lure of Dahl's adult fiction

Jeremy Dyson remembers his 10-year-old self's discovery of Dahl's short stories for adults

Frank Cottrell Boyce on flying and myth-making

Frank Cottrell Boyce on the myth Dahl built around his plane crash during World War II.

Daljit Nagra - On your 'A 1940 Memory'

Daljit Nagra with his poem On your 'A 1940 Memory', in response to the Battle of the Somme

Jackie Kay - Private Joseph Kay

Jackie Kay reads her poem Private Joseph Kay, in response to the Battle of the Somme.

Bill Manhire - Known unto God

Bill Manhire reads his poem Known unto God, written in response to the Battle of the Somme

Yrsa Daley-Ward - When your mother calls you, come

Yrsa Daley-Ward reads her new poem When your mother calls you, come.

Paul Muldoon - July 1st 1916, with the Ulster Division

Paul Muldoon reads his new poem July 1st 1916, with the Ulster Division.

Get Playing: Alexander McCall Smith on the saxophone and the Really Terrible Orchestra

Writer Alexander McCall Smith on playing saxophone and the Really Terrible Orchestra.

Get Playing: Peter Bradshaw's electric guitar

Film critic Peter Bradshaw describes how he was reunited with his electric guitar.

Get Playing: Poet Fiona Sampson on playing the violin

Poet Fiona Sampson discusses her early life as a violinist.

Get Playing: Joanne Harris on playing the flute and bass guitar

Writer Joanne Harris discusses her love of playing the flute and bass guitar.

Alistair McGowan on playing the Piano

Impressionist and actor Alistair McGowan describes his attempts to relearn the piano.

The Art of Storytelling: Emma Smith

Professor Emma Smith considers William Shakespeare's skills as a storyteller.

The Art of Storytelling: David Crystal

Professor David Crystal asks how we can preserve for the future the story of language.

The Art of Storytelling: Clemency Burton Hill

Broadcaster Clemency Burton-Hill considers the relationship between storytelling and music

The Art of Storytelling: Jon Gower

Writer Jon Gower recalls lessons learned from a master storyteller: his grandfather.

The Art of Storytelling: Edmund de Waal

Artist and writer Edmund de Waal considers the idea of storytelling through objects.

Lines of Work: Gardener Jackie Bennett on Francis Bacon

Gardener Jackie Bennett responds to Elizabethan thinker Francis Bacon's essay Of Gardens.

Lines of Work: Journalist Helen Lewis on John Milton

Journalist Helen Lewis reads poet John Milton's defence of a free press, Areopagitica.

Lines of Work: Soldier Harry Parker on Ulysses S Grant

Soldier Harry Parker reflects on the personal memoirs of Ulysses S Grant.

Lines of Work: Theatre Critic Susannah Clapp on Oscar Wilde

Theatre critic Susannah Clapp exchanges views with Oscar Wilde and his essays on criticism

Lines of Work: Teacher Francis Gilbert on Rousseau

Lecturer Francis Gilbert reflects on Rousseau's template for a perfect education Emile.

Shakespeare 400: Shakespeare Beyond London

Siobhan Keenan on the importance of touring to Shakespeare and the actors in his plays.

Shakespeare 400: Freedom of Speech or 'Nothing' - King Lear and Contemporary India

Preti Taneja considers Shakespeare's King Lear as a lens through which to view India today

Shakespeare 400. Joan Fitzpatrick on Wolf All? Shakespeare and food

Joan explores the symbolism of food and eating in Shakespeare's plays

Shakespeare 400: Wolf All? - Shakespeare and Food in Renaissance England

Joan Fitzpatrick explains her new research on what people ate in Shakepeare's England.

Shakespeare 400. James Loxley on Undiscovered Countries: Shakespeare and the Nation

James explores the light Shakespeare throws on national identity, then and now

Shakespeare 400: Undiscovered Countries - Shakespeare and the Nation

James Loxley explores what Shakespeare's plays say about questions of national identity.

Shakespeare 400: Shakespeare and the Suffragettes

How Shakespeare's heroines helped transform Victorian schoolgirls into Edwardian activists

Minds at War: Sean O'Casey's "The Silver Tassie"

Playwright and academic Elizabeth Kuti explores Sean O'Casey's "The Silver Tassie"

Minds at War: Father Browne's war photograph

Photographer John D McHugh explores one of the war photos taken by Fr Francis Browne

Minds at War: "O' Connell Street"

Poet and academic Gerald Dawe explores Francis Ledwidge's poem "O'Connell Street".

Minds at War: "The Last September"

Dr Heather Jones of the LSE explores Elizabeth Bowen's novel "The Last September"

Minds at War: "Ulysses"

The writer Fintan O'Toole reflects on James Joyce's novel "Ulysses"

Lucy Hughes Hallett

The attractions of daybreak... when five writers set off on foot - and report back.

Ian Sansom

The attractions of daybreak... when five writers set off on foot - and report back.

Kamila Shamsie

The attractions of daybreak... when five writers set off on foot - and report back.

Nicola Barker

The attractions of daybreak... when five writers set off on foot - and report back.

