Arts & Ideas

Today perhaps, Brand Britain is showing its age, but once upon a time it was nothing less than one of the most dynamic political projects in the world. In a Free Thinking Landmark on Walter Scott's Waverley, Rana Mitter reflects on the writer and the books which helped the British like the idea of Britain. Joining Rana in discussion: the writer, Jenni Calder who has recently adapted 'Waverley' for a modern audience; the poet and literary historian, Robert Crawford, who is interested in the originality and reception of Scott's writing and its affect on the imagination; and Andrew Lincoln, an English literature scholar, who has explored Scott as a forward-looking thinker, one who evoked patriotism in the Unionist cause. You can find more programmes in the BBC #LoveToRead campaign http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04b5zz8/members And hear more over the #LovetoRead weekend 5-6 November. As an acclaimed romantic poet, beloved of Byron, then a best-selling novelist, envied by Jane Austen, Sir Walter Scott wrote into existence many of the myths and legends we still re-tell and he used this past to examine and explore the political problems of his own day. Waverley' appeared in 1814 when the Napoleonic Wars had not yet drawn to a close -- and the events the novel describes, the 1745, (when Charles Edward Stuart and his army rocked the stability of a still youthful Anglo-Scottish political Union) were as close in time as the Second World War now is to us. In 'Waverley', 'Rob Roy', 'Red Gauntlet' and 'Ivanhoe', Scott conjured up heroic pasts - not just for Scotland, but for England too - romantic highlanders like Rob Roy on the one hand, the anglo-saxon Robin of the Greenwood on the other. The Waverley novels instilled in their readers a great sense of national pride along with the belief that the two countries, now politically mature, their internal struggles behind them, really could and would be stronger together. In the by-going he conjured up a portrait of the British as an effortlessly multicultural people with deep roots who were now uniquely qualified to take on the world. Presenter: Rana Mitter Guests: Robert Crawford: University of St Andrews, 'Bannockburns: Scottish Independence and the Literary Imagination 1314-2014' Jenni Calder: 'Sir Walter Scott's Waverley': Newly Adapted for the Modern Reader' Andrew Lincoln: Queen Mary, University of London, 'Walter Scott and Modernity' Producer: Jacqueline Smith

A TB clinic in the countryside is the location of Linda Grant's new novel which follows a Jewish brother and sister from the East End who are sent to recover in an institution where the class divide persists even as the new National Health Service challenges this. Stephen Poliakoff's new BBC drama series follows an intelligence officer whose final Army role is to ensure that cutting edge technology is made available to the British armed forces. Philip Dodd discusses the period of immediate post-World War II with the two writers. He also talks to historian Yuval Noah Harari who has studied the history of humanity on the planet earth and who argues that the future holds a wider divide between the techno super rich who are looking to cheat death and the useless class who have been superseded by machines. Close To The Enemy - a 7 part series written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff airs on BBC Two this November. The Dark Circle by Linda Grant is out now. Yuval Noah Harari's books are Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. Producer: Fiona McLean

Anne McElvoy explores some historic tussles over who read what, when, how and why. Bodleian scholar Dennis Duncan reveals how disputatious monks took the book out of the monastery; the novelist and New Generation Thinker Sophie Coulombeau uncovers public frothing over political pamphlet reading in pubs in the 18th century; 19th century literature expert Katie McGettigan celebrates a loophole in copyright law which resulted in American literature dominating British bookshelves; Katherine Cooper from Newcastle and another New Generation Thinker reveals the role of women in expanding the horizons of literature in the 20th century and Matthew Rubery, author of The Untold Story of the Talking Book, reflects on the way technology spread reading across society and he gives us a demonstration of the Optophone - an early machine to bring books to the blind.Pres: Anne McElvoy Guests: Katherine Cooper, University of Newcastle Sophie Coulombeau, University of York; author of 'Rites' Dennis Duncan, The Bodleian Centre for the Study of the Book Katie McGettigan, Royal Holloway University, London Matthew Rubery, Queen Mary University, London; author of 'The Untold Story of the Talking Book' forthcomingThe Optophone appears courtesy of Blind Veterans UK. New Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to find academics who can turn their research into radio programmes. You can find more programmes in the BBC #LoveToRead campaign http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04b5zz8/members And hear more over the #LovetoRead weekend 5-6 November.Producer: Jacqueline Smith

New Generation Thinker Chris Harding presents a discussion with writer Chris Hannan and director Roxana Silbert about a new Birmingham Rep play about Enoch Powell. Also James Zirin describes what he calls the partisan nature of the Supreme Court in America and artists Jananne Al-Ani and John Keane and curator Vivienne Jabri talk about providing an alternative to the visual language of war employed by the media.What Shadows runs at Birmingham Rep Theatre from October 27th to November 12th and stars Ian McDiarmid playing Enoch Powell.James Zirin's book is called Supremely Partisan: How Raw Politics Tips the Scales in the United States Supreme CourtTraces of War, curated by Vivienne Jabri, is at King's College, London until 18th DecemberJohn Keane's exhibition - If You Knew Me, If You Knew Yourself, You Would Not Kill Me - opens at Flowers Gallery, London on 4th NovemberProducer: Torquil MacLeod.

