Arts & Ideas

Historian Simon Schama joins Philip Dodd to discuss his book and TV series The Story of the Jews. Stephen Hopgood and Clive Stafford Smith debate the pros and cons of the human rights industry, and whether it has shifted to serve Western interests. Director Beeban Kidron on her documentary InRealLife, which explores the impact of the internet on children and young people.

In a special event recorded in front of an audience at London's Royal College of Music Anne McElvoy talks to John le Carré to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his groundbreaking Cold War espionage novel, The Spy who Came in from the Cold. It's the book which brought him international fame and which was described by Graham Greene as 'the best spy story I have ever read'. He discusses his extraordinary childhood as well as the state of Britain today, and the revelations of whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden.

Philip Dodd is joined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins speaking about his new memoir - An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist. Plus Tacita Dean speaks about about her new film 'JG' premiering in a new exhibition of her work at London's Frith Street and theatre critic Susannah Clapp reviews 'The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas, a new play by Dennis Kelly at London's Royal Court.

Actor Diana Quick, playwright Jessica Swale and critic Susannah Clapp join Matthew Sweet to discuss the changing role of women, as reflected in the theatre. The works of Henry Moore and Francis Bacon are brought together in the Ashmolean Museum's exhibition ‘Flesh and Bone’ - art critic Bill Feaver reviews. Andrew Lycett discusses the founding father of Victorian sensation-fiction, Wilkie Collins. Professor Nello Cristianini explores the shifts in the field of Artificial Intelligence.

Rana Mitter assesses the shortlist for this year's Booker prize and speaks to nominee Jhumpa Lahiri. Joanna Bourke and Paul Schulte examines the history of chemical warfare and our ambivalence to it. Plus Colin Thubron and Artemis Cooper celebrate the publication of the long awaited final instalment of Patrick Leigh Fermor's account of his journey from the Hook of Holland to the Bosphorus and beyond.

Ian McMillan, Judith Palmer and Don Paterson introduce the winning entries in this year's Proms Poetry Competition - and welcome some of the winners on stage to read their poems. The reader is Samantha Bond. Recorded in front of an audience at this year's Proms Plus events at the Royal College of Music. In Association with the Poetry Society.

Former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion and poet Paul Farley on the work of one of the most popular and influential of the Thirties poets, Louis MacNeice, the BBC producer who worked with Benjamin Britten and W.H. Auden and whose most enduring work, Autumn Journal, is set amid the upheaval of the period leading up to the Second World War. MacNeice died fifty years ago this week. There's also a Proms appreciation of fellow Irish poet and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney whose death was announced on Friday. Ian McMillan presents. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this summer's Proms Plus events.

Capturing the sound of dark matter, comets and distant planets is one of the toughest tasks a film composer can face. Matthew Sweet talks to composers Anna Meredith and Miguel Mera about the ways in which film composers have met the challenge. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this summer's Proms Plus events.

D.H. Lawrence hailed Herman Melville's novella, Billy Budd, a masterpiece when it was first published in 1924. Then, in 1951, came Britten's opera, adapted from the book. The writers Philip Hoare and Jamila Gavin join Rana Mitter to explore the book's themes of good and evil, justice and the law and the actor Peter Marinker will be on hand to illustrate their remarks with readings from the book. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this year's Proms Plus events.

From the very first days of silent film to the contemporary CGI blockbuster, music has always played a crucial role in cinema, guiding the audience throught the story, keeping their attention, fixing time and place. The film composer Debbie Wiseman and critic David Benedict discuss with Matthew Sweet the ways in which movie makers have created mood with music. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this year's Proms Plus events.

Benjamin Britten's compositions were inspired by the work of many poets and novelists, including Wilfred Owen, W.H. Auden, Blake, Shakespeare, Henry James and Thomas Mann. The actor Samuel West, who has narrated some of Britten's films, and writer Alexandra Harris explore the relationship between words and music. Presented by Ian McMillan and including readings by Malcolm Sinclair. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this year's Proms Plus events.

