Arts & Ideas

Prize winning Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vasquez, Argentinian playwright, journalist and leading crime writer Claudia Pineiro join Philip Dodd for a programme exploring fiction and fact in Latin America. There's also journalist Alex Cuadros who chronicles his years covering the rise and fall of Brazil's plutocrats. And a consideration of Eric Hobsbawm's Viva La Revolucion from Dr Oscar Guardiola-Rivera from Birkbeck College in London. Claudia Pineiro's most recent thriller is called Betty Boo, translated by Miranda France. Vásquez won the 2014 International Dublin Literary Award, for The Sound of Things Falling and his most recent book to be translated by Anne McLean is Reputations. Brazillionaires is by Alex Cuadros 40 years of writing about Latin America is brought together posthumously in Eric Hobsbawm's Viva La Revolucion Oscar Guardiola-Rivera is the author of What If Latin America Ruled the World? Producer: Ruth Watts

Matthew Sweet joins curator Katy Barron and three photographers, Wolfgang Suschitzky, Dorothy Bohm and Neil Libbert, all now over 75, to explore a show that offers an account of the twentieth century seen through their eyes. Still image then gives way to the moving image as Matthew considers what the much heralded new Carry On film may have to offer and what the original films tell us about the historical and social context from which they emerged. To ponder both the old and the new in Carry Ons he's joined by actress Jacki Piper, film historian Graham McCann and screenwriter David McGillivray. And author and former editor of the Catholic Herald Peter Stanford considers the role of relics as a bone fragment believed to come from St Thomas Becket travels from Hungary to be displayed at Canterbury.Unseen London, Paris, New York 1930s-60s: Photographs by Wolfgang Suschitzky, Dorothy Bohm and Neil Libbert is at the Ben Uri Gallery in London from May 20th to August 27th. Dorothy Bohm also has work on show at the Jewish Museum in London looking at Sixties London from 28 April - 29 August 2016Between 1958 and 1992 there were 31 Carry On films made. Plans have been announced at Cannes to make a series of new films. The fragment of bone is the centrepiece of a week-long pilgrimage in London and Kent. Peter Stanford is the author of books about Judas, the Devil, Cardinal Hume, Catholics and Sex, Heaven, A Life of Christ. Producer: Zahid Warley

Anne McElvoy talks to Dame Fiona Reynolds about a career spent defending the beauty of the British landscape, and considers an exhibition of English beauties at the Bowes Museum. She is also joined by former minister The Rt Hon David Willetts, media executive Charles Brand and Marc Stears head of the New Economics Foundation to discuss the role of the state in the 21st century, and ahead of Sunday's Drama on 3 she explores literary depictions of the city of Venice with David Barnes. Dame Fiona Reynolds' book is called The Fight For Beauty: Our Path to a Better Future English Rose Feminine Beauty from Van Dyck to Sargent runs at the Bowes Museum from 14 May - 25 September 2016 and if you're in Liverpool there's still a couple of weeks to catch the Walker Gallery show of Pre Raphaelite beauties Pre-Raphaelites: Beauty and Rebellion which runs until June 5th David Willetts is the author of The Pinch. David Barnes' book is called The Venice Myth: Culture, Literature, Politics, 1800 to the Present. Naomi Alderman's imagining of the story of Jessica from the Merchant of Venice is being broadcast on Sunday night on Radio 3 at 10pm and there's an introductory animation on the Radio 3 website and a link to Professor Jerry Broton's Sunday Feature investigating the Venice Ghetto. Producer: Eliane Glaser

Recorded before an audience at the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff before the premiere of Iain Bell's opera inspired by the poem Philip Dodd presents a Landmark edition of Free Thinking devoted to David Jones' epic In Parenthesis. The discussion hears from the composer Iain Bell, the writer, Iain Sinclair, one of the librettists Emma Jenkins and Paul Hills, curator of a touring exhibition of Jones' pictures and the co-author with Ariane Bankes of the most recent book about the artist.Iain Bell's In Parenthesis is at WNO in Carcdiff from 13th May -3 June, in Birmhingham on 10 June and then at the Royal Opera House in London from 29 June -1 July It will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on July 2nd. David Jones's In Parenthesis is published by Faber David Jones - Vision and Memory - is at the Djanogly Gallery in Nottingham until 5 June. It was previously on show at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester. His art is also on show at the Martin Tinney Gallery in Cardiff in May and June.

Neil Bartlett discusses Victorian cross-dressing performer Ernest Boulton with Matthew Sweet. Thomas Thwaites explains why he decided to try to live as a goat to explore the difference between humans and animals. Colin Gale from the Bethlem Museum of the Mind and historian Sarah Wise talk about perceptions of mental illness in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Poet Fiona Sampson on the relationship between poetry and health.The world premiere of Neil Bartlett's play Stella is at the Brighton Festival on May 27th and 28th. Thomas Thwaites has written GoatMan: How I Took A Holiday From Being Human Fiona Sampson's latest collection of poetry is The Catch Sarah Wise is the author of Inconvenient People: Lunacy, Liberty and the Mad-Doctors in Victorian England

