Arts & Ideas

As this year's Paul Foot Awards are announced for campaigning and investigative journalism, Anne McElvoy reports from the ceremony and talks to this year's winner. Anne also talks to the Director of the London School of Economics, the sociologist Dr Craig Calhoun about the things that inspired him to take up a career in the social sciences. The artist Alinah Azadeh talks about her latest project, two banners celebrating the 1965 Race Relations Act and the 1897 founding of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies now hanging in the Palace of Westminster with New Generation Thinker Naomi Paxton.

Matthew Sweet talks to the Israeli novelist David Grossman about his book Falling Out of Time which mixes poetry, drama and fiction to explore the emotion of grief and loss. His own son died in 2006. He is also the author of non fiction books including Death as a Way of Life: From Oslo to the Geneva Agreement. They discuss his fiction and the part he hopes it can play in the discourse about Israel today. Originally broadcast on 11 March 2014.

Rana Mitter discusses Buddhism, in Western therapy and in Eastern politics with psychotherapist Mark Vernon, Rupert Gethin - Professor of Buddhist Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and co-director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol, Dr Anne Mette Fisker-Nielsen expert in religion and politics in Contemporary Japan and Christopher Harding – Cultural historian of India and Japan

It's three hundred years since the death of Antoine Galland, a French orientalist and archaeologist, whose translation of The One Thousand and One Nights kick-started its adventures in the West via the works of English orientalists, Richard Burton, Edward Lane and John Payne. Philip Dodd asks a panel of experts on these hugely influential tales, plus story-tellers who continue to wrest new life out of them. He talks to Scholars Robert Irwin and Wen-chin Ouyang, the theatre director Tim Supple and Lebanese novelist Hanan al-Shaykh.

Will Hutton joins Anne McElvoy for a programme focusing on economics and wealth in Britain. They're joined by Richard Davies, The Economist's Economics Editor, Wendy Carlin, Professor of Economics and Macroeconomics at UCL and Luke Johnson the Chairman of Risk Capital Partners and the former Chairman of Channel 4 Television.

Karim Miské and Aatish Taseer discuss their recent novels, the French tradition of secularism and the influences of religion with Philip Dodd. They're joined by historians Dr Sudhir Hazareesingh and Dr Ruth Scurr.

Dylan Evans tells Matthew Sweet about his experimental community in the Scottish Highlands and why the Utopia Experiment failed. They are joined by Elaine Barker who has looked at communities set up by religious cults and Joe Duggan of Transition Town in Crystal Palace. Also our changing attitudes to eroticism on film. In the week when the release of the film Fifty Shades of Grey is causing much excitment Matthew discusses prudishness and prurience in British cinema with film historian Melanie Williams, sexploitation screen writer David McGillivray and documentary maker Kim Longinotto.

Anne McElvoy assesses reports that members of the new Greek government are rediscovering age-old links between Greece and Russia. With Roderic Lynne, former British ambassador to Moscow; Mary Dejevsky, Professor Vassilis Fouskis and Spyros Economides. Plus as Sheffield Theatres begin a season looking back at the work of Sarah Kane, Director Daniel Evans discusses her writing and also a review of Indian Summers - Channel 4's new costume drama about the end of colonial rule with Preti Taneja and Nick Lloyd.

Poet Paul Muldoon explores the history of Ireland in his new collection, One Thousand Things Worth Knowing. Historian Roy Foster's latest book is Vivid Faces: the Revolutionary Generation in Ireland 1890-1923. Rona Munro's new play Scuttlers runs at Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre from Feb 5th - March 7th directed by Wils Wilson. It depicts Manchester gangs and riots in the Industrial Revolution and in 2011.

Andrew O'Hagan talks to Matthew Sweet about identity, capturing memories and the impact of war in his new novel The Illuminations. Eddie Marsan talks about creating his character in the new film Still Life and about how much we know about a person's identity. Critic Charlotte Mullins considers the artists' obsession with capturing their image and that of their friends, as the National Portrait Gallery hosts a series of paintings by John Singer Sargent and Turner Contemporary in Margate looks at the role of the self portrait in the 21st century.

Joyce Carol Oates new novel The Sacrifice depicts an act of racial violence which shocks a New Jersey town. Selma dramatises on film the life of Martin Luther King. Timberlake Wertenbaker's new play Jefferson's Garden puts on stage the founding of the American state. Anne McElvoy talks to Joyce Carol Oates and Timberlake Wertenbaker and is also joined by New Generation Thinker Joanna Cohen who studies American history and by Professor Kit Davis from SOAS.