Nicholas Shakespeare

The attractions of daybreak... when five writers set off on foot - and report back.

Inspiring Women in Music: Zoe Martlew

Cellist, performer, composer, blogger and educator Zoe Martlew discusses her life in music

Inspiring Women in Music: Alice Farnham

Alice Farnham, one of Britain's leading female conductors, discusses her life in music.

Inspiring Women in Music: Kathryn McAdam

Soprano Kathryn McAdam discusses her life in music as well as what and who inspires her.

Inspiring Women in Music: Nicola LeFanu

Composer Nicola LeFanu discusses her musical career, spanning over half a century.

Inspiring Women in Music: Sarah Connolly

Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly on her career, her family and characters she has played.

Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks

Stephen Johnson studies the audience's reaction to Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 4

Stephen Johnson considers how Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4 thrilled the first audience

Shostakovich: Symphony No 5

Stephen Johnson considers how Shostakovich's Symphony No 5 surprised it's first audience

Byrd: Mass for Four Voices

Stephen Johnson considers how Byrd's Mass for 4 voices was received by its first audience

Mahler's Symphony No 8

Stephen Johnson considers how Mahler's Symphony no 8 was received by its first audience.

Rachel Joyce on Bronte as a Literary Star

Novelist Rachel Joyce on how Charlotte Bronte reacted to becoming a literary sensation.

Jane Shilling on I Shall Soon Be Thirty

Jane Shilling explores a letter Charlotte Bronte wrote shortly before beginning Jane Eyre.

I Am, Yours Sincerely, C Bronte: Lyndall Gordon on Charlotte Bronte and Robert Southey

Lyndall Gordon examines Charlotte Bronte's response to advice from poet Robert Southey.

Claire Harman on Charlotte Bronte in Belgium

Claire Harman on the two years Charlotte Bronte spent as a mature student in Belgium.

Claire Harman on Charlotte Bronte, Governess

Biographer Claire Harman discusses Charlotte Bronte's experience as a governess.

Lovers

AL Kennedy discusses romantic love.

Family

Writer AL Kennedy discusses family.

Friends

AL Kennedy ponders friendship, which, as an only child, she put off as long as possible.

My Generation

AL Kennedy contemplates the pitfalls of being old, young or something in between.

Strangers

AL Kennedy reveals why, despite her fear of them, she hugs strangers in the street.

Ray Bradbury's The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit

Journalist John Walsh recalls a pristine white suit in a short story by Ray Bradbury.

F Scott Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night

Justine Picardie, editor of Harper's Bazaar, celebrates Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night.

Federico Fellini's 8 1/2

Stephen Bayley celebrates some timeless eyewear, carried off brilliantly in a famous film.

Francoise Sagan's Bonjour Tristesse

Rachel Cooke on a famous pair of 'peddle pushers' in the novel Bonjour Tristesse.

James Whistler's Symphony in White, No 1

Art historian James Fox describes an intriguing 1860s painting of a girl in a white dress.

Tom Service - Where Have All the Seismic Moments Gone?

Tom Service reflects on the lack of any seismic shocks in 21st-century music.

Sarah Walker on Steve Reich's Four Organs

Sarah Walker reflects on Steve Reich's radically minimalist Four Organs.

Ivan Hewett on Brian Eno's Music for Airports

Ivan Hewett reflects on Brian Eno's creation of a new genre, which he named ambient music.

Sara Mohr Pietsch on the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Sara Mohr-Pietsch on the appetite in the west for eastern European music after 1989.

Robert Worby on John Cage's 4'33"

Robert Worby reflects on the first performance of John Cage's 4'33".

Art in a Cold Climate: Thomas Hylland Eriksen on the Holmenkollen Ski-Jumping Hill

Thomas Hylland Eriksen on Oslo's now-demolished Holmenkollen ski-jumping hill and Norway.

Art in a Cold Climate: Ray Hudson on Touching Fire by Carolyn Reed

Ray Hudson on Carolyn Reed's Touching Fire and the US state of Alaska.

Art in a Cold Climate: Mette Moestrup on Pia Arke's Camera Obscura

Mette Moestrup on Pia Arke's Camera Obscura and Denmark and Greenland.

Art in a Cold Climate: Hallgrimur Helgason on Fish Processing in Eyjafjord by Kristin Jonsdottir

Hallgrimur Helgason on Kristin Jonsdottir's Fish Processing in Eyjafjord and Iceland.

Art in a Cold Climate: Elizabeth Hay on Painting Place III by David Milne

Novelist Elizabeth Hay on David Milne's Painting Place III and Canada.

Northern Lights - Cornerstones: Alaska

Jason Mark visits northern Alaska and reflects on the impact of our lust for hydrocarbons.

Cornerstones: Siberia

Daniel Kalder conjures the vast landscapes east of the Urals, where taiga becomes tundra.

Cornerstones: Greenland Caves

Gina Moseley describes leading a team of cavers into an unknown cavern system in Greenland

Cornerstones - The Canadian Arctic

Travel writer Sara Wheeler recalls her time visiting Canada's Arctic region.