Crime writer and former newspaper editor Volker Kutscher's Babylon Berlin is being made into a TV series by Tom Tykwer. Neil MacGregor has now left the British Museum to work with the Humboldt Forum to create a new German cultural centre in Berlin. Simon Stephens has written a new translation of Brecht's Threepenny Opera for the National Theatre. The production will star Haydn Gwynne. Philippe Sands has written about the Nuremberg Trials - as has A.T. Williams. They join Anne McElvoy for a programme exploring diverse aspects of German culture. Neil MacGregor's book Germany: Memories of a Nation is now out in paperback. Threepenny Opera runs at the National Theatre from May 19th in rep through to September. Babylon Berlin by Volker Kutscher translated by Niall Sellar is out in English now. Philippe Sands is professor of law at University College London. His book East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity is out now. He has also made a documentary film My Nazi Legacy: What Our Fathers Did A.T. Williams' book A Passing Fury: the story of the Nuremberg Trials is also out now Producer: Ruth Watts

Rana Mitter is joined by the historians Frank Dikötter, Patricia Thornton and Kerry Brown, and by the writers Xinran and Xiaolu Guo, to revisit the Cultural Revolution 50 years on. On 16th May 1966, Mao Zedong initiated a mass movement aimed at purging all "capitalist" and "traditional elements" from the Chinese Communist Party, and from Chinese society as a whole. This initiated the 10 years of social and political turmoil known as the Cultural Revolution. There are no plans to publicly mark the anniversary of these events in China, but elsewhere this troubled period of Chinese history is being re-examined. Frank Dikötter is the author of The Cultural Revolution: A People's History, 1962-1976, the final instalment in the People's Trilogy Producer: Luke Mulhall

Journalist Paul Mason and graphic novelists Mary and Bryan Talbot discuss Louise Michel, the revolutionary feminist anarchist dubbed 'The Red Virgin of Montmartre', who fought on the barricades defending the Paris Commune in 1871. UC Berkeley psychologist Dr Dacher Keltner explores what he calls the power paradox.The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia by Bryan and Mary Talbot is out now. The Power Paradox by Dacher Keltner is out now. Producer: Jacqueline Smith

Anne McElvoy invites three novelists into the studio to discuss Love - the theme of each of their new novels. A L Kennedy's Serious Sweet examines love in later life, Tahmima Anam explores different aspects of young love in The Bones of Grace and Alain de Botton says no-one lives happy ever after, we should talk a lot more about what comes next - hence the title of his book The Course of Love. Aside from whether Romanticism is plague or blessing, the writers also discuss whether writers themselves make good lovers and the challenge of making life choices in an increasingly mobile and crowded world.Presenter: Anne McElvoyGuests: A L Kennedy 'Serious Sweet' is out at the end of May 2016 Tahmima Anam 'The Bones of Grace' is out at the end of May 2016 Alain de Botton 'The Course of Love' is out nowProducer: Jacqueline Smith

Philip Dodd talks to the artist Olafur Eliasson who famously created artificial sunlight in the Weather Project at Tate Modern. He's also been responsible for engineering four man-made waterfalls in New York, founded a company producing solar powered LED lights, and has just published a cook book. The Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov discusses his latest, The Bickford Fuse, an allegorical study of the Soviet soul set between the end of World War 2 and the fall of communism. And to consider the Russian soul today, Philip is joined by columnist and Russian commentator, Mary Dejevsky, and novelist Zinovy Zinik. The Kitchen by Studio Olafur Eliasson and Unspoken Spaces by Olafur Eliasson are out now. Andrey Kurkov's The Bickford Fuse is published on the 6th of May. Zinovy Zinik's latest novel, Sounds Familiar or The Best of Artek, is published now.Producer: Craig Smith

Author Marina Lewycka discusses Lubetkin's social housing with Matthew Sweet in a programme which considers concrete homes past and present. Curator Helen Pheby describes transporting a former council house which has been turned into a kind of blue grotto by artist Roger Hiorns as the Yorkshire Sculpture Park hosts an exhibition on the theme of Home. Lynsey Hanley talks about the experience of growing up on a Birmingham council estate and the powerful connections between concrete and class. And architecture historian Barnabas Calder invites us to look again at the beauty of brutalism.Marina Lewycka's novel is called The Lubetkin Legacy At Home at the Bothy Gallery at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park runs from 19.03.16 - 03.07.16 Lynsey Hanley's book is called Respectable: The Experience of Class Barnabas Calder has written Raw Concrete Producer: Ruth Watts

Playwright Howard Brenton and director Adrian Noble discuss stage plays drawing on the life of TE Lawrence. Journalist John Preston has explored MP Jeremy Thorpe's downfall. And Philip Dodd is joined by Chris Bryant for a wider discussion about privacy in public life. And Mary Beard joins us to discuss another imperial endeavour, Rome. Howard Brenton's new play Lawrence After Arabia runs at the Hampstead Theatre from April 28th to June 4th. Adrian Noble is directing Terence Rattigan's play Ross at Chichester Theatre from 3rd to 25th June. John Preston's book is called A Very English Scandal. Mary Beard's Rome: Empire without limit continues on BBC 2 at 9pm on Wednesday 5th May Producer: Ruth Watts

“To unpathed waters, undreamed shores” Matthew Sweet discusses The Winter’s Tale, written just 6 years before Shakespeare died and still regarded as one of his most intriguing works. With actor Samuel West, and scholars Michael Dobson(University of Birmingham) and Carol Rutter( University of Warwick) joining Matthew in Stratford-upon-Avon in the Radio 3 prop up studio at the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Other Place theatre as part of Radio 3's Sounds of Shakespeare season.The Winter's Tale is being broadcast as the Drama on 3 this Sunday May 1st.Producer: Zahid Warley

