Arts & Ideas

A cosy cottage with warming fireplaces, comfort food, crime dramas on tv: Matthew Sweet and guests discuss art, literature and drama that are comfortable to engage with and how difficulty, a dedication to campaigning or the reading of Nietzsche might disrupt this. Does a theatre critic tell audiences they are in for a thought provoking show? And what role does it play in social and politial thinking today? Our guests include: Deborah Sugg Ryan, writer and broadcaster and Professor Emerita of Design History at the University of Portsmouth. Sir Alexander McCall Smith prolific author of the best selling Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Bioethicist and Fellow of the British Academy Tom Shakespeare Theatre Critic Susannah Clapp. Philosopher and Nietzsche expert Hugo Drochon.Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

Political upheaval, the role of the press and free speech, attitudes towards divorce: the poet John Milton thought and wrote about all of these issues which also concern us today. Milton (9th Dec 1608-8th Nov 1674) might be best known to us today as the man behind the epic poem Paradise Lost, dictated after he had become blind, and published in 1674, but he was also the author of The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates and Eikonoklastes (1649) which examined the right of the people to hold authority to account and provided a defence of regicide. He also attacked pre-printing censorship in Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, to the Parlament of England (1644). Matthew Sweet and his guests look at the resonances of Milton's writing now.Andrew Doyle writes plays, performs stand-up, hosts a show on GB news and has written articles for Spiked. He is the co-author with Tom Walker of Jonathan Pie: Off the Record and has published a book called The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World. He has a doctorate in early Renaissance poetry from the University of Oxford. Professor Alice Hunt is based at the University of Southampton and is working on a book titled England’s Republic: The Lost Decade, 1649–1660 supported by a Leverhulme Research Fellowship Dr Kate Maltby is a lead columnist for The i newspaper and a theatre critic. She is also a Senior Research Associate at Jesus College, Cambridge working on Renaissance literature. Professor Islam Issa is based at Birmingham City University. His books include Alexandria, the City that Changed the World, Milton in the Arab-Muslim World and Milton in Translation, ed. with Angelica Duran and Jonathan OlsonProducer: Luke Mulhall

With Day of the Dead, Halloween and All Souls Day being marked in different countries around the world - Shahidha Bari's guests discuss the belief in ghosts and the search for meaning in mysticism. They are:Dr Chris Harding is a cultural historian of Japan, India and East-West connections and is based at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of The Japanese and Japan Story.Dr Hetta Howes is a Senior Lecturer in English Literature at City, University of London and Deputy Programme Director for the BA in English. She is a BBC Radio 3 and 4 New Generation Thinker and the author of a new book “Poet Mystic Widow Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women.”Simon Critchley is a philosopher and the Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York, USA. His latest book is On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy.Dr Iriving Finkel is Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures in the Department of the Middle East at the British Museum and has published The First Ghosts: A rich history of ancient ghosts and ghost storiesProducer: Lisa Jenkinson

Does the reach of the USA and its cultural influence mean "we're all American now?" Anne McElvoy and her guests discuss the similarities and differences across the Anglosphere and think about the changing dynamics on the international stage. They are: Freddy Gray, Deputy Editor of the Spectator Magazine and host of the Americano podcast. Dr Katie McGettigan, Senior Lecturer in American Literature and co-editor of the Journal of American Studies. Amanda Taub writes The Interpreter, an explanatory column and newsletter about world events for The New York Times. Kit Davis, an American living in London, an anthropologist and Emeritus Professor at SOAS. Rana Mitter ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School.Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

The philosopher Leo Strauss claimed that many of the great texts of Western philosophy can be read in two ways. There's the message intended for everybody, but also a deeper level, accessible only to those who can see it. Taking this as a starting point, Matthew Sweet grapples with the closed world of social media tribes, the challenges posed by conspiracy theory, and the history of thinking in allegorical symbols. With: Marianna Spring, the BBC's Disinformation Correspondent Lisa Bortolotti, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham Daniel Herskowitz, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Theology & Religion, University of Oxford Hugh Cullimore, PhD student at the Warburg InstituteAnd Constantine Sandis, Director of Lex Academic discusses the shortlist for the 2024 Nayef Al-Rodhan Book Prize in Transdisciplinary Philosophy. The shortlisted books are: Chris Armstrong, Global Justice and the Biodiversity Crisis (Oxford University Press). Mazviita Chirimuuta, The Brain Abstracted: Simplification in the History and Philosophy of Neuroscience (The MIT Press). Shannon Vallor, The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking (Oxford University Press).https://royalinstitutephilosophy.org/book-prize/Producer: Luke Mulhall

