Leading thinkers discuss the ideas shaping our lives – looking back at the news and making links between past and present. Broadcast... more
What makes the life, character and imagery of the British pub? Anne McElvoy talks to Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin, author... more
Shahidha Bari and guests discuss luck, fortune and superstition. How much truth is there in the idea of making your... more
Matthew Sweet is joined by guests including Dr Jack Symes, philosopher at Durham University; Professor Lyndsey Stonebridge, Interdisciplinary Chair of... more
When you give a gift, do you expect anything in return? And if so, does that mean it was really... more
Anne McElvoy and guests discuss the art of diplomacy from Ancient Greece to the Tudors and today's shifting international security... more
A cosy cottage with warming fireplaces, comfort food, crime dramas on tv: Matthew Sweet and guests discuss art, literature and... more
Political upheaval, the role of the press and free speech, attitudes towards divorce: the poet John Milton thought and wrote... more
With Day of the Dead, Halloween and All Souls Day being marked in different countries around the world - Shahidha... more
Does the reach of the USA and its cultural influence mean "we're all American now?" Anne McElvoy and her guests... more
The philosopher Leo Strauss claimed that many of the great texts of Western philosophy can be read in two ways.... more