Rudolf Nureyev was one of the greatest dancers of the 20th century. His charisma and electrifying stage presence made him a superstar and he transformed the status and even the expected appearance of the male dancer. Twenty years after his death the former director of the Royal Ballet, Dame Monica Mason, who partnered him in Hamlet, and his biographer, Julie Kavanagh, celebrate his life and legacy with Samira Ahmed. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this year's Proms Plus events.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Sylvia Plath and the publication of her novel, The Bell Jar, the writer, Lavinia Greenlaw and the critic, Sally Bayley, look back on the legacy of a remarkable poet with readings by Buffy Davis. Born in Boston in 1932 Plath moved to England to study at Cambridge where she met and married the poet Ted Hughes. Her first collection of poems, Colossus, was published here in 1960. In 1962 she wrote most of the poems which would form her best known collection, Ariel. She died in February 1963 during one of the most severe winters on record in Britain. Ariel and The Bell Jar were published after her death. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this year's Proms Plus events.

Robert Crawford and Fiona Stafford discuss how the Romantic movement linked Beethoven with the poetry of Scottish writers such as Burns, James Macpherson and Walter Scott. Presented by Susan Hitch. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this year's Proms Plus events.

Rana Mitter introduces an anthology of unexpected readings from the letters and autobiography of the English composer Michael Tippett. With guests Ivan Hewett and Oliver Soden. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this year's Proms Plus events.

The writers Simon Heffer and Andrew O'Hagan discuss the halcyon days of light music at the BBC and beyond with Matthew Sweet. With its jaunty melodies and cascading strings, they restore it to its proper place: the heart of British musical life. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this year's Proms Plus events.

In a special event John le Carré celebrates the 50th anniversary of his groundbreaking Cold War espionage novel, The Spy who Came in from the Cold, the book which brought him international fame and which was described by Graham Greene as 'the best spy story I have ever read'. Anne McElvoy presents in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this year's Proms Plus events, with readings by John Shrapnel.

Wagner's stage directions are notorious: giant dragons; underwater singing; horses on stage; storms; destruction by raging fires. Designer Peter Mumford and Dr John Snelson of the ROH discuss the solutions available to 21st century artists and some famous 19th and 20th century stagings. Presented by Anne McElvoy and including readings by David Rintoul. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this year's Proms Plus events.

What makes Falstaff, Prince Hal's fat, boastful and cowardly companion so irresistible to writers and composers? The character appears in several Shakespeare plays and in musical works by Verdi, Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Salieri. Samira Ahmed talks to Timothy West and Desmond Barrit about their experience of playing one of Shakespeare's greatest characters.

Polish is the third most spoken language in the UK, after English and Welsh, and the 2011 census found over half a million Poles living in Britain. But you don't need to speak Polish in order to embrace Polish culture, thanks to a current boom in translating Polish novels into English. Rana Mitter asks the Polish-born writers Eva Hoffman and A.M. Bakalar to provide a guide to the most exciting writing coming out of Poland today. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as part of this year's Proms Plus events.

Rana Mitter talks to conductor and music blogger Kenneth Woods to bust some popular Mahler myths. Actor Nicholas Boulton reads extracts from his passionate and sometimes monstrous letters to Alma. The stormy angst-ridden man of popular perception had a very different side to him according to Kenneth and a rare audio recording provides a chance to hear a first-hand account of what he was like from a musician who actually worked under him. Recorded in front of an audience at the Royal College of Music as the first of this year's Literary Proms Plus events.

In conversation with Anne McElvoy, Boris Johnson discusses leadership ambitions, what Cicero has to teach us about politics, and why a politician should sometimes dare to be dull. Sarah Frankcom tells Anne why she and Maxine Peake are reviving Shelley's poetic account of the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. New Generation Thinker John Gallagher guides the listener on a romp through 16th century phrasebooks for travellers. And writer Tim Lott and critic Kate Muir discuss depictions of holidays gone wrong in film.

Rana Mitter chairs a debate from the York Festival of Ideas on whether we can afford ethical business. The panel includes The Guardian's Lucy Siegle, Adrian Wooldridge of The Economist, founder of Ethical Superstore Andy Redfern and economist Virginie Perotin. As austerity bites into family finances and public services, cheap goods seem ever more attractive, even vital. But is there a price to pay in fairness, and to the environment? York has a long history of making ethical business ideals a reality, but can those ideas be carried forward into the era of austerity?