Rana Mitter is joined by Edith Hall, Nandini Das and Beatrice Groves to explore the books which inspired Shakespeare from the Bible and classical stories to the writing of some of Shakespeare's contemporaries.Edith Hall is Professor in the Classics Department and Centre for Hellenic Studies at King's College London. Her most recent book is Introducing The Ancient Greeks. Nandini Das is Professor of English Literature at the University of Liverpool. She is also a New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.Beatrice Groves is Research Lecturer in Renaissance Literature at the University of Oxford and her books include Texts and Traditions: Religion in Shakespeare 1592-1604 The programme was recorded in front of an audience in BBC Radio 3's pop-up studio as part of Radio 3's Stratford residency at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Producer: Torquil MacLeod

As Sicily: culture and conquest opens at The British Museum, Anne McElvoy gathers three experts round the Free Thinking table - the historian of Sicily, John Julius Norwich, Helena Atlee who approaches the island from the point of view of its legendary citrus fruit and Anna Sergi, a criminologist at the University of Essex who explains how Cosa Nostra reflects much of the closed culture of the modern island. Tom Stoppard drops by to celebrate The London Library at 175 and as the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death gathers pace, New Generation Thinker Sarah Peverley reveals her latest research on John Hardynge, the English soldier who lived through the Wars of the Roses and wrote a chronicle that may be an important source for the Bard's History plays. Presenter: Anne McElvoySicily: culture and conquest runs at the British Museum from 21 April – 14 August 2016Guests: Helena Atlee: The Land Where Lemons Grow John Julius Norwich: Sicily A Short History from the Greeks to Cosa Nostra Sarah Peverley: John Hardyng, Chronicle: Edited from British Library MS Lansdowne 204. Edited by James Simpson and Sarah Peverley Anna Sergi Tom StoppardProducer: Jacqueline Smith

Slavoj Zizek is in conversation with Philip Dodd. The title of the latest book from the Slovenian philosopher, cultural critic and Marxist scholar is 'Against the Double Blackmail: Refugees, Terror and Other Troubles with the Neighbours'.Producer: Laura Thomas

In a special Landmark edition, Matthew Sweet discusses Tarkovsky's 1979 film Stalker with the director Sophie Fiennes, the journalist Konstantin Von Eggert, whose family knew Tarkovsky, film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, the writer Geoff Dyer, and the academic and former tour guide in the Chernobyl Zone Dr Nicholas Rush Cooper from Durham University. Stalker tells the story of three men - Writer, Professor, and Stalker. We are never quite sure who Stalker is, or what he represents, but it's his job to lead Writer and Professor on a journey into a mysterious region called The Zone. At the heart of The Zone is a room in which all wishes come true.Based on the novel Roadside Picnic, by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, Stalker is a kind of Science Fiction film with all the Science Fiction stripped out. Geoff Dyer notes that "Stalker has always invited allegorical readings, and since the film has something of the quality of prophecy, these readings are not confined to events that had occurred by the time the film was made." Is Stalker about the end of Communism? Does it prefigure the Chernobyl disaster? There are many possibilities, but the film remains mysterious.Producer: Laura Thomas

Anne McElvoy talks to Syrian architect Marwa Al-Sabouni about her country's built environment its impact on the behaviour of the people who live there. Also the politics of judging book prizes is debated by Professor Geoffrey Hosking, emeritus professor of Russian history, School of Slavonic & East European Studies, University College London and Fleur Montanaro, Administrator of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction. Writers Lasha Bugadze and Aka Morchiladze discuss Georgian literature past and present. The Battle for Home: The Memoir of a Syrian Architect by Marwa Al-Sabouni is out now.The winner of the 2016 Pushkin House Russian Book Prize is announced on April 25th. These are the shortlisted books Maisky Diaries: Red Ambassador to the Court of St James's 1932-43. Gabriel Gorodetsky, editor (Yale University Press) Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator. Oleg Khlevniuk, translated by Nora Seligman Favorov (Yale University Press) Towards the Flame: Empire, War and the End of Tsarist Russia. Dominic Lieven (Penguin) Russia and the New World Disorder. Bobo Lo (Brookings Institution) Stalin and the Struggle for Supremacy in Eurasia. Alfred Rieber (Cambridge University Press) The End of the Cold War: 1985-1991. Robert Service (Pan Macmillan)The winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2016 will be announced at an awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 26 April, the eve of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. These are the shortlisted books Mercury by Mohamed Rabie A Sky Close to our House by Shahla Ujayli Numedia by Tareq Bakari Praise for the Women of the Family by Mahmoud Shukair Guard of the Dead by George Yaraq Destinies: Concerto of the Holocaust and the Nakba by Rabai al-MadhounProducer: Torquil MacLeod.