Northern Lights - Cornerstones: Scandinavia's Samiland

Poet John Burnside explores his fascination with the Sami landscapes of northern Norway.

Homage to Caledonia: Hidden Identities

AL Kennedy on what Scottishness means to her, discussing Scotland's many hidden identities

Homage to Caledonia: The Language of the Scots

Writer and comedian AL Kennedy celebrates the language of Scotland.

Homage to Caledonia: Morality and Misery

Writer and comedian AL Kennedy celebrates Scottish 'dourness'.

Homage to Caledonia: GSOH

AL Kennedy reflects on the idea of what is a good sense of humour.

Homage to Caledonia: Scots Abroad

AL Kennedy reflects on tartan, the kilt and a sense of Scottish identity.

Middletown

Ian Sansom on the most 'average' place in the UK and what is 'Middle England'.

Mr Average

Novelist and critic Ian Sansom goes in search of the 'average' man or woman.

Working 9 to 5

The changing concept of the average working week in an age of zero hours contracts.

Small, Medium and Large

Ian Sansom discusses the scientific measurement of the average man and woman's dimensions.

On the Average

Novelist and critic Ian Sansom focuses on why 'average' has become a byword for mediocrity

Dar es Salaam - Ubhuche, Invisible Histories of the First World War

Exploring why WWI is almost forgotten in Tanzania despite the casualties it suffered.

Delhi - Parting Words

Shashi Tharoor explores Indian remembrances of the World War One.

Amman - Jordan, a Country of Nationalists

Lina Attel explores how Jordanian national culture has survived since World War One.

Washington - Safe for Democracy

David Frum explains how World War One still defines American foreign policy.

Sydney - Stories that Bind

Wesley Enoch explores the powerful mythology of the Anzacs in Australia.

Akhmatova's July 1914

Sasha Dugdale explores the impact of World War I on the great Russian poet Anna Akhmatova.

Parade

Richard Cork discusses Pablo Picasso's designs for the Ballets Russes production Parade.

Woolf's Mrs Dalloway

How Virginia Woolf and her great novel Mrs Dalloway were shaped by the 1914-18 conflict.

Tzara's Dada Manifesto

Comedian Arthur Smith presents a dadaesque account of Tristan Tzara's Dada Manifesto.

Tagore's Nobel Lectures

Santanu Das discusses the Nobel lectures of the great Indian thinker Rabindranath Tagore.

Kirsteen McCue

Kirsteen McCue discusses singing and interpreting James Hogg's Scottish Napoleonic songs.

Adam Nicolson

Writer Adam Nicolson recalls being a teenager as father wrote about Napoleon and 1812.

Andrea Stuart

Writer Andrea Stuart celebrates Napoleon's first wife, Josephine de Beauharnais.

Julia Blackburn

Julia Blackburn looks for the ghost of Napoleon on St Helena, where he died in exile.

Of Miracle, of Magic

Paula Meehan explores the influence of the magical and the mystical in WB Yeats's work.

The View from the Tower

John Banville explains his long-held love for Yeats's 1928 collection of poetry The Tower.

The Second Coming of the Second Coming

Poet Paul Muldoon discusses WB Yeats's post-First World War poem The Second Coming.

Not Liking Yeats

Writer and commentator Fintan O'Toole on his love-hate relationship with WB Yeats.

Yeats by Heart

Fiona Shaw explains the impact of her childhood introduction to the work of WB Yeats.

Brigadoon

Stuart Kelly discusses Brigadoon, the village of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

Unthank

Stuart Kelly explores the fictional city Unthank, from Alasdair Gray's 1981 novel Lanark.

Duncairn

Stuart Kelly discusses author Lewis Grassic Gibbon's fictional Scottish town Duncairn.

Thrums

Literary critic Stuart Kelly discusses JM Barrie's fictional Scottish town called Thrums.

Show Me the Way to Tillietudlem

Literary critic Stuart Kelly explores the fictional locations of novelist John Galt.

Hay Festival: Gillian Clarke

At the 2015 Hay Festival, Welsh poet laureate Gillian Clarke explains why she writes.

Hay Festival: Frank Cottrell Boyce

At the 2015 Hay Festival, novelist Frank Cottrell Boyce explains why he writes.

Hay Festival: Horatio Clare

At the 2015 Hay Festival, author and journalist Horatio Clare explains why he writes.

Hay Festival: Alex Clark

Literary journalist and writer Alex Clark explains why she writes.

Hay Festival: Daniel Hahn

Editor and translator Daniel Hahn explains why he writes.

Some Kind of Genius

Film critic David Thomson explores Orson Welles's complicated relationship with failure.

F for Fake

Sarah Churchwell discusses film-maker Orson Welles's capacity for self-mythologising.

Why Citizen Kane Matters

Film critic Peter Bradshaw gives his personal take on Orson Welles's film Citizen Kane.

He that Plays the King

Exploring Orson Welles's Shaksepeare film trilogy: Macbeth, Othello and Chimes at Midnight

Boy Wonder

Simon Callow tracks Orson Welles's transformation from schoolboy to prodigy.

Je suis un table

Ian Sansom explores the literary, philosophical and cultural history of the table.