Philip Dodd is joined by the historian Tom Holland and the political scientist Salwa Ismail to try to make sense of the new Egyptian revolution unfolding in front of us. Actress Diana Quick reflects on playing Eva, a charming but controlling German-Jewish émigré in Richard Greenberg's play The American Plan. James Malpas reviews the new exhibition of Laura Knight's portraits at the National Portrait Gallery. And to discuss how to make our evolving cities more habitable, Philip is joined by Richard Sennett, Amanda Levete and Gerard Evenden.

Matthew Sweet talks to award-winning director Jane Campion about her new TV drama series, Top of the Lake, set amidst the remote landscape of her native New Zealand. Clive James, Australian born poet and broadcaster, is best known for his irreverent TV chat shows and autobiographical memoirs. His output has been curtailed in recent years due to serious illness but he has just published a new translation of Dante's Divine Comedy. He explains why this project was so important and what he's learnt through being forced to stop and reflect on his life.

BBC Radio 3's annual Free Thinking festival of ideas continues its summer of activity as it takes up residency at leading summer events across the country. Anne McElvoy chairs a debate from the Daily Mail Chalke Valley History festival to examine how the British have looked to their history to give them a sense of national identity, and explores whether a sense of belonging and citizenship can be found from our past. The guests include historians Michael Wood, Helen Castor and Tom Holland and the MP and writer Kwasi Kwarteng.

Philip Dodd discusses the Problem with Love with behavioural scientist Dylan Evans, television presenter Esther Rantzen, Costa Prize-winning author AL Kennedy and singer and writer Pat Kane. Is it bad for us? How does love alter our brains and our bodies? What impact will social media and changing gender relations have on the future of love? The edition is was recorded at the recent HowTheLightGetsIn philosophy and music festival as part of BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking in the Summer.

Two new dystopian novels by the scientist Susan Greenfield and academic Martin Goodman give Matthew Sweet the chance to ask whether dystopias ever really go away, and even if they don't do they ever say anything constructive about the future? Henry Gee joins the discussion. Director Ben Wheatley's latest work A Field In England sits squarely in the middle of the honourable tradition in British cinema of horror films set in the country. Wheatley joins Matthew along with the writer Iain Sinclair to discuss the genre. And Matthew reviews the Royal Academy's latest exhibition 'Mexico: A Revolution in Art,1910 - 1940,' with Sarah Kent and Amanda Hopkinson.

Rana Mitter talks to Washington insider Vali Nasr about his new book 'The Dispensable Nation - American Foreign Policy in Retreat.' The reputation of Alfred Russel Wallace, co-founder with Darwin of the Theory of Natural Selection, has now regained its former lustre. Rana and guests discuss why one of Victorian Britain's greatest scientists fell into obscurity. Ibrahim El-Salahi has a major retrospective at Tate Modern and exhibition curator, Salah Hassan explains the Sudanese artist's crucial role in the evolution of the reputation of African Art. Mount Fuji has finally gained World Heritage Status - Martin Dusinberre explains its central role in Japanese culture.

With Anne McElvoy, including an interview with the best-selling american novelist Claire Messud about her latest book The Woman Upstairs featuring a narrator consumed with anger. David Runciman, Michela Massimi and Matthew Taylor join Anne to examine the genesis of "Progress", the idea and the extent to which it remains persuasive, despite the setback of the 20th Century. Adam Mars Jones reviews a new biopic written and directed by David Mamet in which Al Pacino plays the music producer Phil Spector. And Joshua Oppenheimer reflects on his gripping but chilling documentary The Act Of Killing.

Rana Mitter chairs a Free Thinking debate from the annual 12-hour My Night With Philosophers festival at the Institut Français on the role of philosophy in public life, and asks what can the tools of philosophy offer the European political mindscape in the current climate?

Journalist and broadcaster Melanie Phillips discusses her autobiography Guardian Angel with Matthew Sweet and explains her dramatic transition from the darling of Britain's liberal left, to the Daily Mail's star columnist. Director Simon Godwin, theatre critic Susannah Clapp and TV writer Philip Martin discuss just how porous the theatrical "fourth wall" can be. And Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Jonathan Dee on his new novel A Thousand Pardons.

Philip Dodd and Susan Hitch review a new production of Benjamin Britten's Gloriana at the ROH. As a new academic journal of Porn Studies is announced Philip and guests discuss whether being morally neutral about pornography is possible or desirable. Sarah Peverley is one of this year's New Generation Thinkers and in her first Night Waves outing she considers the figure of King Arthur. A major exhibition of Lowry's urban landscapes has opened at Tate Britain. Curator T.J.Clark talks about how Lowry's growing stature in the British art world coincided with the disappearance of the industrialised land he depicted.