Philip Dodd is joined by artist Bruce McLean and critic Sarah Kent to consider the history and politics of British Conceptual Art on show at Tate Britain. Also Richard Nisbett gives his view on how "smart thinking" can help us improve our lives. Richard Nisbett is Theodore M. Newcomb Distinguished Professor of Social Psychology and Co-director of the Culture and Cognition program at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He is cited by Malcolm Gladwell as an influence and is the author of a book called "Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking" Conceptual Art in Britain 1964–1979 runs at Tate Britain from 12 April – 29 August 2016 The exhibition includes works by Keith Arnatt, Art & Language, Conrad Atkinson, Victor Burgin, Michael Craig-Martin, Hamish Fulton,Margaret Harrison, Susan Hiller, John Hilliard, Mary Kelly, John Latham, Richard Long, Bruce McLean, David Tremlett and Stephen Willats. Producer: Laura Thomas

Jonathan Coe, author of books including The Rotter's Club, What a Carve Up and his most recent novel Number 11, joins playwright Richard Cameron and presenter Matthew Sweet in a programme recorded in front of an audience at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.Jonathan Coe's 2001 novel, The Rotter's Club, depicts teenage life in Birmingham in the 1970s, against a backdrop of strikes at the local car factories. It's been adapted for the stage by Richard Cameron - whose other plays include The Glee Club and Can't Stand Up For Falling Down. They discuss the difference between page and stage, assess the sexual and racial politics of the time and consider the cultural influence of Britain's second city.Producer: Craig Templeton Smith.

Anne McElvoy looks at current debates about economics, British manufacturing and entrepreneurialism talking to Juliet Michaelson from the New Economics Foundation, the politicians Liam Byrne and John Redwood and entrepreneur Luke Johnson. They also consider the arguments in new books from Yanis Varoufakis and Thomas Piketty. The panel is joined by theatre critic Matt Wolf who'll be reflecting on the way business and economics are represented on stage reporting on recent openings on Broadway and looking ahead to the UK premiere of The Invisible Hand by Pulitzer Prize–winner Ayad Akhtar at London's Tricyle Theatre. Liam Byrne is the author of Turning to Face The East: How Britain Can Prosper In The Asian Century and Dragons: 10 Entrepreneurs Who Built Britain Chronicles by Thomas Piketty is out now. And the Weak Suffer What They Must? by Yanis Varoufakis is out now. The Invisible Hand by Ayad Akhtar runs at the Tricycle Theatre in London from May 12th to July 2nd. Producer: Eliane Glaser.

Rana Mitter talks to playwright Anders Lustgarten whose latest work is set in a small village in China, Rotten Peach Village, over 60 years. Communism arrives and the villagers embrace it. Lustgarten has also written a new play partly inspired by the painter Caravaggio which opens at the RSC at the end of this year. Also a consideration of the satirical short stories about Edwardian England published by Saki - the pen name of Scottish author Hector Hugh Munro (1870 - 1916). Rana is joined by the novelist Naomi Alderman and Saki expert Nick Freeman.Cartoonist Riad Sattouf describes his graphic novel memoir, The Arab of the Future. And Rana gets to grip with what we could possibly mean by a thing, with philosopher Guy Longworth The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie by Anders Lustgarten runs at the Arcola Theatre in London 7 – 30 April before opening the 10th High Tide festival of new writing in Suffolk in September. The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf is out now. Producer: Luke Mullhall

A celebration of Evelyn Waugh to mark the 50th anniversary of his death. Matthew Sweet is joined by two writers who are long term admirers - Adam Mars-Jones and Bryony Lavery and by Waugh's latest biographer, Philip Eade and his grandson and editor, Alexander Waugh. Brideshead Revisited - adapted by Bryony Lavery - runs at York Theatre Royal from Fri 22 Apr - Sat 30 Apr and then goes on tour to Bath, Southampton, Cambridge, Malvern, Brighton, Oxford, Richmond.Evelyn Waugh - A Life Revisited by Philip Eade will be published in JulyProducer: Zahid Warley.

In a programme exploring light, Anne McElvoy is joined by Ann Wroe - who has walked the South Downs for her latest book considering painters including Ravilious and Samuel Palmer. Prof. Lucie Green has written a journey to the centre of the sun. The fluorescent creations of Dan Flavin the post war American artist go on show at Birmingham's Ikon Gallery curated by director Jonathan Watkins. And in Blackpool - home of the Illuminations - the Grundy Art Gallery is adding to its collection of light works – curator Richard Parry explains. Dan Flavin: It is What It Is and It Ain't Nothing Else runs at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham from 13th April to 26th June.Six Facets Of Light by Ann Wroe is out now. She is also the author of Pilate: The Biography of an Invented Man.15 Million Degrees - A Journey to the Centre of the Sun is written by Dr Lucie Green, solar physicist at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory at UCL.Producer: Torquil MacLeod

Jerry Brotton talks to Rana Mitter about the links between Elizabethan England and the Islamic World. They're joined in studio for a conversation about the history and growth of nationalism around the world by the Turkish novelist Elif Shafak, by Professor John Breuilly from the London School of Economics and by the novelist Gillian Slovo - who has written a thriller inspired by the Tottenham riots and a verbatim drama based on interviews asking why young Muslim men and women from across Western Europe are leaving their homes to answer the call of Jihad. This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and the Islamic World by Jerry Brotton - Professor of Renaissance Studies in the Department of English, Queen Mary, University of London is out now and is being read on Radio 4 as this week's Book of the Week. The Radio 3 Sunday Feature he presented on The Venice Ghetto is available on the iPlayer or as a download from Radio 3's website. Another World: Losing Our Children to Islamic State written by Gillian Slovo and directed by Nicolas Kent is at the temporary space at the National Theatre from 9th April to 7th May. Gillian Slovo's novel is called Ten Days. Professor John Breuilly is the editor of the Oxford Handbook of the History of Nationalism which is out in paperback in April. Elif Shafak's most recent novel is The Architect's Apprentice. Producer: Ruth Watts