Does art have to reflect politics and history in South Africa? Is it harder to make art now than it was in the past? As major exhibitions of South African art open in London and Edinburgh Philip Dodd discusses the challenges of creating a visual language for a country with the artists William Kentridge, Vivienne Koorland and Gavin Jantjes. Joining them is Professor Stephen Chan from London University's School of Oriental and African Studies, an expert on the country's recent history. South Africa: the art of a nation runs at the British Museum from October 27th - 26th Feb 2017 William Kentridge and Vivienne Koorland: Conversations in letters and lines runs at Edinburgh's Fruitmarket Gallery 19 November 2016 – 19 February 2017 Vivienne Koorland's Soft Heart is at the Leyden gallery November 2nd -November 26 William Kentridge: Thick Time is at the Whitechapel Gallery in London 21 September 2016 – 15 January 2017 William Kentridge's production of Lulu is on at English National Opera from November 9th - 19th and is being broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in the New Year. Producer: Zahid Warley.

Richard Hakluyt who died on 23 November 1616 was an English writer whose writings promoted the British colonisation of North America by the English. Nandini Das talks to Matthew Sweet about Hakluyt's travels and his legacy. Alex Clark reports live from the prize ceremony for this year's Man Booker Prize. We discuss new research into the signficance of chickens in the Anthropocene and ahead of Halloween we look at the haunting writing of Shirley Jackson as a new biography of her life is published. Hakluyt@400 events include two exhibitions: Hakluyt and Geography in Oxford 1550–1650 at Christ Church, Oxford, and The World in a Book: Hakluyt and Renaissance Discovery, at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. A two-day international conference Richard Hakluyt and the Renaissance Discovery of the World, taking place in Oxford on 24-25 November. In addition, on Sunday 27 November there will be a commemorative service in his parish at All Saints Church, Wetheringsett, Suffolk. Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Frank is out now. You can find more haunting fiction over on BBC Radio 4 and 4Extra as part of Fright Night. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03328l0 Producer: Luke Mulhall

Artes Mundi was established in 2003 as a biennial contemporary visual arts initiative - the poet, author and playwright Owen Sheers and Catherine Fletcher, historian and New Generation Thinker, report back on the exhibition opening in Cardiff this week with work by the chosen artists including Britain's John Akomfrah, Nástio Mosquito and Bedwyr Williams.Amitav Ghosh argues that fiction writers need to be bolder in tackling the big themes of today's world and why thinking about Climate Change is proving a challenge.Harriet Walter has played Brutus and the King in Phyllida Lloyd's all-female Shakespeare productions of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and Henry IV; now she takes on Prospero in The Tempest. She talks to Anne McElvoy about giving herself permission to take on roles still normally given to men and the never-ending wonder of Shakespearian verse as the entire trilogy opens in London.Plus - ahead of the American Presidential election, New Generation Thinker and historian, Ed Richardson pops up with the mesmerising story of how Hillary Clinton is very far from being the first ever female Presidential candidate.Artes Mundi 7 runs at the National MuseumWales: Cardiff 21.10.16 – 26.02.17The Shakespeare Trilogy: The Tempest, Henry IV and Julius Caesar are at the Donmar's King's Cross Theatre in London Sept 23rd - 17th December 2016Harriet Walter’s book: 'Brutus and Other Heroines: Playing Shakespeare's Roles for Women'Amitav Ghosh 'The Great Derangement: Climate Change and Thinking the Unthinkable'.Producer: Jacqueline Smith

Artist Dave McKean on the way Paul Nash's dreams have inspired a graphic novel.Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution, Philip speaks to poet George Szirtes, who left the country as a boy in 1956, and writer Tibor Fischer, whose parents came to Britain that same year. They are joined by historians Nora Berend and Simon Hall to discuss the revolt, the history of Islam in Hungary and the political debates going on today. Paul Nash runs at Tate Britain from 26 October 2016 – 5 March 2017Dave McKean has created a graphic novel, Black Dog, based on the dreams of Paul Nash which forms part of the 14-18 Now arts programme.George Szirtes is the co-editor of the Hungarian Anthology The Colonnade of Teeth published by Bloodaxe Books and the title of his own new poetry collection is Mapping the Delta. Tibor Fischer is the author of numerous works, including the Booker Prize-nominated Under The Frog.Dr Nora Berend is Reader in European History, University of Cambridge, and author of books including At the Gate of Christendom: Jews, Muslims and "Pagans" in Medieval Hungary c. 1000-c. 1300Professor Simon Hall, University of Leeds, is the author of 1956: The World in Revolt. He is giving a public lecture on The Hungarian Revolution and the Refugee Experience, 1956-2016, in Leeds on Thursday 24 November.