Surgeon Henry Marsh and critic Susannah Clapp review the opening of Tom Stoppard's 'The Hard Problem' at the National Theatre tonight. Matthew Sweet is also joined by musician and neuroscientist Daniel Levitin to discuss his new book - 'The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload. And New Generation Thinker Alasdair Cochrane and Anne Phillips, author of a forthcoming book 'The Politics of the Human', discuss what comprises humanness.

Rana Mitter talks to Richard J Evans' about his new book The Third Reich in History and Memory which reflects on how racist theories of Empire, promulgated over centuries, provided fertile ground for nazi theorists. They are joined by fellow-historians Jane Caplan and David Cesarani, to survey how history has explored this period and discuss the question, was the Final Solution unique in the history of genocide. Also in the studio, Andre Singer, Director of the documentary, Holocaust: Night Will Fall and the Polish cultural historian and writer, Eva Hoffman.

New Generation Thinker Daisy Hay talks to Anne McElvoy about the relationship between Disraeli and his wife. Judith Rodin discusses cities and disaster planning with Ricky Burdett. Glass artist Brian Clarke outlines the role played by the art dealer Robert Fraser who showcased the work of emerging American and European artists from the 60s onwards. Fraser hosted avant garde art openings and supported artists including Jean Michel Basquiat, Gilbert and George, Bridget Riley and Eduardo Paolozzi.

Philip Dodd plus guests David Reynolds, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Simon Heffer and David Edgar discuss Winston Churchill and Englishness, in the week of the 50th anniversary of his death

Author Michael Dobbs, dramatists James Graham and Paula Milne and TV producer Trudi-Ann Tierney join Anne McElvoy in the BBC Radio Theatre as part of BBC Democracy Day. They debate whether dramas like The West Wing, Borgen or This House aid our understanding of the way governments operate or do they foster cynicism about democracy?

Matthew Sweet looks at today's announcement of this year's Oscar nominations focusing on the politics of the foreign film awards with critics Ian Christie, Karen Krizanovich and Phillip Bergson. TV dramatist Russell T Davies discusses his new projects for Channel 4, E4 and 4OD, Cucumber, Banana and Tofu which explore the passions and pitfalls of 21st century gay life.

Philip Dodd explores the way we look at art with documentary maker Fred Wiseman, curator Iwona Blazwick, artist John Keane, poet Kelly Grovier and philosopher Professor Barry C. Smith. Veteran filmmaker Fred Wiseman who has documented what it is like to work at London's National Gallery. National Gallery is screening in key cities across the UK.

The Scottish poet Robert Crawford and fellow-TS Eliot biographer, Lyndall Gordon join Anne McElvoy to work out Eliot's enduring power and appeal while the winner of this year's TS Eliot prize, David Harsent also takes a bow. Allan Ropper a US neurologist, talks about the mixture of intuition and medical knowledge that every brain doctor needs. He is joined by Brian Hurwitz, Professor of Medicine and the Arts at King's College London to discuss the role of case histories over time and new importance being attached to narrative medicine.

Mike Bartlett talks to Anne McElvoy about his play Bull which takes to the stage at the Young Vic this month and Game which opens at the Almeida in February. Also Dr. Andy Martin evaluates Soumission, the new Michel Houellebecq novel creating controversy in France; Cleo Van Velsen discusses Hans Fallada's 1944 prison diary A Stranger in My Own Country; and the artists Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson reveal Song for Coal, their new work about energy which goes on display at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Lady Antonia Fraser talks to Matthew Sweet about her childhood in Oxford and London in the 30s and 40s, her lifelong fascination with history, and her forthcoming book, My History: A Memoir of Growing Up. Academics Susan Neiman and Robert Pogue Harrison discuss our modern day obsession with youth. And as a major retrospective of the late French director, Eric Rohmer, begins at the British Film Institute, critics Jonathan Romney and Ginette Vincendeau look at the auteur's fascination with characters in the summer of their lives.

In an extended interview, Philip Dodd talks to Clive James whose writing and broadcasting in the last fifty years has made him one of the most distinctive voices in Britain. He confirmed his credentials as a translator last year with his version of Dante's Divine Comedy and his latest book, Poetry Notebook, is a testament to his consuming love of poetry in general. Philip Dodd explores this passion with him and learns how it has informed and illuminated his thinking throughout his life.