Anne McElvoy is joined by New Generation Thinker Shahidha Bari to explore the history of the suit as the Jewish Museum in London opens an exhibition on men's fashion. American playwright Neil LaBute is the author of plays including The Shape of Things, Bash, The Mercy Seat and Fat Pig. He discusses happiness as he follows up Reasons to be Pretty with a new drama called Reasons to be Happy. Moses, Mods and Mr Fish: The Menswear Revolution runs at the Jewish Museum in London from March 31st - June 19th 2016. Reasons To Be Happy runs at the Hampstead Theatre from March 17th to April 16th. Producer: Ruth Watts

Rana Mitter considers the myth of the Green Man and our relationship to Nature, talking to George Monbiot, writing at the interface of politics, equality and nature, Nina Lyon whose exploration of Green Man rising takes her from Wales to London and american novelist Charlie Jane Anders whose sci-fi story takes in wicca magic and technological uber-geekiness. Joining them in the studio, Kate Maltby, expert in renaissance literature and political commentator.All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders is out now. Uprooted: On The Trail of the Green Man by Nina Lyon is out now. How Did We Get Into This Mess? by George Monbiot is out April 22nd.Producer: Jacqueline Smith

Ahead of a major retrospective at the British Film Institute, Matthew Sweet shines a light on the career of director Alan Clarke with filmmaker Clio Barnard, his daughter Molly Clarke, and actor Phil Davis, who appeared in The Firm alongside Gary Oldman. Ken Loach pays tribute to Barry Hines, the Yorkshire writer behind one of his most memorable films, Kes. The American cartoonist Daniel Clowes talks about his latest graphic novel, Patience. The Alan Clarke BFI retrospective runs from March 28th to April 30th and includes the newly discovered director's cut of The Firm, David Bowie in Baal, three previously-thought-lost TV episodes from 1967-68 and footage from an unfinished documentary project. It includes screenings and events at London's South Bank, at 9 mediatheques around the UK and DVD releases. Patience by Daniel Clowes is out now. Producer: Craig Templeton Smith

Anne McElvoy and Julian Barnes discuss images of Russian cultural figures on display at the National Portrait Gallery. Director Roxana Silbert and playwright Suhayla El-Bushra discuss putting Russian satirical dramas on stage in Britain. And Soumaya Keynes from teh Institute of Fiscal Studies, journalist Ann Treneman and journalist and director of the Institute for Government Peter Riddell discuss the theatre of the budget. Russia and the Arts: The Age of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky runs at the National Portrait Gallery from 21 April - 24 July Meanwhile Moscow's State Tretyakov Gallery hosts Elizabeth to Victoria: British Portraits from the Collection of the National Portrait Gallery. Julian Barnes' most recent novel The Noise of Time is inspired by the life of Dmitri Shostakovich. Roxana Silbert is directing a version of Gogol's The Government Inspector written by David Harrower which is on stage at Birmingham Rep in association with Ramps on the Moon. It runs from March 19th to 26th. It then tours to New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich 6-16 April West Yorkshire Playhouse 20-30 April Nottingham Playhouse 4-14 May Theatre Royal Stratford East 18-28 May The Everyman, Liverpool 1-11 June Crucible Theatre, Sheffield 17-25 June Suhayla El-Bushra has written an adaptation of Nikolai Erdman's The Suicide which is being directed by Nadia Fall at the National Theatre in London. It runs in rep from April 6th. Producer: Eliane Glaser.

Matthew Sweet and guests discuss the state of academic philosophy in the UK today. It’s often thought of as being difficult, abstract, and far-removed from the concerns of every-day life. It even came up recently in the US Presidential campaign, when Republican hopeful Marco Rubio claimed America needs fewer philosophers and more welders. So what is the place of philosophy in today’s universities? And what role can it play in wider culture? Few people in the UK have done more to help philosophers reach a wider audience than Bryan Magee, whose TV interviews with leading philosophers were prime-time viewing in the 1970s and '80s. As Magee publishes a new book, Ultimate Questions, Matthew and his guests discuss his legacy as a broadcaster who interpreted philosophy for a wider audience. With with philosophers MM McCabe, Lucy O'Brien, Nigel Warburton and Constantine Sandis.Ultimate Questions by Bryan Magee is out now from Princeton University Press.Producer: Luke Mulhall.

Martin Parr has curated an exhibition bringing together views of the UK taken by international photographers including Tina Barney from the USA. Both join Philip Dodd, plus journalists Tim Stanley and Ben Judah, and philosopher Mahlet Zimeta to examine what British identity looks like in 2016. Strange and Familiar: Britain as Revealed by International Photographers runs at the Barbican 16 March 2016 - 19 June 2016 Unseen City: Photos by Martin Parr City of London photographer-in-residence since 2013 runs at the Guildhall Art Gallery, 4 Mar–31 Jul 2016. This is London: Life and Death in the World City by Ben Judah is published by Picador. Producer: Craig Templeton Smith