Sid James

Columnist and historian Simon Heffer explores the life and work of comic actor Sid James.

Tony Hancock

Columnist and historian Simon Heffer on the life and work of comic actor Tony Hancock.

Terry-Thomas

Columnist and historian Simon Heffer discusses the life and work of actor Terry-Thomas.

Alastair Sim

Columnist and historian Simon Heffer discusses the life and work of actor Alastair Sim.

Will Hay

Simon Heffer on the career of actor Will Hay, best known for his anti-authoritarian roles.

Lead Us Not into Temptation

Poet and author Andrew Motion considers the penultimate lines of the Lord's Prayer.

Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Michigan-based poet and undertaker Thomas Lynch considers a line from the Lord's Prayer.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Rabbi Julia Neuberger considers the middle section of the Lord's Prayer.

Thy Kingdom Come...

Muslim academic Mona Siddiqui explores the second section of the Lord's Prayer.

Art in Heaven

Author Ali Smith discusses the first lines of the Lord's Prayer.

Jimmy Rowles

Martin Gayford describes his encounters with pianist Jimmy Rowles.

Sonny Rollins

Martin Gayford recalls the lessons that he learnt from meeting saxophonist Sonny Rollins.

Ruby Braff

Martin Gayford remembers revealing telephone conversations with cornettist Ruby Braff.

Marian McPartland

Martin Gayford recalls his meetings with British-American pianist Marian McPartland.

Doc Cheatham

Martin Gayford recalls touring with octogenarian trumpeter Doc Cheatham.

Philip Hoare

Philip Hoare describes how he used to avoid the water before overcoming his reticence.

Kamila Shamsie

Kamila Shamsie describes a time with friends in Byron Bay, Australia.

Marcus O'Dair

Marcus O'Dair describes swimming in Ullswater in the Lake District with his mother.

Antonia Quirke

Antonia Quirke describes a dip in the south Pacific that reminded her of darker waters.

Christopher Hope

Christopher Hope describes swimming in outdoor pools in Pretoria during his youth.

Betty Freeman

Helen Wallace on Betty Freeman, perhaps the greatest patron of modern classical music.

Mary Gladstone

Discussing Mary Gladstone, daughter of William, who brought music to Downing Street.

Leopoldine Wittgenstein

Bethany Bell on the life of Leopoldine Wittgenstein, host of a Viennese musical salon.

Lady Maud Warrender

Kate Kennedy tells the story of Lady Maud Warrender, an aristocrat and patron of music.

Nadezhda von Meck

Vanora Bennett on Tchaikovsky's generous benefactor, who refused to ever meet the composer

Raymond Tallis

Raymond Tallis explains how human fear is often led by thought and imagination.

Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin considers the role fear and anxiety plays in autistic people's lives.

Quentin Skinner

How Thomas Hobbes came to argue that fear underpinned all human motivation and action.

Kier-La Janisse

Kier-La Janisse on how educational films scared more children than any horror movie.

Matthew Sweet

Matthew Sweet reflects on an experiment designed to induce fear in a toddler.

The Tichborne Claimant

Exploring how an 1866 photograph of a butcher taken in Australia changed British law.

The Broom Cottages

Elizabeth Edwards on W Jerome Harrison's photo of the Broom cottages in Warwickshire.

The Dogon

Jeanne Haffner discusses how aerial photography changed the spaces we live in.

The Nebula in Orion

Omar Nasim discusses the very first pictures of a nebula, taken by Henry Draper in 1880.

Anna Bertha's Hand

Kelley Wilder discusses how the 1896 x-ray photograph of a hand changed medicine.

Just Juvenilia: Roger Michell

Director Roger Michell describes working on his first television drama, Downtown Lagos.

Just Juvenilia: Stephen Coates

Stephen Coates of the band the Real Tuesday Weld recalls writing an early song in London.

Just Juvenilia: Janet Suzman

Actress Janet Suzman recalls working on the film Nicholas and Alexandra.

Just Juvenilia: Harland Miller

Writer and painter Harland Miller on how a sign in his local eatery came to inspire him.

Just Juvenilia: Deborah Moggach

Novelist Deborah Moggach revisits her first book, written in Pakistan.

Castles in Concrete

Writer Ken Worpole reflects on the grim forts and defences of the east coast of Britain.

The British Castle: A Woman's Place

Prof Roberta Gilchrist discusses the place of women in the history of British castles.

The Siege of Kenilworth

Benjamin Wild recounts the siege of Kenilworth castle - the longest in English history.

Castle Builders

Nicola Coldstream explores the careers of two master masons.

Power and Control

Professor Jeremy Black considers the primary military function of castles.

Lolita Chakrabarti on A Tale of Two Cities

Actress and playwright Lolita Chakrabarti on Charles Dickens's book A Tale of Two Cities.

Jon Ronson on What a Carve Up!

Journalist and writer Jon Ronson discusses Jonathan Coe's book What a Carve Up!

Jude Kelly on Little Women

Jude Kelly of London's Southbank Centre discusses Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

Steve Earle on In Cold Blood

Musician and singer Steve Earle discusses the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

So Near to Venice

Focusing on the residents of Venice who serve the many tourists who arrive each year.