Matthew Sweet on Pantomime past to present with writer Jeffrey Richards and actor/director Tony Lidington. Bryony Lavery talks stage writing ahead of her double-Christmas offerings of Treasure Island at the National Theatre in London and The One Hundred and One Dalmatians at Chichester's Festival Theatre. American biologist EO Wilson on the meaning of human existence.

Philosopher Slavoj Žižek speaks to Philip Dodd about the re-emergence of a radical left and the need for a clearer agenda for change. Douglas Carswell, Beatrix Campbell and Gabriella Coleman explore the success of protest movements from online activists and Anonymous to demonstrations on the street. And Matt Wolf joins Philip for a first-night review of City of Angels at the Donmar Warehouse.

TV dramatist Jed Mercurio, producer Caryn Mandabach and writer-director, Dominic Savage talk to Anne McElvoy about creating successful dramas including The Line of Duty and Peaky Blinders. Novelist Sarah Waters discusses her play with Christopher Green called The Frozen Scream and latest novel The Paying Guests. And New Generation Thinker Sarah Peverley looks at Christmas customs in Medieval England.

American author Rebecca Solnit discusses the impact of "mansplaining" which she explores in her book Men Explain Things To Me. Matthew Sweet looks at the image of Wonder Woman with comic artist Steve Marchant and Jill Lepore, author of The Secret History of Wonder Woman. And New Generation Thinker Dr Will Abberley and film critic Ian Christie discuss the genre of submarine films.

Mona Siddiqui talks to Philip Dodd about her book called My Way: A Muslim Woman's Journey. The scholar Ziauddin Sardar has written Mecca, The Sacred City which explores the history of the birthplace of Muhammad and his own pilgrimages to it. And Navid Kermani has written God Is Beautiful: The Aesthetic Experience of the Qur'an which considers the manner in which the Qur'an has been perceived and experienced from the time of the Prophet to the present day.

Philip Dodd and a panel including historians Philip Ziegler and John Guy, biographer Sarah Bradford, journalist Deborah Orr and author William Kuhn explore British monarchy past and present and ask what is the role of a royal head of state in the twenty first century.

Philip Dodd, Roger Scruton and Janet Suzman look at theatre in South Africa - a year since Mandela’s death and in the Czech Republic 25 years on from the Velvet Revolution. Director Howard Davies discusses 3 Winters - a new play by Tena Stivicic which depicts a family living through the remnants of monarchy to Communism, democracy, war and the EU: Croatia 1945–2011.

Scientist Brian Cox and Professor Chris Frayling join the actors Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood for a discussion about Stanley Kubrick's landmark film 2001: A Space Odyssey chaired by Matthew Sweet and recorded in front of an audience at the BFI in London on 30.11.14.

A celebration of one of the great landmarks of culture as Matthew Sweet talks to the novelist, Will Self and the film director, Mike Hodges about Solaris. They discuss both Stanislaw Lem’s extraordinary 1961 science fiction novel of that name and the mesmeric film adaptation made by Andrei Tarkovsky some ten years later and the impact both have had on them and their own work.

Philip Dodd considers the enduring appeal of the film Alien and whether it's blend of intellect, suspense, technical skill and sheer bravado has ever been surpassed with guests Iain Sinclair and Linda Ruth Williams.

Anne McElvoy talks to the historian Geoffrey Parker about Global Crisis, his influential game-changing account of the political and social upheavals which characterised the Seventeenth Century around the world. As Tate Modern opens an exhibition Conflict Time and Photography, former New Generation Thinker Dr Zoe Norridge from Kings' College London discusses images of war with Austrian photographer Alex Schlacher. And Agata Pyzik and Michael Goddard discuss Krzysztof Kieslowski an auteur director more interested in the general human condition than politics per se.

Matthew Sweet looks at depictions of American life and history in a special edition hearing from three contemporary American authors: Marilynne Robinson, Jane Smiley and Richard Ford.

Naomi Alderman, Roger Luckhurst and BALTIC curator Alessandro Vincentelli join Matthew Sweet to discuss how science fiction and space travel change our view of this world and to discuss whether the limits of our knowledge about the future make us scared or optimistic? This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 02.11.14.

The Cost of Free Information. Against a backdrop of perceived excess of intellectual property, and problems that require solving with a matter of urgency, Rana Mitter and Jodie Ginsburg, Dr. Rufus Pollock and Kenneth Cukier test the promises of the internet to spread ideas quickly and democratically. This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 02.11.14.