Anne McElvoy talks to David Edgar about his new play 'If Only' which focuses on The Coalition Government. Composer Orlando Gough tells us about his role in a one-off-art event celebrating the UK's long-silent foghorns in the north-east of England. Geographer Danny Dorling explains why he believes the predicted population explosion won't happen and even if it does, we might just cope, with Nick Bostrom in discussion. And Adam Broomberg discusses his works with Oliver Chanarin and why their concern is mistrust of the images which saturate our lives.

Philip Dodd goes to the V&A to speak to Hari Kunzru about his new work, and discusses manipulation of memory, and our anxieties about forgetting, with the actor Edward Petherbridge, the historical novelist Lawrence Norfolk, and memory expert Professor Giuliana Mazzoni. The writer Val McDermid talks to Philip Dodd about the remarkable book, The Wasp Factory and its impact, and her friend and fellow writer Iain Banks. And historian, Rebecca Steinfeld, one of Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers, on "the war of the wombs" in Israel, a battle that pits Jewish against Arabic reproductive power.

BBC Radio 3's annual Free Thinking festival of ideas hits the road this summer as it takes up residency at leading summer events across the country. Rana Mitter chairs a debate from the York Festival of Ideas on the legacy of the War of the Roses with Helen Castor, Sandy Grant and Mark Ormrod reflecting on how the Wars of the Roses shaped the country from the 15th century right up to the present day. In the year that Richard III's remains were identified beneath a Leicester Car Park, why does the Wars of the Roses continue to exert such a hold over our imaginations, from Game of Thrones to new BBC series The White Queen?

Matthew Sweet talks to Conor McPherson about his new play The Night Alive, working with his own material as writer and director, violence on stage and his muses. On the 700th anniversary of Boccaccio's birth, Matthew is joined by Massimo Riva, Guyda Armstrong and Lindsay Johns to discuss the relevance of the Florentine author today. David Kynaston has been 'Opening the Box' on the years 1957 - 59, the third in his series of books looking across the history of post-war Britain. But are we just too sentimental about the 1950s? New Generation Thinker Chris Harding explains how religions and scientific psychology and psychiatry are drawing ever closer together in our modern consciousness.

Anne McElvoy talks to Neil Gaiman, prolific award-winning author of novels for adults and children alike and writer for radio and television about new novel, The Ocean At The End Of The Lane. Historian, Selina Todd, writer and novelist Bidisha, and Telegraph columnist Tim Stanley tiptoe round a debate raging across social media, 'check your privilege’. Universe Cosmologist consultant, Marcus Chown reports back from Visions of the Universe exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

Samira Ahmed talks to Joss Whedon, creator of the cult TV hit Buffy The Vampire Slayer, whose new film is a modern dress version of Much Ado About Nothing. Marianne Elliott talks about her new production of Tennessee Williams's play Sweet Bird of Youth, starring Kim Cattrall as a Hollywood leading lady whose youth is fading. Radio 3 New Generation Thinker Greg Tate looks back to a famous debate on Education between Matthew Arnold and T.H. Huxley which throws an interesting light on the current over-heated discussions about what our children should be taught.

A first night review of the National Theatre's revival of James Baldwin's drama The Amen Corner, starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Matthew Sweet along with Susannah Clapp and Lindsay Johns review. Are conspiracy theories the sign of a decayed or thriving democracy? Discussing are Professor Sir Richard Evans, David Aaronovitch and Eliane Glaser. New Generation Thinker John Gallagher meditates on the pleasures and pitfalls of disguise for the sixteenth century traveller. And Matthew interviews Rachel Kushner whose latest novel, The Flamethrowers is about the art and radicalism of the 1970's.

Philip Dodd examines A Crisis of Brilliance a new exhibition at London's Dulwich Picture gallery with the curator David Boyd-Haycock. As Turkey's anti-government protest continues, Elif Shafak, Karl Sharro and Professor Benjamin Fortna, explore the underlying reasons for civil society's dissatisfactions. Sarah Dillon is one of this year's New Generation Thinkers and her column is on the role of analogy in science. Søren Kierkegaard, the grandfather of existentialism, was also a sophisticated humourist. Philip is joined by theologian George Pattison and the Danish comedian Claus Damgaard for a Kierkegaardian lesson in freedom.