The Writing on the Wall

On the recent Biennale fashion of rigging-up neon strips of random text around Venice.

Tinseltown

Writer Polly Coles focuses on the impact of celebrity on Venice.

At Home

Polly Coles on what 'home' and 'house' mean to various types of residents in Venice today.

Lucy Jones: Crawling to Glory

Tom Shakespeare celebrates painter Lucy Jones, who was born with cerebral palsy.

Goya, Klee, Matisse: Leaving the Best till Last?

Tom Shakespeare discusses the lives and works of a selection of disabled artists.

Arturo Bispo do Rosario: The Sculptor Who Saved the World

Tom Shakespeare discusses sculptor Arturo Bispo do Rosario, who had schizophrenia.

The Genius of Disability: Bryan Pearce - What Would I Do If I Didn't Paint?

Tom Shakespeare on painter Bryan Pearce, born with the metabolic disorder phenylketonuria.

The Genius of Disability: Al-Ma'arri - Visionary Free Thinker

Tom Shakespeare discusses the blind tenth-century Arabian poet Al-Ma'arri.

Dresden - Targets

Herlinde Koebl discusses World War One, targets and killing.

Sarajevo - Divine Uncertainty

Haris Pasovic explores WWI's effect on the long history of nationalism in the Balkans.

London - Shell Shock and the Shock of Shells

Joanna Bourke on the emotional, cultural and physical impact of WWI shelling on soldiers.

St Petersburg - White Flowers and Revolution

Novelist Tatyana Tolstaya tells a St Petersburg audience how World War I changed Russia.

Paris: The Christmas Truce

Christian Carion asks what the mud and degradation of WWI did to the idea of heroism.

Greece

Writer Frederic Raphael recalls living in Greece in the early 1960s.

Italy

Writer Frederic Raphael recalls living in early 1960s Italy.

Spain

Writer Frederic Raphael recalls living in Franco's Spain during the late 1950s.

France

Frederic Raphael recalls his life as a young writer in the post-war Paris of Sartre.

England

Writer Frederic Raphael recalls living in wartime Britain as a boy.

Shaping the Air - Writers and Radio: Fi Glover

Broadcaster Fi Glover on how radio voices 'make the global local and the local global'.

Shaping the Air - Writers and Radio: Roger Phillips

Roger Phillips describes his job as the listening anchorman of a daily phone-in programme.

Shaping the Air - Writers and Radio: David Hendy

Media professor and historian David Hendy on early anxieties about radio's power.

Shaping the Air - Writers and Radio: Olivia O'Leary

Journalist and broadcaster Olivia O'Leary describes the influence of radio on her.

Shaping the Air - Writers and Radio: Samuel West

Actor Samuel West explores the art of performance and declarative language.

Luke Johnson on The Magic of Thinking Big

Entrepreneur Luke Johnson celebrates the classic self-help book The Magic of Thinking Big.

Malorie Blackman on The Color Purple

Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman on Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple.

Simon McBurney on And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief as Photos

Actor Simon McBurney on John Berger's And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief as Photos.

Tracey Thorn on The Female Eunuch

Singer Tracey Thorn on how Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch spoke to her as a teenager.

Alan Johnson on David Copperfield

Politician Alan Johnson on how Dickens's David Copperfield affected the course of his life

Alchemy and Magic

Gabriele Ferrario unlocks a world of alchemy and magic in the heart of medieval Cairo.

Three Lives

Daniel Davies describes the private papers of three very different medieval Egyptians.

Women

Melonie Schmierer-Lee discovers the varying fortunes of women in medieval Cairo.

Letters

Ben Outhwaite reveals an intercultural trade network across the medieval Mediterrean.

The Discovery

Esther-Miriam Wagner on discovering the Genizah, medieval manuscripts in a Cairo synagogue

Brahms and the Future

Pianist and writer Natasha Loges discusses Brahms's views on the future of music.

Brahms and Freud

Lesley Chamberlain asks what can be learnt by comparing the work of Brahms and Freud.

Brahms and Germany

Natasha Loges explores Brahms's complex political relationship with his homeland.

Brahms and Nature

Writer Lesley Chamberlain investigates how Brahms was influenced by the natural world.

Public Brahms, Private Brahms

Pianist Natasha Loges considers what lay behind Brahms's famously gruff public persona.

The Firebird

Stephen Johnson on the reactions of the first audiences to Stravinsky's The Firebird.

Bach: St Matthew Passion

Exploring the impact of Bach's St Matthew Passion on its first audiences in Leipzig.

Scenes from Childhood

Exploring how Schumann's Scenes from Childhood were listened to by their first audiences.

Victoria: Lamentations

Exploring the impact of Victoria's Lamentations on listeners in Counter-Reformation Rome.

Haydn: Symphony No 100 (Military)

Exploring the impact of Haydn's Military Symphony on its first audiences in 1790s London.

Beckett and the Wake

Photographer John Minihan on taking some of the best-known photographs of Samuel Beckett.