Can we still be idealistic about childhood? How do we square the impact of war, stories of sexual abuse, the impact of time spent on screens with the idea of children's experiences being about play, learning to be social, listening and creating stories ? Anne McElvoy's guests include: Katherine Rundell, author of the Waterstones book of 2023 Impossible Creatures, her series about children's literature is on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds next week. It's called The Lion, the Witch and the Wonder. Emily Baughan, Senior Lecturer in 19th/20th Century British History at the University of Sheffield and author of Saving the Children: Humanitarianism, Internationalism and Empire. She is a New Generation Thinker working with BBC Radio 4 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to share her research on radio. Miriam Cates former Conservative MP who is now Senior Fellow at the Centre for Social Justice. Andrew Cooper, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Warwick who teaches courses on philosophy of nature, philosophy of mind, and existentialism. Grace Lockrobin who is Co-Director of SAPERE - a UK charity that works to realise the benefits of a philosophical education as widely and equitably as possible.Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

"I never read novels" is something you hear people say. What is the point of reading - be it histories or fiction? Does it help us empathize with the situation of other people or shed insights into our historical moment? With the news story that university students these days are, apparently, unaccustomed to reading entire books, cover to cover, favouring excerpts, abridgements, and introductions and ahead of the biggest date in the publishing calendar (Super Thursday on Oct 10th) Shahidha Bari is joined by novelist Elif Shafak - winner of the British Academy's President's Medal, her latest novel is called There Are Rivers in the Sky; journalist Gabriel Gatehouse - host of the podcast and Radio 4 series The Coming Storm; New Generation Thinkers Janine Bradbury - a poet, and Jonathan Egid - a philosopher; Tiffany Watt Smith - a historian of emotions and author of a book on schadenfreude and by the historian of China Professor Rana Mitter - chair of the judges for this year's Cundill History Prize. The winner will be announced on October 30th and the books in contention are: Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia by Gary J. Bass Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights by Dylan C. PenningrothProducer: Luke Mulhall

Sibling rifts, leadership battles in politics and history, philosophical schools of thoughts and their key players all come into our discussion of the way rivalry shapes the world. Roger Luckhurst reflects on the legacy of the American literary critic and philosopher Fredric Jameson who died earlier this week. Plus a report from the Warburg Institute Library which holds over 360,000 volumes available to scholars studying the afterlife of antiquity and the survival and transmission of culture. Matthew Sweet is joined by the journalist Michael Crick, historian Helen Castor, Philosopher David Edmonds and the writer and academic Kate Maltby.Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

Climate, trust, politics, communication. Some would say we live in a period of crisis several areas of society and life. How can we make sense of the present moment, and where do we go from here?Plus, we hear about the short list for this year's Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize and ask what that tells us about scientific publishing.Matthew Sweet is joined byTimothy Morton, whose most recent book is Hell: In Search of a Christian Ecology Jessica Frazier, Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the University of Oxford Clare Chambers, Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Cambridge Jessica Wade, Royal Society University Research Fellow and Lecturer in Functional Materials at Imperial College London and one of the judges for They are all appearing at the How the Light Gets in Festival of Ideas this weekend in London - more information at howthelightsgetsin.org Plus Mark Solms, neuroscientist and editor of the newly published Revised Standard Edition of the Complete Works of Sigmund FreudThe Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize 2024 which will be announced on October 24th. The books shortlisted are:Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon Your Face Belongs to Us: The Secretive Startup Dismantling Your Privacy by Kashmir Hill The Last of Its Kind: The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction by Gísli Pálsson Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortality by Venki Ramakrishnan A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith Everything Is Predictable: How Bayes’ Remarkable Theorem Explains the World by Tom ChiversProducer: Luke Mulhall

