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

Can we still be idealistic about childhood? How do we square the impact of war, stories of sexual abuse, the... more

"I never read novels" is something you hear people say. What is the point of reading - be it histories... more