Arts & Ideas

From Spinoza's thinking and the approach of different religions to the Dickens' character Uriah Heep and the "humble brag" - in Radio 4's late night ideas discussion programme Matthew Sweet and guests explore humility.Lamorna Ash is a writer and journalist and the author of Don't Forget We're Here Forever, which explores what it means to be a Christian for young people throughout the UK today and reflected on her own journey into faith.Sir Robert Buckland is the former Conservative MP for South Swindon, a former Lord Chancellor and Solicitor General. He is a practicing barrister with Foundry Chambers, a visiting law professor at the LSE and the Third Church Estates Commissioner.Aaron Reeves is Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and co author of Born to Rule: The Making and Remaking of the British Elite with Sam Friedman.Ceri Sullivan is a Professor of English Literature at Cardiff University. Her research has encompassed the managerial techniques presented in Shakespeare's history plays, pragmatism in literary texts and devotional poetry.Dr Dan Taylor is Senior Lecturer in Social and Political Thought at the Open University. He is the author of Spinoza and the Politics of Freedom and is involved in long term projects with long-term projects examining inclusion and housing in Barking and Dagenham; unpaid care in Gateshead; and community in the Fens.Producer: Ruth Watts

Oracy - the ability to express oneself fluently - has been included in plans to modernise the national curriculum, with a new focus on equipping young people with the skills they need for life and work. In Radio 4's round-table discussion programme, Anne McElvoy and guests look at how you teach oracy and explore the value of passing on traditional knowledge using methods like songs and poems. Joining Anne areReetika Subramanian is based at the University of East Anglia and is currently a researcher in residence with BBC Radio 4. She hosts the Climate Brides podcast and studies women’s work songs as records of environmental changeEdith Hall, Professor of Classics at Durham University who champions the use of Classical rhetoric to foster oracy in schoolsPhilip Collins, former speechwriter to Tony BlairEdith and Philip have taken part in Our Public House, a theatre performance staged by Dash Arts that builds on workshops with over 700 people nationwide who shared their visions for our nation's future.Stephen Batchelor, secular Buddhist teacher and writer and author of Buddha, Socrates and Us: Ethical Living in Uncertain Times, published by Yale University Press (2025).Tom F. Wright, historian of rhetoric at the University of SussexProducer: Eliane Glaser