With the success of the far right Alternative for Deutschland party in the German elections, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris making their pitches to American voters to be their leader and the Conservatives in this country voting for their: we look at Carl Schmitt, the German political theorist of democracy, crisis and dictatorship, to see if he can help us make sense of the present moment.Anne McElvoy's guests are: Gisela Stuart, Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston, is a British German politician. A former Labour politician she now sits as a crossbencher in the House of Lords David Runciman is former Professor of Politics at the University of Cambridge and now hosts Past Present Future: The History of Ideas Podcast. His most recent book is called The History of Ideas : Equality, Justice and Revolution Tom Simpson is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford Katya Adler is the BBC's Europe EditorPlus Charles Tripp, emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern politics at SOAS is chair of the judges for the 2024 British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding Books on the shortlist announced this week are: Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues by Ross Perlin Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future by Ed Conway The Tame and the Wild: People and Animals after 1492 by Marcy Norton Divided, Racism, Medicine and why we Need to DeColonise Healthcare by Annabel Sowemimo Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories by Amitav Ghosh The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Global History of Mathematics and its Unsung Trailblazers by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy RevellThe winner of the prize of £25,000 will be announced on October 22nd 2024. And Free Thinking will be looking at some of the other non fiction book prize shortlists over episodes this AutumnProducer: Luke MulhallYou can find past episodes of Free Thinking available on BBC Sounds and as the BBC Arts & Ideas podcast

With the success of the far right Alternative for Deutschland party in the German elections, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris making their pitches to American voters to be their leader and the Conservatives in this country voting for their: we look at Carl Schmitt, the German political theorist of democracy, crisis and dictatorship, to see if he can help us make sense of the present moment.Anne McElvoy's guests are: Gisela Stuart, Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston, is a British German politician. A former Labour politician she now sits as a crossbencher in the House of Lords David Runciman is former Professor of Politics at the University of Cambridge and now hosts Past Present Future: The History of Ideas Podcast. His most recent book is called The History of Ideas : Equality, Justice and Revolution Tom Simpson is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford Katya Adler is the BBC's Europe EditorPlus Charles Tripp, emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern politics at SOAS is chair of the judges for the 2024 British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding Books on the shortlist announced this week are: Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues by Ross Perlin Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future by Ed Conway The Tame and the Wild: People and Animals after 1492 by Marcy Norton Divided, Racism, Medicine and why we Need to DeColonise Healthcare by Annabel Sowemimo Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories by Amitav Ghosh The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Global History of Mathematics and its Unsung Trailblazers by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy RevellThe winner of the prize of £25,000 will be announced on October 22nd 2024. And Free Thinking will be looking at some of the other non fiction book prize shortlists over episodes this AutumnProducer: Luke MulhallYou can find past episodes of Free Thinking available on BBC Sounds and as the BBC Arts & Ideas podcast

Travel, reading, cinema and psychedelic drugs are all means people have used to try to escape. But do they ever really lead us where we want them to? With the election looming, Glastonbury in full swing and lists of beach read suggestions starting to appear -Matthew Sweet discusses the difference between escape and escapism withNoreen Masud, Lecturer in Twentieth Century Literature at the University of Bristol and author of the memoir A Flat PlaceKirsty Sinclair Dootson, Lecturer in Film and Media at University College London, author of The Rainbow's GravityJonathan White, Professor of Politics and Deputy Head of the European Institute at the London School of Economics and author of In The Long Run: The Future as a Political IdeaJules Evans, writer, historian of ideas and practical philosopher whose books include The Art of Losing Control, and Philosophy for Life and other dangerous situations.Plus, Maximillian de Gaynesford, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading, on the philosophical significance of dreams and dreaming from Descartes and Freud to Norman Malcolm.Jules, Noreen and Kirsty are all New Generation Thinkers on a scheme run by the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to share academic research on radio.Producer: Luke Mulhall

As the sun sets on the longest day of the year, Matthew Sweet talks to an eclectic group of guests about the illusion of time, the summer solstice and the philosophy of comedy. They are: Materials scientist & engineer; Director of the UCL Institute of Making; Author of Stuff Matters and other book Mark Miodownik. Philosopher Emily Herring who is about to publish the first English biography of the french philosopher Henri Bergson who was famous for his theory of time as well as his views on the meaning of comedy. Emily's book Herald of a Restless World: How Henri Bergson Brought Philosophy to the People is out in October. Comedian Rob Newman who made his name with the Mary Whitehouse Experience in the 90s and has presented two series on BBC Radio 4 including Rob Newman's Half-full Philosophy Hour. Also Professor of theoretical physics at Imperial College London Fay Dowker who is an expert in Causal Set Theory and Quantum Relativity. And Author K A Laity will talk about the Women in Magick Conference being held in Birmingham this weekend. Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