How do you restore a silent film? Kevin Brownlow is in conversation with Matthew Sweet about his life's work documenting the early history of cinema and preserving many lost classics - including the culmination of a 50 year project which sees Abel Gance's 1927 epic Napoleon re-released in cinemas around the UK and on DVD. Described by Martin Scorsese as 'a giant among film historians', Brownlow received an Academy Honorary Award in 2010.As part of Southbank Centre's Film Scores Live, Carl Davis conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in his score for Napoleon - the longest film score ever composed - alongside a screening of the new digital version of the BFI-Photoplay restoration which Kevin Brownlow has worked on. This event happens on Sunday November 6th.BBC Radio 3's Sound of Cinema broadcasts an interview with Carl Davis on Saturday October 29th.Producer: Craig Templeton Smith

The award of this year's Nobel Prize in Literature to Bob Dylan is discussed by writer Toby Litt and by Anthony Wall, the Editor of BBC TV's Arena series who co-produced the Martin Scorsese documentary about Dylan: No Direction Home and who has made several other films with and about Dylan. As the death of Italian playwright and activist Dario Fo is announced, David Greig Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh is joined by playwright Anders Lustgarten to reflect on Dario Fo's plays. Caravaggio's art explored by curator Letizia Treves, New Generation Thinker Joe Moshenska and playwright Anders Lustgarten. Plus, historian and Russologist Catherine Merridale on her latest book about Lenin's journey from exile in Zurich back to Russia on the eve of the 1917 Revolution. Anne McElvoy presents. Beyond Caravaggio runs at The National Gallery 12 Oct 2016 To 15 Jan 2017. Anders Lustgarten's play The Seven Acts of Mercy is at the Royal Shakespeare Company from November 24th to February 10th Joe Moshenska is the author of A Stain In The Blood and teaches at Cambridge University. He is on the New Generation Thinkers scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to find academics who can turn their research into radio. Mexican writer Álvaro Enrigue's novel is called Sudden Death. It's translated by Natasha Wimmer. You can find more about fiction in translation in a collection on our website http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p047v6vh Catherine's Merridale's account of Lenin's journey from Zurich to Petrograd is Lenin On The Train. Producer: Luke Mulhall

The US-based author Teju Cole talks to Philip Dodd about a range of subjects from James Baldwin and the pressing political realities of Black Lives Matter to the creative potential of social media.Teju Cole is a photographer, art historian and writer. He was raised in Nigeria and lives in Brooklyn. His books are Open City, Every Day is For The Thief and his new collection of essays Known and Strange Things.The conversation was part of the London Literature Festival at South Bank Centre.Producer: Zahid Warley

What is an outsider? Gary Lachman and Suzi Feay discuss the writings of Colin Wilson with presenter Matthew Sweet 60 years on from the publication of Wilson's best-seller which analysed literary characters in works by Camus, Hemingway, Dostoyevsky and figures including Van Gogh, T.E. Lawrence and Nijinsky. The Vulgar is the title of an exhibition of fashion on display at the Barbican - Linda Grant and Sarah Kent discuss the messages our clothing choices send out. And New Generation Thinker Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough on Norse gods. Beyond the Robot: The Life and Work of Colin Wilson by Gary Lachman is out now. He has also written the introduction to a new edition of The Outsider published by Penguin. Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough has published Beyond The Northlands: Viking Voyages and the Old Norse Sagas. She was selected as one of the New Generation Thinkers in 2013 in a scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council which works with academics who want to turn their research into radio. The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined runs at the Barbican Art Gallery from October 13th to 5th February 2017. Linda Grant's new novel The Dark Circle is out in November.Producer: Torquil MacLeod

Margaret Atwood and Naomi Alderman share an interest in science fiction, the role of women and the power of fiction. They are in conversation with Philip Dodd as part of a week of Free Thinking broadcasts tying into this year's London Literature Festival at Southbank Centre, London and its theme of Living in Future Times.Margaret Atwood's new novel Hag-Seed is a re-imagining of Shakespeare's The Tempest. She is also being awarded this year's Pen Pinter Prize.Naomi Alderman's new novel The Power will be published at the end of October. It imagines a world where women are endowed with an automatic power to hurt.Producer: Fiona McLean

H G Wells -- the man, his women and his writing. Matthew Sweet chairs a discussion about the father of science fiction to open the London Liteature Festival at South Bank Centre. Joining him for the event are Louisa Treger, Mark Blacklock, Joanna Kavenna and Christopher Priest.Louisa Treger's novel The Lodger was inspired by Dorothy Richardson, one of the key women in Wells’ life. Christopher Priest's books include The Space Machine and his latest, The Gradual which explores ideas about time. He 's Vice-President of the H. G. Wells Society. Joanna Kavenna's latest novel is called A Field Guide to Reality. Mark Blacklock teaches science fiction at Birkbeck College and is the author of The Emergence of the Fourth Dimension: Higher Spatial Thinking in the Fin de Siecle.More information about anniversary events to mark 150 years since the birth of HG Wells are found at http://hgwellssociety.com/ .Sound Frontiers: BBC Radio 3 live at Southbank Centre. Celebrating 7 decades of pioneering music and culture.Producer: Zahid Warley.