Rana Mitter reads a new history of the Holy Roman Empire written by Chichele Professor of History Peter H Wilson and discusses Christianity today with the religion editor of the TLS Rupert Shortt and Professor Janet Soskice. Iranian artist Reza Derakshani is presenting new work including paintings from his ongoing Hunting series, which draws on traditions of Persian miniature painting and upon the American Abstract Expressionist movement which he encountered while living in exile in New York. The exhibition is the first to be staged at a new gallery in London specialising in contemporary art from the Middle East founded byVassili Tsarenkov, Lali Marganiya and Lili Jassemi. The Holy Roman Empire: A Thousand Years of Europe's History by Peter H. Wilson is out now. Rupert Shortt's book is called God is No Thing: Coherent Christianity Reza Derakshani: The Breeze at Dawn runs from 9 Mar - 23 Apr 2016 at Sophia Contemporary, 11 Grosvenor Street, Mayfair. Producer: Eliane Glaser

In a programme exploring Spanish culture and politics, Philip Dodd is joined by the influential novelist, columnist and translator Javier Marias - author of 16 books and former winner of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Also, following the opening of a new musical version of Don Quixote at the Royal Shakespeare Company, what is the the influence of Cervantes 400 years after his death? Ben Okri has been to Stratford and joins Javier Marias to discuss Cervantes. Plus, as the country's political future hangs in the balance, Sirio Canos Donnay, spokesperson for Podemos London, and journalist Jimmy Burns consider what's next for Spain. Thus Bad Begins by Javier Marias is now published in English in the UK. Don Quixote, adapted by James Fenton from the novel by Miguel de Cervantes, directed by Angus Jackson, with songs by James Fenton and Grant Olding, is at the Swan Theatre in Stratford 25 February - 21 May 2016 Ben Okri is taking part in Cervantes and Shakespeare 400, a project marking the anniversary of both authors. Events are happening at the Hay Festival and at the British Library on Tuesday April 12th when the anthology Lunatics, Lovers and Poets: Twelve Stories After Cervantes and Shakespeare, featuring new work from 12 contemporary international authors is being unveiled. The British Library has a free display of illustrated editions of Don Quixote in the Treasures Gallery running until May 22nd. Producer: Craig Templeton Smith

Performance poet Hollie McNish has written a book and a series of poems about motherhood. Composer Emily Hall has been commissioned to write a childrens' opera for Hull 2017. Scientist Helen Pearson has researched and written about the longest runnning study of human development. Edwina Attlee is a writer with an interest in launderettes, sleeper trains, fire escapes, greasy spoons, postcards, and the working lives of women. She'll be sharing audio tales from the National Life Stories Archive at the British Library, where women talk about working lives spent on oil rigs, in steel plants, and a host of other places. Ailsa Grant Ferguson has studied Dorothy Leigh's 'Mother's Blessing', which was the bestselling book by a woman of the 17th century. They join Anne McElvoy for a programme for International Women's Day which looks at the ways in which everyday experiences in the lives of women feed into creativity. Helen Pearson is the author of The Life Project: The extraordinary story of 70,000 Ordinary Lives. Hollie McNish is the author of Nobody Told Me: The Poetry of Parenthood. You can find more on her website Holliepoetry.com Emily Hall's compositions include the operas Folie a Deux, Sante and a children's opera for Hull 2017. Song Cycles including Love Songs and Life Cycle and a whole range of compositions for chamber ensembles, string quartets, orchestras and soloists. http://www.emilyhall.co.uk/ Producer: Jane Thurlow

As a best-selling German biography of Hitler is published in English Anne McElvoy explores the way German historians view Hitler now talking to Volker Ullrich and historian Richard J Evans from the University of Cambridge. New Generation Thinker Catherine Fletcher reviews Botticelli Reimagined at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Botticelli Reimagined runs at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from 5 March - 3 July 2016. Hitler by Volker Ullrich is now published in English. Catherine Fletcher is the author of The Black Prince of Florence: The Spectacular Life and Treacherous World of Alessandro de' Medici which is published in April. Producer: Luke Mulhall

In the year that John Osborne's Look Back In Anger turns 60 Philip Dodd considers the eruption of rage in the recent politics of the US and India with Jonah Goldberg, Kit Davis, Pankaj Mishra and Sunil Khilnani.Pause for a moment and you realise it's impossible to ignore the Black Lives Matter protests or the urgent polemics of the writer and activist Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose passionately angry new book about race in the US, The Beautiful Struggle, comes out this week. It's difficult to turn a blind eye to the rearguard action that's being fought by Indian writers and intellectuals such as Arundhati Roy, targeted by Hindu nationalists determined to seize control of the political agenda on the Subcontinent.Who is angry with whom and why; and what about the populist anger that seems to be propelling Donald Trump towards the Republican presidential nomination and the White House. Join Philip Dodd and his guests as they search for the answers.Sunil Khilnani is the author of Incarnations: India in 50 Lives. He is currently presenting a series based on the book on BBC Radio 4. Pankaj Mishra is the author of several books including From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia. The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates is out now.