Histories spanning the Big Bang to the present, and the story of an entire continent have been written by two of the Free Thinking guests tonight. What insights do big histories bring and what is the value of focusing on a single family or object ? And how do these approaches apply when looking at policy and government. Matthew Sweet's guests are:Professor Peter Frankopan has written New Silk Roads and The Earth Transformed: An Untold History Alison Light's most recent book of essays is called – Inside History: From Popular Fiction to Life-Writing, previous titles include Common People: The History of an English Family Zeinab Badawi is author of An African History of Africa. The first presenter of the ITV Morning News and co-presenter of Channel 4 News, she is president of SOAS University of London. Bronwen Maddox is CEO of Chatham House and a Visiting Professor in the Policy Institute at King's College London. She's been Director of the Institute for Government and editor and chief executive of the magazine Prospect. BBC Moscow Correspondent Steve RosenbergProducer: Lisa Jenkinson.

With D-day commemorations giving us images of "the finest generation" and discussion about how parties are targeting different age groups in the UK election, Anne McElvoy hosts a discussion looking at what divides and unites us in a fracturing world. Dr Eliza Filby - a historian of generational evolution and contemporary values and author of Inheritocracy and Generation Shift gives us the low down on boomers to Gen Alpha. Professor Rana Mitter is ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School and author of books including China's Good War: How World War II is Shaping A New Nationalism and China's War with Japan, 1937-1945: The Struggle for Survival. A presenter of Free Thinking on BBC Radio 3 before he joined Harvard, you can find him hosting plenty of Free Thinking discussions. Jo Hamya's debut novel was called Three Rooms. The Hypocrite explores what happens when we become frightened of the generations below us Tom Simpson is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and a Senior Research Fellow at Wadham College. And joining the conversation to talk about how the political parties are trying to woo voters of different ages is Gaby Hinsliff, columnist for The GuardianProducer: Luke Mulhall

The Insurrectionists' Guide to the Movies looking at some of the latest releases at the cinema and what they say about our culture society and democracy today. Matthew Sweet speaks to Financial Times columnist Stephen Bush, Critic and historian Kate Maltby, film curator Keith Shiri who has advised on a new Pan-African season at the British Film Institute called Tigritudes and Dr Sarah Jilani - an expert in Anglophone postcolonial literature and world film.Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Tim Heffer

British politics has long been defined by the labels of left and right but the terms are now often seen as defunct with research showing voters increasingly struggle to identify policies as being from one wing or another. We look at the historical origins of the terms and whether it is parties, voters, or both who have shifted in recent years. Our guests, the cross bench peer Gisela Stuart who heads the Foreign Office Executive Agency Wilton Park, Author and broadcaster David Aaronovitch, right wing thinker Phillip Blond from the ResPublica Think Tank and Margaret MacMillan, Emeritus Professor of International History at Oxford University, will talk about their own political journeys as well as discussing the wider geo political environment and the future of liberal democracy.Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Andrew Garratt.

Sir Richard Evans, Margaret Heffernan, Isabel Oakeshott, Quassim Cassam join Anne McElvoy to look at the ideas shaping our lives today. Are they optimists or pessimists ? How negative should we be in political campaigning, doomscrolling, parenting, writing reviews or giving academic feedback. What are intellectual vices and how might they help us think about truth and conspiracy theories? And "Have a nice day" - we look at the demand to perform a role in the workplace.Professor Sir Richard J Evans is an historian of modern Germany and modern Europe, and has published over 20 books in the field, most recently The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1915 and Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History. In August his new book comes out called Hitler’s People: The Faces of the Third Reich Margaret Heffernan is an entrepreneur, CEO and author of books including Uncharted: How to Map the Future Together and Beyond Measure: The Impact of Small Changes Quassim Cassam is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick. His books include Ekstremisme, The Epistemology of Democracy and Vice Epistemology. Isabel Oakeshott is an award winning British political journalist. Her books include The Pandemic Diaries written with Matt Hancock, Life Support: Farmaggedon written with Michael Ashcroft. Dr Jaswinder Blackwell-Pal is a Lecturer in Theatre and Performance Studies at Queen Mary University of London. She's been announced this week as one of 10 early career academics who’ve been chosen as the 2024 New Generation Thinkers – that’s a scheme to share academic research on the radio which the BBC runs with the Arts and Humanities Research Council. You can hear from all ten in a special New Thinking episode of our Arts & Ideas podcast where you will also find episodes of Free Thinking.Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Steve Greenwood