Rana Mitter and guests will be broadcasting live from the Radio 3's pop up studio at Southbank Centre, London. Norman Ohler, author of Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, will be revealing the role played by drugs such as methamphetamine in Hitler's downfall. Nikesh Shukla, a former writer in residence at the Royal Festival Hall, has edited a collection of essays called The Good Immigrant. He'll be joined by novelist Kamila Shamsie, who has been involved in a project re-imagining the Canterbury Tales by talking to refugees, to reflect on the impact of migration on individuals, families and beyond. Plus, Catherine Howell, curator of toys and games at the V&A Museum of Childhood and Marie Foulston, curator of video games at the V&A, consider the metamorphosis of gaming from tabletops to laptops. The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla is a collection of essays by 21 British BAME poets, writers, journalists and artists. http://www.nikesh-shukla.com/ He is appearing at the Rochdale Literature and Ideas Festival on 22nd October Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany is by Norman Ohler translated by Shaun Whiteside. Kamila Shamsie is discussing Refugee Tales with Josh Cohen and Catherine Bergvall as part of the London Literature Festival at Southbank on Saturday October 8th at 5pm. She is also giving the 7th Castlefield Manchester Sermon at 7pm on October 14th as part of Manchester Literature Festival which runs from October 7th - 23rd. http://www.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk/ Game Plan: Board Games Rediscovered is at the V&A Museum of Childhood, London E2, from 8 October to 23 April. Producer: Craig Templeton Smith

The novelist Benjamin Markovits, the literary historian Lara Feigel and the broadcaster and essayist Kevin Jackson join Matthew Sweet and an audience at Southbank Centre, London to explore some of the key books published in 1946 – a year in which Penguin Classics launched in the UK with a version of the Odyssey, Herman Hesse won the Nobel Prize for Literature, popular fiction included crime stories by Agatha Christie, Edmund Crispin and John Dickson Carr and children were reading Tove Jansson’s Moomin series, the first of Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers and the second Thomas the Tank Engine book.Their particular choices include Back, a novel by Henry Green, All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, Jill by Philip Larkin and The Moving Toyshop by Edmund CrispinRecorded in front of an audience at Southbank as part of Sound Frontiers: Celebrating seven decades of pioneering music and culture from Radio 3 and the Third Programme. Producer: Zahid Warley.

Historian Peter Frankopan and Classicist, Edith Hall, join the author and drama practitioner Kwame Kwei-Armah in a Free Thinking session, chaired by Anne McElvoy, on the concept of success. Success was scrutinised in a documentary on the Third Programme in 1967. Personal or public - how do we imagine success in the contemporary world? Have our hopes for a successful society grown or diminished, is a sense of personal integrity as strong as it was? Archives from the Third Programme include a transcript from 5 June 1967 of a programme produced by Douglas Cleverdon in which Philip Toynbee, Sir Michael Redgrave, Malcolm Muggeridge and John Berger talk to host Philip O'Connor about the nature of success. Have our definitions changed at all?Peter Frankopan from Worcester College, Oxford is the author of The Silk Roads: A New History of the World Edith Hall's latest book is called Introducing The Ancient Greeks: From Bronze Age Seafarers to Navigators of the Western Mind Kwame Kwei-Armah, author, actor and Artistic Director of CENTERSTAGE Baltimore directs One Night in Miami by Kemp Power at London's Donmar Warehouse October 6th - December 3rd 2016Producer: Jacqueline Smith.

John Bew, Kwasi Kwarteng, Helen Lewis and Alison Light join Philip Dodd live in Radio 3's pop-up studio at London's Southbank Centre. In the week of the Labour party conference, when Radio 3 marks the founding of the Third Programme, which sought to disseminate the arts, by broadcasting from a building constructed as part of a people's festival, this edition of Free Thinking looks at people power, changing politics and cultural tastes and Bertold Brecht's satirical idea that we might need to elect a new people. John Bew from King's College, London, is author of a new biography of Clement Attlee: 'Citizen Clem'.Alison Light is the author of Common People: The History of an English FamilyKwasi Kwarteng, Conservative MP for Spelthorne, is the author of books including Ghosts of Empire and Thatcher's Trial. Helen Lewis is deputy editor of the New Statesman.

Medieval illuminated manuscripts are our key to European art for hundreds of years but also to political and social movements. Christopher de Hamel, keeper of possibly the oldest gospel in the Latin world, talks to Matthew about the stories these books can tell beyond their glowing illustrations. We also visit Colour: The Art and Science of Illuminated Manuscripts, currently glowing at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum; Kylie Murray, expert on Scottish medieval literature and a New Generation Thinker, reviews the exhibition. Emma Donoghue author of 'Room' is back with a new novel and another child in claustrophobic setting. This room is an earth-floored room in mid-19th century Ireland, where a Florence Nightingale-trained nurse and 'The Wonder', a devout Irish girl, are locked in a potentially fatal battle over whether the girl is, as she claims, being fed by manna from heaven. Inspired by a historical phenomenon, 'the fasting girls', Donoghue's novel takes place on the battlefield between the forces of Victorian scientific rationalism and traditional religious belief Plus Dennis Duncan on the story of Boris Vian and a post-war best-seller in France - I Spit On Your Graves . Emma Donoghue's novel is called The Wonder. Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts is by Christopher de Hamel - who has worked for Sothebys and is Fellow and librarian at Corpus Christi College Cambridge. The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge is marking its first 200 year 1816 to 2016 with an exhibition called COLOUR: The Art and Science of Illuminated Manuscripts. It runs until 30th December 2016 and includes on display the Macclesfield Psalter, an alchemical scroll, a duchess’ wedding gift, and the ABC of a five-year old princess.