Neil Jordan talks to Matthew Sweet about his novel The Drowned Detective and the difference between writing fiction and making films. Olivia Laing and John Haldane explore loneliness and solitude in art, philosophy and religion. Rowan Moore on creating contemporary global cities that answer the needs of the people who live and work in them.The Drowned Detective by Neil Jordan is published by BloomsburyThe Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing is published by CanongateSlow Burn City: London in the 21st Century by Rowan Moore is published by PicadorProducer: Torquil MacLeod

Anne McElvoy investigates the role of culture within historic Soviet expansionism and current Russian geopolitics. She talks to Charles Clover, author of Black Wind, White Snow: The Rise of Russia's New Nationalism about Eurasianism, an old idea with considerable traction in Putin's Russia and why bad ideas tend to win out over good ones . Historian Polly Jones, author of Myth Memory Trauma: Rethinking the Soviet past, 1953-70 and Clem Cecil, in-coming Director of Pushkin House, are in the studio to discuss the extent of Soviet interest in soft power alongside Mark Nash, curator of Red Africa and Ian Christie, co-curator of Unexpected Eisenstein, two new exhibitions in London. The continuing cultural legacy of Cold War relations between the Soviet Union and Africa is the subject of Red Africa, a season of film, art exhibition, talks and events, runs at Calvert 22 in London while at the same time Unexpected Eisenstein, a new exhibition at GRAD gallery in London, tells the story of the anglophile tendencies of a the great Soviet film-maker, Sergei Eisenstein. Eisenstein, whose epic and patriotic films Battleship Potemkin, Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible, together constitute a visual retrospective of Russian power, was himself hugely influenced by British writers from Shakespeare to Dickins. But as Anne McElvoy hears, the director went on to influence generations of British artists and film-makers, one legacy of his six-week sojourn in London in 1929. It was, as Christie explains, a trip ordered but not precisely sponsored, by Stalin. Producer: Jacqueline Smith

The novelist, Karl Ove Knausgård , talks to Philip Dodd as the fifth instalment of his acclaimed My Struggle series is published in the UK. The programme also considers what it means to be Scandinavian today with the Swedish journalist, Ingrid Carlberg - author of a new biography of Raoul Wallenberg; the Danish writer and translator, Dorthe Nors; and Nicholas Aylott, an expert on models of democracy in Nordic and Baltic Europe who teaches in Stockholm.Some Rain Must Fall by Karl Ove Knausgard is published now in the UK.Raoul Wallenberg - The Biography by Ingrid Carlberg is published now in the UKKarate Chop and Minna Needs Rehearsal Space by Dorthe Nors is out now in the UKNikolai Astrup: Painting Norway is on show at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London from until 15 May 2016Producer: Zahid Warley

The novelist, Karl Ove Knausgård , talks to Philip Dodd as the fifth instalment of his acclaimed My Struggle series is published in the UK. The programme also considers what it means to be Scandinavian today with the Swedish journalist, Ingrid Carlberg - author of a new biography of Raoul Wallenberg; the Danish writer and translator, Dorthe Nors; and Nicholas Aylott, an expert on models of democracy in Nordic and Baltic Europe who teaches in Stockholm.Some Rain Must Fall by Karl Ove Knausgard is published now in the UK.Raoul Wallenberg - The Biography by Ingrid Carlberg is published now in the UKKarate Chop and Minna Needs Rehearsal Space by Dorthe Nors is out now in the UKNikolai Astrup: Painting Norway is on show at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London from until 15 May 2016Producer: Zahid Warley

Rana Mitter discusses religion and modernity, including a conversation with Buddhist thinker Stephen Batchelor on how ancient traditions can adapt to meet modern needs. They are joined by Kader Abdolah, who's recently produced a new translation of The Qur'an, classicist Tim Whitmarsh, who has written on atheism in the Ancient Greek World, and the sociologist of religion Linda Woodhead who has investigated what people really mean when they tick the 'No Religion' box on surveys. Tim Whitmarsh is the author of Battling The Gods: Atheism In The Ancient World. Linda Woodhead is the author of That Was The Church That Was. Kader Abdolah is the author of The Qur'an - A Journey and The Messenger - A Tale Retold. Stephen Bachelor is the author of Buddhism - rethinking the dharma for a secular age. Producer: Luke Mulhall

Is politics about building a better world, or simply the art of the possible? In a special debate recorded at the London School of Economics to mark the anniversary of Thomas More's Utopia, politicians and historians debate the balance between idealism and realism in politics, international relations and political history. Chaired by Anne McElvoy. With Justin Champion, Professor of the History of Early Modern Ideas at Royal Holloway, University of London Dr John Guy, Fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge Kwasi Kwarteng, MP for Spelthorne Gisela Stuart, MP for Birmingham EdgbastonUtopia is a work of fiction and political philosophy by Thomas More published in 1516 in Latin. The LSE literature festival which runs from February 22nd - 27th is themed on the idea of Utopias. Producer: Luke Mulhall

Jonathan Lynn, author of Yes, Minister talks to Philip Dodd about his new play Patriotic Traitor which imagines the relationship between Petain and de Gaulle as that of father and son and follows them from their first meeting in World War I to the end of the Second World War, by which time, each had sentenced the other to death. Suhdir Hazareesingh, author of In The Shadow of the General: Modern France and the Myth of de Gaulle, and writer and political columnist, Anne Elisabeth Moutet join Daniel Lee, New Generation Thinker and author of Pétain's Jewish Children to discuss with Philip Dodd the different notions of France that Petain and de Gaulle fought for and their post-war legacies. And as a new exhibition Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art opens at London's National Gallery, Philip Dodd talks to curator Christopher Riopelle about the romantic pessmism of Eugene Delacroix and his visions for both art and the future of society. The Patriotic Traitor is at the Park Theatre in London from February 17th to March 19th. Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art is the National Gallery in London from February 17th to May 22nd. Producer: Jacqueline Smith