Does reading really encourage empathy? Are we asked to perform a role when we walk into the workplace? How was early film and technicolour embraced for political ends? Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough finds out about the latest research being undertaken by ten academics chosen to work with the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council as the 2024 New Generation Thinkers. They'll be sharing their research on a series of BBC Radio 4 programmes across the coming year and here's a taster from the 2024 New Generation Thinkers. Dr Emily Baughan, a historian at the University of Sheffield, is researching childcare. She is the author of Saving the Children: Humanitarianism, Internationalism, and Empire. Dr Jaswinder Blackwell-Pal, lectures in drama at Queen Mary, University of London. Her research looks at the way workplaces, from serving coffee to providing care, ask people to perform a role. Dr Janine Bradbury is an award-winning poet and critic who is interested in exploring reading, empathy and sentimentality. A lecturer at the University of York, she has recently published a poetry pamphlet “Sometimes Real Love Comes Quick & Easy”. Jade Cuttle is writing a book called Silthood and studying for a PhD at the University of Cambridge, looking at the language used by British nature poets of colour and their new word coinings. She has released an album of songs and written poems and articles including for The Times, The TLS, The Guardian, Poetry Review, Ledbury Poetry Festival and the BBC Proms. Dr Jacob Downs is departmental lecturer in music at the University of Oxford. He has written on AI-generated music, Beyoncé, how people use headphones for listening and is also an active musician and arranger, and recently worked on Erland Cooper’s Folded Landscapes. Jonathan Egid has spent the past few years digging through the archives on the trail of a brilliant and neglected thinker from 17th century Ethiopia, and the question of whether or not Zera Jacob existed. Based at King’s College, London, he also hosts the podcast and interview series ‘Philosophising In…’ on philosophy in lesser-studied languages. Dr Shona Minson is a criminologist at the University of Oxford. Originally from Belfast, her work on mothers in prison has helped changed legal professional practice in the UK and overseas. Dr Kirsty Sinclair Dootson is interested in the politics of making images in colour. Based at University College London, she has published a book exploring this called The Rainbow’s Gravity. Dr Jack Symes is a public philosopher and researcher at Durham University. He hosts The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast, and edits Bloomsbury’s Talking about Philosophy book series. His most recent book was called Defeating the Evil-God Challenge: In Defence of God’s Goodness Dr Becca Voelcker's research explores artistic and filmic responses to the environmental crisis. Based at Goldsmiths, University of London, she writes for Sight & Sound and Frieze magazines, introduces films at the BFI, and serves on film festival juries.Dr Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough has made a series of programmes for the BBC about Norse sagas, forest bathing, the history of runes, the far north, Roman bathing since being chosen as a New Generation Thinker in 2013. This New Thinking podcast and the New Generation Thinkers scheme are run as a partnership between the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, part of UKRI. You can hear more insights from academics based at a host of UK universities in a New Research playlist on BBC Radio 4's Free Thinking programme website.

Can we still expect a meaningful job, stable income, a chance of owning property? How have expectations changed and what is the place of protest? Matthew Sweet's guests this week are: David Willetts is a former Universities Minister and now a life peer. The Rt Hon Lord Willetts FRS is also current President of the Resolution Foundation, Chair of the UK Space Agency and a visiting Professor at King’s College London. His books include The Pinch: How the Baby Boomers Took Their Children's Future – And Why They Should Give It Back Dr Tiffany Watt Smith is Director for the Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary, London. Her books include Schadenfreude: The Joy of Another’s Misfortune, and The Book of Human Emotions. She was chosen as a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker in 2014 and you can hear her in Free Thinking discussions about happiness, schadenfreude and she presented a short feature about the science of baby laughs. Professor Will Davies is a sociologist and political economist teaching at Goldsmiths University of London. His books include Nervous States: How feeling took over the world, The Happiness Industry: How the government and big business sold us wellbeing and This is Not Normal: The collapse of liberal Britain. Elizabeth Oldfield's latest book is called Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times. She hosts The Sacred podcast and is a former director of Theos, a religion and society think tank.Plus a report from an event this week in which the Royal Institute of Philosophy was paying tribute to its outgoing president, the political philosopher and ethicist Onora O’Neill, and welcoming her successor, the political philosopher Jonathan Wolff. We hear from Angie Hobbs, Paul, Tom Shakespeare, Grace Lockrobin, Onora O’Neill and Jo Wolff.Producer: Luke Mulhall