How much self-knowledge do you need to be happy – and what are the limits to what you can achieve alone? Paul Dolan, Vincent Deary and Beatrix Campbell ask why everybody from governments to therapists want us to be happy. Chaired by Rana Mitter.

Knowing Your Characters. Matthew Sweet talks to playwright David Greig and actor Siobhan Redmond about their approaches to drama. How much do you have to know about the characters and the story before you begin? How has theatre contributed to the recent discussions about Scottish identity? This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 01.11.14.

A hundred years ago, Ernest Shackleton set out on his Trans-Antarctic expedition which ended when his ship Endurance became trapped in packed ice. The lure of this polar region remains strong both in our imaginations and in terms of understanding what is happening to the planet. Rana Mitter discusses the Antarctica of our imaginations and the reality of the landscape with writer Meredith Hooper, polar explorer Ben Saunders, architect Hugh Broughton and glaciologist Jonathan Bamber.

The Spin Doctors of 19th-Century America. Embracing the emerging sciences of the age, 19th-century Americans thought they might be able to combine physiognomy (the science of reading faces) and the techniques of photography to uncover the true characters of leaders and statesmen. Joanna Cohen from Queen Mary, the University of London explores their efforts and the lessons for voters now. This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 01.11.14.

Drawing on Shakespeare's plays and Indian translations of them from recent times - and on writing by Saadat Hasan Manto and Rabindranath Tagore, the voices of partition and independence - Preti Taneja from Jesus College Cambridge explores the power of gibberish to upset fixed notions of language and identity. This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 01.11.14.

Animals: Watching Us Watching Them Watching Each Other. Rana Mitter talks to the primatologist, Andrew Whiten, Professor of Evolutionary and Development Psychology at St Andrews, to Dr Katie Slocombe of York University and to the social anthropologist, Professor Alex Bentley of Bristol University, about chimps and imitation, culture and evolution - from the deep past to our digital present. This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 02.11.14.

Naomi Paxton from the University of Manchester explores the international movement for a Women's Theatre from the 1890s to the start of the First World War, and considers how their ideas may have changed how theatre is experienced today. This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 02.11.14.

John Lanchester talks to Matthew Sweet about his novel Capital, our understanding of the economy and whether the language of money creates barriers between bankers and borrowers. This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 01.11.14

Where did language come from? It's often been described as the fundamental barrier between humans and animals. However, many scientists now believe speech evolved gradually from animal communication. Will Abberley from the University of Oxford argues that some of the most compelling efforts to picture this evolution have been in science fiction, and that these stories still impact on debates about language today. This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 01.11.14.

Turkey's best selling female writer, Elif Shafak, talks to Anne McElvoy about imagination and storytelling as she publishes her new novel The Architect's Apprentice. Her cosmopolitan voice is of particular importance in a year when the Middle East has been undergoing enormous shifts, and both nationalism and xenophobia are on the rise around the world. This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 01.11.14.

Is man the only political beast? Can other animals be regarded as members of our democratic communities, with rights to political consideration, representation or even participation? Alasdair Cochrane from Sheffield University believes that the exclusion of non-humans from civic institutions cannot be justified, and explores recent attempts to re-imagine a political world that takes animals seriously. This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 02.11.14.

Anne McElvoy explores whether it is worth getting hot under the collar about blue collar history with historian Alison Light, David Almond and Eliza Carthy. Once upon a time the working class were heroes; their close-knit communities were celebrated. Has this working class disappeared along with the great industries- steel -coal and ship building - that brought them into being? Is the working class now a figment of other people's dreams or nightmares? This event was recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage, Gateshead on 02.11.14.

Historian Alun Withey says beards can shed light on a whole range of things from medicine to the military. Pogonotomy - or the art of shaving - is about more than fashion. Recorded in front of an audience at BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival of Ideas at Sage, Gateshead. New Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the AHRC to find the brightest academic minds with the potential to turn their ideas into broadcasts.

Daisy Hay from Exeter University explores the way in which Disraeli invented the modern politician as a man or woman of feeling, and asks whether the image he projected as an emotionally in-touch everyman stemmed from fact or fiction? Recorded in front of an audience at BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival of Ideas at Sage, Gateshead. New Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the AHRC to find the brightest academic minds with the potential to turn their ideas into broadcasts.