Pulitzer prize winning American dramatist Suzan-Lori Parks talks to Philip Dodd about putting on stage the story of a slave fighting against those seeking to abolish slavery. Journalist Gary Younge discusses American violence, gun culture and the Black Lives Matter movement. Plus Abstract Expressionism at the Royal Academy - how does this art which was used by the CIA to promote American power look today ?Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) by Suzan-Lori Parks is at the Royal Court Theatre in London 15 Sep - 22 OctAbstract Expressionism is on show at the Royal Academy of Arts in London from September 24th to January 2nd.Gary Younge's book is called Another Day In The Death of AmericaFrances Stonor Saunders is the author of Who Paid the Piper?: CIA and the Cultural Cold WarWilliam Boyd is the author of many novels including one which presents a fictional biography Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928–1960

Shelina Janmohamed on the modern Muslims whom she calls "Generation M". New novels by Amos Oz, Jonathan Safran Foer and Ayelet Gundar-Goshen explore aspects of Jewish identity and the history of Israel. Jonathan Freedland discusses these with Ayelet Gundar-Goshen. Plus Alan Powers and Christianna Ardizzone, the daughter of the artist who created the "Little Tim" series of books, talk to Anne McElvoy about his war art, ceramic figures and murals for ocean liners and his illustrations for both adult and children’s' books. The new novel from Amos Oz is called Judas. A film A Tale of Love and Darkness directed by and starring Natalie Portman from his memoir is also being released in cinemas in the USA. Jonathan Safran Foer's latest novel is called Who Am I. Ayelet Gundar-Goshen's Waking Lions has just been published in paperback. Jonathan Freedland is the author of Jacob’s Gift: A journey into the heart of belonging and of a series of thrillers published under his own name and the name Sam Bourne. Shelina Janmohamed's book is called Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World Ardizzone: A Retrospective runs at the House of Illustration in London from 23 September 2016 – 15 January 2017. Alan Powers has co-curated the exhibition and is the author of an illustrated monograph Edward Ardizzone - Artist and Illustrator. Producer: Eliane Glaser

Large-scale photographs showing the impact of humans on urban and natural environments are discussed by Canadian artist and 2005 TED prize winner Edward Burtynsky. Ella Hickson's new play Oil, directed by Carrie Cracknell, explores the politics of this natural resource from 1889 to present day. She's in conversation with Joe Douglas, director of a Dundee Rep production of John McGrath's drama The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black Black Oil which is on tour this autumn. Plus, presenter Philip Dodd is joined by analysts Peter Atherton and Jeremy Leggett to consider how we meet energy demands in the face of climate change and a rapidly rising global population. Producer: Craig Templeton SmithEssential Elements by Edward Burtynsky is published in hardback. His photographs Salt Pans | Essential Elements can be seen at the Flowers Gallery in Kingsland Road London from 16 September – 29 October 2016Ella Hickson's play Oil, directed by Carrie Cracknell, runs at London's Almeida Theatre from October 7th to November 26th.The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black Black Oil is the the Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh from 14th - 24th September; at Aberdeen Performing Arts from October 4th- 6th, Eden Court October 11th - 15th, at Glasgow Citizens Theatre from 18th - 22nd.

From Dickens, through wartime defences to Doctor Who - as a new festival looks at the landscape of the Thames Estuary, Matthew Sweet is joined by the author Rachel Lichtenstein and photographer Chloe Dewe Mathews. Jatinder Verma explains why a novel by Abdul Halim Sharar written in 1899 about the cult of the Assassins is relevant to put on stage now. And as the writings of Arne Næss are republished in English what was the influence of this Norwegian ecologist? Producer: Luke MulhallRachel Lichtenstein's book is called Estuary: Out from London to the Sea. She is curator of the Shorelines Literature Festival which is part of Estuary 2016. Points of Departure, curated by Gareth Evans and Sue Jones: an exhibition of new and existing work by 28 contemporary artistswhich includes photographs by Chloe Dewe Mathews. On display in the Grade II listed Tilbury Cruise Terminal Paradise of the Assassins is the opening production at the newly refurbished Tara Arts Theatre in Earlsfield, South London where Jatinder Verma is Artistic Director. It runs from September 15th to October 8th. The Ecology of Wisdom by Arne Næss is out now.

Judges Ian McMillan - poet and presenter of The Verb, Jackie Kay - Scottish Makar and Judith Palmer - director of The Poetry Society are joined on stage by the winning poets whose writing has been prompted by music from this year's Proms. The reader is Stella Gonet. Winner over 18 Category: Anna Kisby Runners-up: Graham Burchell and John Scrivens Winner 12-18: Lucy Thynne Runners-up: Katherine Spencer-Davis and Jason Khan Producer: Fiona McLean

Playwright, poet, spy. Anne McElvoy discusses Aphra Behn with Professor Elaine Hobby and director Loveday Ingram who has given Behn's play The Rover a South American carnival setting at the RSC. Plus Iain Sinclair and Professor David Bates on the events of 1066 which changed the course of English history. And an interview with Mark Thompson, former Director General of the BBC and current Chief Executive Officer of The New York Times Company.The Rover runs in rep at The Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon from September 8th until February 11th 2017. The Root 1066 festival runs until October 16th at a variety of venues. www.1066contemporary.com Mark Thompson is the author of Enough Said: What's Gone Wrong with the Language of PoliticsProducer: Torquil MacLeod

On the 300th anniversary of the birth of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, garden writer Anna Pavord talks about his work and his legacy. Author of many books , her most recent is called Landskipping. She is interviewed by Ian McMillan, presenter of Radio 3’s The Verb and judge of the Proms Poetry competition.