Lost in Translation

Director Netia Jones on the relationship between words and music in Samuel Beckett's work.

Beckett expert Dr Mark Nixon on editing a Beckett story 80 years after it was written

Beckett expert Dr Mark Nixon on editing a Beckett story 80 years after it was written.

Beckett's Living Dead

Commentator Fintan O'Toole on themes of mortality and death in Samuel Beckett's work.

A Body of Becketts

Actress Lisa Dwan describes the demands of performing in works by Samuel Beckett.

Slate

Welsh poet Gillian Clarke counts the human cost of quarrying Snowdonia's ubiquitous slate.

Granite

Sculptor Peter Randall-Page describes the obduracy of Dartmoor's granite boulders.

Sandstone

Walker and geologist Ronald Turnbull reflects on sandstone's place in our landscapes.

Limestone

Sue Clifford, co-founder of Common Ground, reflects on England's limestone landscapes.

A Matter of Life and Death

Richard Coles on the classic Powell and Pressburger film A Matter of Life and Death.

The Red Shoes

Deborah Bull on Powell and Pressburger's classic 1948 film The Red Shoes.

Jeanette Winterson

Jeanette Winterson considers a recent turning point in British attitudes to the arts.

Xiaolu Guo

Xiaolu Guo reflects on the role of Chinese 'coolies' on the battlefields of World War I.

Daniel Kehlmann

German writer Daniel Kehlmann reflects on recent German history.

Colm Toibin

Writer Colm Toibin reflects on Ireland's role in World War I.

Elif Shafak

Turkish writer Elif Shafak reflects on a turning point in her native country's history.

Black Narcissus

Film critic Peter Bradshaw on Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's film Black Narcissus

The Grieving Parents

Ruth Padel reflects on German artist Kathe Kollwitz's memorial for her youngest son, Peter

The Broken Wing

Santanu Das discusses the Indian poet Sarojini Naidu's 1917 collection The Broken Wing.

Fighting France, from Dunkerque to Belfort

BBC correspondent Lyse Doucet discusses Edith Wharton's reportage from wartime France.

Battleship Potemkin

Ian Christie discusses Eisenstein's film Battleship Potemkin as a response to World War I.

Le Feu

Heather Jones on Henri Barbusse's Le Feu, the first explicit account of WWI conditions.

Thoughts for the Times on War and Death

Michal Shapira explores Sigmund Freud's Thoughts for the Times on War and Death.

The Memorandum on the Neglect of Science

Prof David Edgerton discusses the 1916 Memorandum on the Neglect of Science.

Der Krieg

Cartoonist Martin Rowson on Otto Dix's Der Krieg, a cycle of prints of wartime experience.

Non-Combatants and Others

Author Sara LeFanu reflects on Rose Macaulay's 1916 novel Non-Combatants and Others.

Paths of Glory

BBC correspondent Allan Little reflects on CRW Nevinson's 1917 painting Paths of Glory.

Holguin

Travel editor Simon Calder recalls the small-scale delights of Holguin in Cuba.

Asmara

Michela Wrong on the Italianate buildings and futurist constructions in Asmara, Eritrea.

Makhachkala

Vanora Bennett on Makhachkala in Russia, which she describes as 'beyond the mountains'.

Kunming

Romesh Gunesekera on Kunming, considered to be unlike any other modern Chinese city.

Hobart

Nicholas Shakespeare on Hobart's convict and whaling past, and the story of a monkey.

Dylan's Bardic Heritage

Poet and musician Twm Morys explores links between Dylan Thomas and Wales's poetic past.

Dylan Over the Pond

Writer and poet Kevin Powell explores Dylan Thomas's influence on black American writers.

Tracing Dylan's Pathway

Gwyneth Lewis takes a personal journey through the language of Dylan Thomas.

A Childhood Encounter with Dylan

Andrew Davies reflects on the influence of Dylan Thomas, growing up in Wales in the 1950s.

Crossing Dylan's Boundaries

John Goodby explores the ways in which Dylan Thomas's poetry and life crossed boundaries.

Dan Cruikshank on Robert Adam

Dan Cruikshank on the work of neo-classical architect and interior designer Robert Adam.

Martin Rowson on William Hogarth

Writer and cartoonist Martin Rowson discusses the satiric genius of William Hogarth.

Amanda Vickery on Elizabeth Parker Shackleton

Historian Amanda Vickery explores the life of Elizabeth Parker Shackleton.

Ian Kelly on David Garrick

Actor and writer Ian Kelly explores the life and times of David Garrick.

Claire Tomalin on Dora Jordan

Claire Tomalin on the life of actress Dora Jordan, lover of the future King William IV.

An Intimate History of the Bed

Novelist Ian Sansom considers the symbolism of beds in literature, art and film.

Old Mother Hubbard and the Cabinet of Curiosity: The Story of Storage

Novelist Ian Sansom explores what cupboards and cabinets reveal about human nature.

Who's Been Sitting in My Chair? Our Shadow Selves

Ian Sansom examines our complex physical, mental and emotional relationship with the chair

'Whereyouwanttogoto' - The Wardrobe and the Other World

Novelist Ian Sansom explores the history and symbolism attached to wardrobes.