Tom Shakespeare, film director Peter Greenaway and art historian Matthijs Ilsink join Matthew Sweet in Holland for an exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of the death of artist Hieronymus Bosch. Matthew also talks to Plebaan Geertjan van Rossem, priest at St John's Cathedral in 's-Hertogenbosch, to get a religious perspective on Bosch's work. Het Noordbrabants Museum in 's-Hertogenbosch, Holland, presents the Jheronimus Bosch – Visions of a Genius exhibition from February 13 to May 8, 2016. 20 paintings (panels and triptychs) and 19 drawings are on display. You might also be interested listening to Saturday 13 February, 1302-1500: Saturday Classics: Ahead of his BBC4 series Renaissance Unchained, art critic Waldemar Januszczak conjures up the sound world of this epoch of huge passions and powerful religious emotions across all of Europe. The term 'Renaissance', or 'rinascita', was coined by Giorgio Vasari in 16th-century Florence, and his assertion that it had fixed origins in Italy has since influenced all of art history. But what of Flanders, Germany and the rest of Northern Europe? Waldemar presents music from the time of the Renaissance greats: Jan Van Eyck, Hans Memling, Albrecht Dürer, Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo and El Greco. Producer: Laura Thomas

Playwright James Graham talks to Anne McElvoy about his new comedy which puts Screaming Lord Sutch on stage. Graham's previous plays include The Vote, The Angry Brigade, This House. Historian Margaret MacMillan explores the question 'what difference do individuals make to history?' in her book History's People: Personalities and the Past. Figures include Bismarck, Babur and Roosevelt. Steve Furber, Professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Manchester, talks about his work on neural networks - constructing machines which work like parts of the human brain. He is joined by Tom Standage, digital editor at The Economist. New Generation Thinker Sam Goodman previews the BBC spy drama series The Night Manager, adapted from John Le Carre's 1993 novel. Monster Raving Loony is on at the Drum, Plymouth, from February 10th to 27th. Producer: Torquil Macleod.

Matthew Sweet looks at the founding of the Dada movement 100 years ago in Zurich, as the city celebrates the anniversary with a series of exhibitions and cabarets which run throughout the year. New Generation Thinker Will Abberley visits an exhibition in Oxford that plays with our notion of time as Modern Art Oxford begins a year-long celebration of 50 years, Kaleidoscope, with a show called The Indivisible Present. Janet Street Porter and Michael Grade debate when does a celebrity become a 'national treasure', and what exactly does the term mean?

Long Matthew Sweet looks at the founding of the Dada movement 100 years ago in Zurich, as the city celebrates the anniversary with a series of exhibitions and cabarets which run throughout the year. New Generation Thinker Will Abberley visits an exhibition in Oxford that plays with our notion of time as Modern Art Oxford begins a year-long celebration of 50 years, Kaleidoscope, with a show called The Indivisible Present. Janet Street Porter and Michael Grade debate when does a celebrity become a 'national treasure', and what exactly does the term mean?

Matthew Sweet looks at the founding of the Dada movement 100 years ago in Zurich, as the city celebrates the anniversary with a series of exhibitions and cabarets which run throughout the year. New Generation Thinker Will Abberley visits an exhibition in Oxford that plays with our notion of time as Modern Art Oxford begins a year-long celebration of 50 years, Kaleidoscope, with a show called The Indivisible Present. Janet Street Porter and Michael Grade debate when does a celebrity become a 'national treasure', and what exactly does the term mean?

Anne McElvoy profiles the painter Joseph Crawhall (1861-1913). Born in Northumberland, he exhibited alongside Degas and Whistler and has been credited as the leader of the young radical Scottish painters The Glasgow Boys. His father was also an artist who published "A Beuk o' Newcassell Sangs Collected by Joseph Crawhall" in 1888 - a pictorial book illustrating the lyrics and music with woodcuts. Anne will be joined in her quest by the director of the Fleming Collection in London, James Knox, where a new Crawhall show has opened and by the art critic, Bill Feaver. Anne will also be hearing from the director, Gemma Bodinetz who with the touring theatre company, Peepolykus, is staging a comic version of Madame Bovary at the Liverpool Everyman and from Laurie Sansom, who's directing a revival of Rona Munro's acclaimed trilogy of James plays. And in the week that sees the publication of a life of the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, Matthew Parris discusses the art of political biography.Joseph Crawhall: Masterworks from The Burrell Collection which runs from 4 February – 12 March 2016 is on at the The Fleming Collection in London and it's the first time in 25 years that an exhibition of his his works is on show in London. Rona Munro's James Plays are on at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre from February 3rd to 13th and then the UK and international tour stops in Glasgow, Inverness, Newcastle, Salford, Birmingham, Leicester and Plymouth Madame Bovary performed by Peepolykus is touring. Liverpool Everyman 5th to 27th February and then on to the Nuffield Theatre Southampton, Bristol Old Vic, Royal & Derngate, Northampton. Producer: Zahid Warley Image Credit: The Flower Shop, by Joseph Crawhall c.1894-1900. The Burrell Collection © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

Philip Dodd interviews John Irving - author of novels including The World According to Garp, The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany. His new book is called Avenue of Mysteries and imagines the life of a crippled street-child from Mexico, Juan Diego, and his sister Lupe, who can read minds. The action cuts between Diego's present as a globe trotting, best selling writer visiting the Philippines, and his memories of his childhood in Mexico and working at a circus. The Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving is out now. Producer: Robyn Read