On this day 350 years ago the capital was in ruins after the Great Fire of London. Historian Adrian Tinniswood describes the massive clearing-up operation, and talks to New Generation Thinker Thomas Charlton of Dr Williams’s Library. Producer: Katy Hickman

Tonight’s Prom features a setting by Zemlinsky of ‘The Gardener’ by the great Bengali poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Novelist Tahmima Anam and New Generation Thinker Preti Taneja, from the University of Cambridge, discuss the poem and Tagore’s place in both Bengali and world culture. The discussion is chaired by Rana Mitter who is a regular presenter of Radio 3’s Arts and Ideas programme Free Thinking and of Sunday Features. Producer: Jacqueline Smith

The border separating East and West Germany was first breached in Leipzig. As the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra perform at the Proms, novelist Philip Kerr and historian Karen Leeder from the University of Oxford talk about East and West Germany, their differences and similarities and how massive peaceful demonstrations in Leipzig in 1989 triggered the fall of the Berlin Wall. The discussion is chaired by Rana Mitter who is a regular presenter of Radio 3’s Arts and Ideas programme Free Thinking and of Sunday Features. Producer: Luke Mulhall

The composer and performer Paganini is alleged to have sold his soul to the Devil in order to become a musical prodigy. The Reverend Richard Coles and poet Imtiaz Dharker discuss the Devil in Christian and Islamic cultures. The discussion is chaired by Dr Christopher Harding from the University of Edinburgh who was selected as one of ten New Generation Thinkers in 2013. New Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to select academics who can turn their research into radio. Producer: Torquil MacLeod

Michael Pennington is a leading Shakespeare actor who co-founded the English Shakespeare Company with director Michael Bogdanov and has performed at theatres across the world. He is the author of several books about Shakespeare’s plays - the most recent of which is King Lear in Brooklyn. He also performs a solo Shakespeare show Sweet William. He is interviewed by Dr Sarah Dillon from the University of Cambridge and one of the BBC and AHRC’s New Generation Thinkers. Part of a series of discussions in which leading figures explore the way Shakespeare has depicted their profession in his plays.Producer: Torquil MacLeod

References to sheep, lambs, fleeces, wool and shepherds are to be found in many of Shakespeare’s plays. From Corin in ‘As You Like It’ who describes himself as a ‘natural philosopher’ to Perdita’s saviour in ‘The Winter’s Tale’, they are key characters in the plots and reflect the importance of the wool trade in Elizabethan England. James Rebanks, talks about his life as a shepherd in Cumbria and how much – if at all – the shepherd’s life has changed over the past 400 years. He will be joined on stage by Shakespeare expert Dr Emma Smith from the University of Oxford who presented Radio 3’s Sunday documentary looking at the buyers of Shakespeare’s First Folio. The discussion is hosted by Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough from Durham University who was selected as a New Generation Thinker in 2013 in the scheme run by the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to find academic broadcasters of the future.Producer: Zahid Warley

No-one attributed more importance to naming the baby than Laurence Sterne's Walter Shandy but his attempts to ensure his son's future success came to naught and all because he couldn't get his trousers on. As the 2016 list of top baby names is revealed to a waiting world, Sophie Coulombeau explores literary archives to uncover the true story of What's In a Name? Just the fears, hopes and frustrations, ambitions and proclivities of British society over the centuries.

HG Wells was born 150 years ago this year. Although a prolific writer in many genres, he is best known today for his science fiction books, ‘The War of the Words’ and ‘The Time Machine’. As the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain prepare to perform Holst’s suite The Planets, novelist Stephen Baxter, who has been commissioned to write a sequel to ‘The War of the Worlds’ examines Wells’s novels and philosophy. He’s joined by science fiction expert and New Generation Thinker Dr Sarah Dillon from the University of Cambridge. The discussion is hosted by Dr Will Abberley from the University of Sussex, another New Generation Thinker. New Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to find academics who can turn their research into radio.Producer: Luke Mulhall

In the third discussion about the way Shakespeare depicted different professions in his plays, veteran sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to circumnavigate the world single-handed, looks at playwright's view of the sea, shipwrecks and sea captains. He's joined on stage at Imperial College Union by New Generation Thinkers Dr John Gallagher from the University of Cambridge, and Nandini Das from the University of Liverpool who chairs the discussions. New Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to find academics who can turn their research into radio. Producer: Torquil MacLeod.

Novelist Patricia Duncker, discusses George Eliot, her travels in Germany in the 19th century and the German music she refers to in her novels and diaries. Duncker's novel Sophie and the Sybil is a fictional version of George Eliot’s time in Germany just before the publication of the final part of Middlemarch. Alongside her on stage is Clare Walker-Gore of Trinity College, Cambridge, one of the academics selected last year by the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Council to be a New Generation Thinker. The host is Anne McElvoy. Producer: Zahid Warley

Continuing our exploration of the ways in which Shakespeare portrayed aspects of professional life, Geoffrey Robertson QC talks about the law and lawyers, contending that Shakespeare must either have studied at the Inns of Court or was close friends with those who did, illustrated with readings performed by Bill Paterson. Highlights of a discussion hosted by Anne McElvoy and recorded at Imperial College Union earlier this evening.Producer: Luke Mulhall

Shakespeare's depiction of religion and clerics is discussed by the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, Ewan Fernie from the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham and presenter Rana Mitter. Highlights of a discussion recorded at Imperial College as part of a series exploring different professions and vocations in Shakespeare's work.Producer: Zahid Warley

The first of a series of six events looking at Shakespeare's depiction of different professions in his plays. Colonel Tim Collins OBE, whose rousing eve of battle speech to his troops as they prepared to go into Iraq in March 2003 has become famous, and Shakespearean expert Professor Emma Smith will discuss soldiers and war in plays including Henry V with presenter Rana Mitter. Recorded in front of an audience at the Imperial College Union earlier this evening.Producer: Torquil MacLeod.