Philip Hoare in Sholing

Philip Hoare describes seeing many animals while walking at the water's edge in Sholing.

Kirsty Gunn in Sutherland

Kirsty Gunn describes the start of spring on a walk in Sutherland.

John Walsh

John Walsh recalls his observations on an early spring walk near a village called Steep.

Ross Raisin in the Yorkshire Wolds

Ross Raisin observes the onset of spring in the Yorkshire wolds.

Michele Roberts in Poznan

Michele Roberts walks through Poznan and is reminded of Persephone, goddess of spring.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch on Hildegard of Bingen

Radio 3 presenter Sara Mohr-Pietsch celebrates 12th-century composer Hildegard of Bingen.

Martin Handley on Malcolm Arnold

Radio 3 presenter Martin Handley celebrates English composer Malcolm Arnold.

Lucie Skeaping on Thomas Ravenscroft

Radio 3 presenter Lucie Skeaping celebrates Shakespeare's contemporary Thomas Ravenscroft.

Tom Service on Arnold Bax

Radio 3 presenter Tom Service celebrates the music of Scots-inspired composer Arnold Bax.

Sarah Walker on John White

Sarah Walker celebrates English experimentalist composer John White.

Tolu Ogunlesi

Poet and author Tolu Ogunlesi asks if young people in Lagos can relate to the Commonwealth

Farah Ghuznavi

Writer Farah Ghuznavi explains why she no longer sees the Commonwealth as an irrelevance.

Noah Richler

Author Noah Richler asks if Canada still needs ties like the Commonwealth.

Fakir Aijazuddin

Historian Fakir Aijazuddin on Pakistan's chequered relationship with the Commonwealth.

Dr Sue Onslow

Exploring the Commonwealth's history. Has it made a difference and does it have a future?

Lubna of Cordoba

Kamila Shamsie discusses Lubna of Cordoba, a female intellectual from the 10th century.

Episode 19

Narguess Farzad celebrates the much loved 13th-century Persian poet Al-Rumi.

Salah al-Din

Historian Jonathan Phillips reassesses the influence of 12th-century hero Saladin.

Cities of Learning

Dr Amira Bennison considers the intellectual powerhouses of Baghdad and Cairo.

Ibn Rushd

Professor Charles Burnett considers the philosopher Ibn Rushd.

Al-Ghazali

Professor Mona Siddiqui discusses religious thinker and mystic Al-Ghazali.

Al Hakim

Dr Simonetta Calderini discusses Al Hakim, the controversial Egyptian imam-caliph.

Al-Biruni

Professor James Montgomery discusses the Islamic scholar Al-Biruni.

Islamic Architecture

Dr Sussan Babaie discusses the architectural glories of the Islamic world.

Avicenna

Dr Tony Street assesses the great philosopher and physician Avicenna.

On Sunday Church-Going

Novelist Andrew discusses the decline of Sunday church-going.

On the Joys of Manual Work

Novelist Andrew Martin celebrates 'manual work', which he says fewer embrace today.

On the Old Rules, or Gentility

Novelist Andrew Martin considers the loss of the 'old rules' and 'gentility'.

On Not Eating Too Much

Novelist Andrew Martin laments the loss of 'not eating too much'.

On Not Boasting

Novelist Andrew Martin laments why 'not boasting' is fading from our lives.

Don Paterson

Inspired by Rilke's classic text, Don Paterson writes a letter to a young poet of today.

Moniza Alvi

A letter by TS Eliot Prize-shortlisted poet Moniza Alvi.

Michael Longley

A letter to a young poet from Belfast writer Michael Longley.

Vicki Feaver

A letter to a young woman poet by 2014 TS Eliot Prize judge Vicki Feaver.

Michael Symmons Roberts

Inspired by Rilke's classic text, Michael Symmons Roberts writes to a young poet of today.

London

BBC news correspondent Emma Jane Kirby discusses London in 1914.

St Petersburg

Steve Rosenberg revisits 1914 St Petersburg and an event that would define modern Russia.

Berlin

Stephen Evans focuses on life in Berlin in 1914, seen as the Silicon Valley of its time.

Paris

Hugh Schofield on the storm in Paris over the murder of pacifist Jean Jaures before WWI.

Vienna

Bethany Bell evokes the elegance and dark tensions of 1914 Vienna - and their echoes now.

Seeing the Future

Rupert Goodwins on the potential of the internet to improve the future for blind people.

Long, Slow Journey through the Night

Rupert Goodwins tries to find if technology can limit his isolation from blindness.

Doctoring the Evidence

Rupert Goodwins reflects on the medical experience of losing his sight.

Behind the Eyes

Writer Rupert Goodwins describes unexpected insights he gained as he lost his sight.

Let There Be Dark

Rupert Goodwins on what going blind suddenly taught him about science, culture and life.

Al-Farabi

Professor Peter Adamson discusses the great Muslim philosopher Al-Farabi.

Al-Tabari

Hugh Kennedy discusses the life and times of the great historian of early Islam, al-Tabari

Al-Kindi

Professor James Montgomery discusses the life and work of Arab philosopher Al-Kindi.