From the wily Figaro to the murderous Sweeny Todd, barbers and the politics of shaving cast an interesting light on the history of 18th and 19th century Britain. Historian and expert on the Victorian Body, Kathryn Hughes and Alun Withey from the University of Exeter, who is studying hair and health over the centuries consider why clean-shaven Georgians gave way to the hairy wonders of bearded Victorians and why soldiers returning from Empire were the fore-runners of increasingly hirsute fashions and tell Shahidah Bari about muscular Christianity, bearded ladies and a range of products no man would be without.

Rana Mitter talks to the novelist Philip Hensher and Professor Philip Horne about the impact of Italy on the writing of Henry James, James, the centenary of whose death falls this year, first visited Italy when he was 26. It was love at first sight. Over the next forty years he made many more trips to the country and published an acclaimed collection of essays called Italian Hours. Henry James: A Life in Letters edited by Philip Horne is out now. Philip Hensher's most recent book is a collection of short stories called Tales of Persuasion.Producer: Zahid Warley

Marking the bicentenary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth, Claire Harman, her biographer and Yorkshire-born novelist and author of ‘Chocolat’ Joanne Harris discuss her life and work. The discussion is presented by Dr Gregory Tate from the University of St Andrews who teaches Brontë's work and was recorded earlier as a free audience event held at the Imperial College Union. For more details go to the Proms website. Gregory Tate is one of the New Generation Thinkers selected by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council in a scheme to find academics interested in turning their research into radio. Charlotte Brontë: A Life by Claire Harman is out now. The most recent novel published by Joanne Harris is called Different Class. The Brontë Society Anniversary Conference takes place in Manchester from August 19th to the 21st. For information about a series of exhibitions at the Haworth Parsonage in Yorkshire, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Media Museum in Bradford go to the website of The Brontë Society. https://www.bronte.org.uk/whats-on/news/149/bronte200 Producer: Torquil MacLeod.

Rana Mitter introduces author Frank Cottrell-Boyce to deliver this year’s Proms Lecture. Four years ago he was involved in writing the Olympic Opening Ceremony for the London Olympic Games. His lecture looks at the cultural legacy, the importance of arts in education and the wider influence of arts on society. Producer: Fiona McLean

Anne McElvoy looks ahead to the Rio Olympics discussing Brazilian culture with author, politics lecturer and former National Secretary for Public Security Luis Eduardo Suárez and with Dr Edward King from the University of Bristol. The RSC is exploring saying the unsayable this summer with a season of plays, Anne talks with the writer and the director of 'Fall of the Kingdom, Rise of the Foot Soldier' - Somalia Seaton and Nadia Latif. Neuroscientist Marc Lewis explains why he is convinced that addiction is a behavioural problem and not a disease. And Raqib Shaw talks about his new exhibition of self-portraits. Rio de Janeiro: Extreme City by Luis Eduardo Suárez published by Allen Lane is out now. Digital Technologies in Argentine and Brazilian Culture by Edward King explores the use of science fiction in literature and graphic fiction from Argentina and Brazil. The Biology of Desire: why addiction is not a disease by Marc Lewis published by Scribe is out now 'Fall of the Kingdom, Rise of the Foot Soldier' runs from 27th July at the RSC in Stratford Raqib Shaw's self portraits are at the White Cube in Bermondsey until 11th September 2016. Producer: Ruth Watts

Philip Dodd explores war and modern memory with former Colonel Lincoln Jopp MC, the historians, Lloyd Clark, Anna Feigenbaum and Ana Carden-Coyne and the New Generation Thinker, Anindya Raychaudhuri.Lloyd Clark teaches War Studies at the University of Buckingham and is writing a book on generalship.Dr Ana Carden-Coyne is co-director of the Centre for the Cultural History of War at Manchester University.Dr Anna Feigenbaum teaches at Bournemouth University and is currently writing Tear Gas: 100 Years in the Making. Former Colonel Lincoln Jopp MC studied philosophy and theology at university before taking up a commission with the Scots Guards. He was decorated for gallantry in Sierra Leone and served in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan before finishing his military career as assistant head of the MOD's strategy unit.Dr Anindya Raychaudhuri is a lecturer in the School of English at the University of St Andrews and is conducting oral history research into the impact of Partition.The New Generation Thinkers prize is an initiative launched by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to find the brightest minds from across the UK who have the potential to transform their research into engaging broadcast programmes. You can hear more about the research topics of all 10 2016 New Generation Thinkers on our website on a programme broadcast on May 31st and available as an arts and ideas podcast and find clips where you can hear their newly commissioned written pieces on a range of subjects.Producer: Zahid Warley

Matthew Sweet and the critic, Natalie Haynes report from Liverpool where art has taken over the city. They talk to the artists, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, Betty Woodman and Krzysztof Wodiczko as well as the Biennial director, Sally Tallant and the poet and 2015 New Generation Thinker Sandeep Parmar, who is curating a literary programme for the festival.The Liverpool Biennial runs until October 16th . Sandeep Parmar is the author of two poetry books: The Marble Orchard and Eidolon (a rewriting of Helen of Troy in modern America). Producer: Zahid Warley

New Generation Thinker Victoria Donovan explores the links between Wales and Ukraine. Later this month the Wales Book of the Year Awards take place. We hear from Dr Emma Schofield about the way Welsh fiction has reflected debates since devolution. And talk to Lidudumalingani - winner of this year's Caine Prize for African Writing. And Alex Massie and Professor Richard Wyn Jones discuss the view from Scotland and Wales after the Brexit referendum. Dr Victoria Donovan researches Russian history and culture at the University of St Andrews. The New Generation Thinkers prize is an initiative launched by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to find the brightest minds from across the UK who have the potential to transform their research into engaging broadcast programmes. You can hear more about the research topics of all 10 2016 New Generation Thinkers on our website. You can read the Caine Prize story here http://caineprize.com/2016-shortlist/ The Wales Book of the Year Awards are announced on Thursday 21 July. The shortlists are: The Roland Mathias Poetry Award: Love Songs of Carbon, Philip Gross /Boy Running, Paul Henry /Pattern beyond Chance, Stephen Payne The Rhys Davies Fiction Award: The Girl in the Red Coat, Kate Hamer/ We Don't Know What We're Doing, Thomas Morris / I Saw a Man, Owen Sheers The Open University in Wales Creative Non-Fiction Award: Losing Israel, Jasmine Donahaye / Woman Who Brings the Rain, Eluned Gramich / Wales Unchained, Daniel G. Williams Aberystwyth University Welsh-language Poetry Award: Nes Draw, Mererid Hopwood / Hel llus yn y glaw, Gruffudd Owen / Eiliadau Tragwyddol, Cen Williams Welsh-language Fiction Award: Norte, Jon Gower / Y Bwthyn, Caryl Lewis / Rifiera Reu, Dewi Prysor The Open University in Wales Welsh-language Creative Non-Fiction Award: Pam Na Fu Cymru, Simon Brooks / Dyddiau Olaf Owain Glyndwr, Gruffydd Aled Williams / Is-deitla'n Unig, Emyr Glyn WilliamsProducer: Ruth Watts

As Georgia O'Keeffe images of New Mexico go on display at Tate Matthew Sweet discusses the idea of the desert with writers Geoff Dyer and Laurence Scott and Tanya Barson, the exhibition curator. Georgia O'Keeffe runs at Tate Modern from 6 July – 30 October 2016 Geoff Dyer is the author of White Sands: Experiences from the Outside World. It was read as Radio 4's Book of the Week last week which you can find on the Radio 4 website Laurence Scott is the author of The Four-Dimensional Human

Hisham Matar last saw his father when he was 19. He talks to Rana Mitter about his attempts to find out what happened to his parent who was last seen in a Libyan jail and he discusses the way his family was caught up in the recent wave of fighting in Libya. 2016 New Generation Thinker Katherine Cooper looks at the writing of Storm Jameson. The design of street furniture in post war Britain is explored by Eleanor Herring. Gideon Rachman and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira discuss the phenomenon of 'easternisation' in an era of Asian dominance.Hisham Matar's book is called The Return. Eleanor Herring has published Street Furniture Design: Contesting Modernism in Post-War Britain Gideon Rachman's forthcoming book is called Easternisation: War and Peace in the Asian Century Ricardo Soares de Oliveira is the author of Magnificent and Beggar Land: Angola Since the Civil WarKatherine Cooper researches Margaret Storm Jameson's novels of World War Two at Newcastle University.The New Generation Thinkers prize is an initiative launched by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to find the brightest minds from across the UK who have the potential to transform their research into engaging broadcast programmes. You can hear more about the research topics of all 10 2016 New Generation Thinkers on our website on a programme broadcast on May 31st and available as an arts and ideas podcast and find clips where you can hear their newly commissioned written pieces on a range of subjects.Producer: Torquil MacLeod.

Post referendum, Anne McElvoy is joined by Kwasi Kwarteng MP for Spelthorne who made the case for Brexit; Dr Uta Staiger, Deputy Director of the European Institute at University College London; Sunder Katwala, the Director of the Think Tank, Britain Thinks; and, Abigail Green, Professor of European History at the University of Oxford discuss the competing histories behind Britain's decision to leave the European Union. And we're joined by one of our 2016 New Generation Thinkers, Chris Kissane, who discusses our ideas of citizenship. Plus Dr Matthew Wall from Swansea University shares his research into betting patterns and what they tell us about the referendum. Chris Kissane researches early modern history, food and history, economic and social history at the London School of Economics.The New Generation Thinkers prize is an initiative launched by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to find the brightest minds from across the UK who have the potential to transform their research into engaging broadcast programmes. You can hear more about the research topics of all 10 2016 New Generation Thinkers on our website on a programme broadcast on May 31st and available as an arts and ideas podcast and find clips where you can hear their newly commissioned written pieces on a range of subjects.