Al-Khwarizmi

Jim Al-Khalili explores the legacy of mathematician and astronomer al-Khwarizmi.

Rabia Balkhi and Mahsati Ganjavi

Narguess Farzad of SOAS discusses Persian poetesses Rabia Balkhi and Mahsati Ganjavi.

Harun al-Rashid

Julia Bray explores the figure of Harun al-Rashid from the Thousand and One Night tales.

Paper

Jonathan Bloom explains how Islamic scholars and thinkers became early adopters of paper.

Imam Bukhari

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi gives her personal take on Persian scholar Imam Bukhari.

Ali ibn Abi Talib

Professor Robert Gleave discusses Ali ibn Abi Talib and the origins of Shia Islam.

The Establishment of the Islamic State

Professor Hugh Kennedy explains how the Islamic state was established.

Cubism

Adam Gopnik discusses Cubism in 1913 Paris, considering it as a form of poetic realism.

Le Grand Meaulnes

Writer Michele Roberts assesses the impact of Alain-Fournier's Le Grand Meaulnes.

Alcools

Martin Sorrell explores on Apollinaire's ground-breaking volume of poetry, Alcools.

Swann's Way

Why Marcel Proust's Swann's Way was among highlights of a great year for Parisian culture.

Emmy van Deurzen

Psychotherapist Emmy van Deurzen on how existentialism has shaped her life and work.

Gary Walkow

Film-maker Gary Walkow reflects on how existential thinking has influenced his work.

Michele Roberts

Michele Roberts on existentialist women writers and how these have influenced her own work

Paul Hart

Theatre director Paul Hart considers the power and veracity of existentialist ideas.

Naomi Alderman

Naomi Alderman on how existentialism affects the novels and computer games she creates.

Glenn Patterson

Novelist Glenn Patterson with a uniquely Belfast view of Derry, UK City of Culture 2013.

Nuala Hayes

Actress Nuala Hayes explores shirt-making and storytelling in Derry, UK City of Culture.

Brian McGilloway

Crime novelist Brian McGilloway explores how a city can shape a writer.

Neil Cowley

Composer Neil Cowley revisits his year as musician-in-residence for Derry-Londonderry.

Susan McKay

Journalist Susan McKay returns to her native Derry to ask what is a 'City of Culture'?

Matthew Sweet

Matthew Sweet explores silence in film and the effect on sound of digital technology.

David Thomson

Writer and film critic David Thomson explores how film composers create mood.

Camille Paglia

Writer Camille Paglia discusses the film music which has inspired her since childhood.

Miklos Rozsa

Novelist Jonathan Coe explores how composer Miklos Rozsa came to write for film.

The Sounds of Early Cinema

Matthew Sweet discusses the sounds of cinema's beginnings.

I Know Where I'm Going

AL Kennedy discusses the 1945 Powell and Pressburger film I Know Where I'm Going.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Ian Christie on The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, dubbed the 'British Citizen Kane'.

Yield to the Night

For the BBC's Sound of Cinema season, Simon Heffer discusses the film Yield to the Night.

Mandy

As part of the BBC's Sound of Cinema season, Simon Heffer discusses the 1953 film Mandy.

The Long Memory

Simon Heffer on how the film The Long Memory shows Britan as depressed and worn out by war

The Browning Version

Simon Heffer discusses the 1951 film The Browning Version.

It Always Rains on Sunday

Simon Heffer discusses the gritty world of the 1947 film It Always Rains on Sunday.

Mike Figgis

Film director Mike Figgis reflects on the hard lessons he learned in Hollywood.

Josie Rourke

Josie Rourke looks at what happens when things go wrong in the production of a play.

Bartlett Sher

Bartlett Sher examines the importance of rhythm when creating theatre.

Emma Rice

Kneehigh Theatre's Emma Rice explores the director's role as a storyteller.

Roger Michell

Roger Michell on emotions that go with starting a film, as he makes Hyde Park on Hudson.

Justin Cartwright - Christmas

Justin Cartwright reflects on the place that Christmas occupies in Charles Dickens's work.

Alexander McCall Smith - Episodic Writing

Writer Alexander McCall Smith salutes Charles Dickens's mastery of the episodic form.

AL Kennedy - No Hope of Return

AL Kennedy explores Dickens' literary response to the themes of poverty, misery and death.

Romesh Gunesekera - The Orphan Eye

Romesh Gunesekera on how Dickens addresses the move from childhood into the world beyond.

Tessa Hadley - Rooms and Reality

Tessa Hadley on how Dickens paints the reality of his world through characters' houses.

Wagner and Adorno

Professor John Deathridge explores the posthumous reputation of Wagner in the 20th century

Wagner and Nietzsche

Michael Tanner explores the relationship between Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche.

Wagner and Schopenhauer

Christopher Janaway explores Wagner's encounter with the philosophy of Schopenhauer.

Wagner and the Philosophy of Revolution

AC Grayling focuses on the crucial years before and after the Dresden uprising of 1849.

Wagner and German Idealism

Roger Scruton explores the philosophical background that influenced the young Wagner.