Alex Harris and Anne McElvoy review the latest Marc Chagall exhibition at the Tate Liverpool. Andrew Simms and Stephen D. King discuss the "End of Western Affluence". Anne talks to Cornelia Parker about her latest exhibition at Frith Street Gallery. And one of this year's Radio 3 New Generation Thinkers, Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough reflects on the possible relationship between Nordic Noir TV and Old Norse Tales.

Philip Dodd talks to internationally renowned video artist Bill Viola about his latest show: nine major new works in a museum-scale exhibition in London. What is the play, A Satire of the Three Estates relevance to Scottish identity today? We ask Professor Greg Walker who has restored the text, and theatre critic Joyce McMillan. Award-winning documentary maker Norma Percy discusses her latest series on the Iraq war and Jules Evans, one of this year's Radio 3 New Generation Thinkers, reflects on philosophy.

What will China's economy look like in ten years' time? Liam Byrne an MP, is also a passionate advocate for stronger relations with China and he joins Rana Mitter and Linda Yueh to discuss our future with China. In recent years India-watchers have noted a worrying drift away from freedom of speech and to discuss this with Rana are Soli Sorabjee, Vappala Balachandran, Flavia Agnes and Tim Garton Ash. And New Generation Thinker Alice Hall asks how helpful is the label 'superhuman' for disabled atheletes if we want to understand the real problems faced by disabled people today?

Matthew Sweet is joined by writer, Mark Ravenhill and literary critic, Sos Eltis to consider Steven Soderbergh's film - Behind the Candelabra. They’ll also discuss what it adds to our understanding of "camp" and its part in contemporary culture. Art historian T J Clark, talks about his latest book, Picasso and Truth. The aim, he says, is to sweep away the tittle tattle which so often passes for Picasso criticism so that we can get a clear view of the artist's achievement. New Generation Thinker Fern Riddell examines female political violence in Edwardian Britain.

Anne McElvoy talks to Debra Craine about British choreographer Akram Khan’s new work, iTMOi or In the Mind of Igor, which takes inspiration from Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Environmentalist George Monbiot's new book Feral argues for a "rewilding" of Britain, and a reintroduction of beavers, boars and controversially, wolves. Former Director of the National Trust Dame Fiona Reynolds has a totally different approach. New Generation thinker and Tudor historian Jonathan Healey reports from the new Mary Rose Museum. Naomi Paxton and Fern Riddell discuss the Actresses' Franchise League and the plays they wrote to support the cause of Women's Suffrage.

Philip Dodd reviews the UK premiere of David Mamet's controversial play Race and discusses its impact and arguments with Susannah Clapp and Kit Davies. Nate Silver is the star statistician who accurately predicted the results of every state in the 2012 US election and tells Philip that every child should study statistics. RB Kitaj talks about his new show at the British Museum. And Philip and guests discuss the moral implications of giving and being grateful.

Anne McElvoy discusses ethics and the law after several politicians have complained recently about tax avoidance by big companies. To discuss are Geoffrey Robertson QC, Mark Littlewood and Angie Hobbs. Australian writer Andrew Upton talks about his sometimes controversial adaptations of classic Russian plays and explains to Anne why he inserted an egg fight into his recent production of Maxim Gorky's Children of the Sun. And writer Philip Hoare explores his fascination and fear of the sea when he talks to Anne about his new book; "The Sea Inside".

Matthew Sweet examines our current and past attitudes to childhood and asks whether nurturing children is something that we should deregulate or attempt to reform. He’s joined by Jay Griffiths, author of Kith - in which she argues that children in Brazilian rain forests are happier than those in Western cities, Hugh Cunningham, historian and author of the Invention of Childhood, sociologist Frank Furedi, who coined the phrase paranoid parenting, Gabriel Gbadamosi, Irish-Nigerian poet, playwright and Carnegie medal winner Meg Rosoff who writes fiction for children and young adults.

With Anne McElvoy. It is of course 200 years this week since the birth of the composer who perhaps excites more strong opinions about his life and work than any other. Professor Paul Rose, Barry Emslie and Dr Barbara Eichner discuss Wagner and antisemitism. What about Prague as a capital of the 20th century? Defending this thought is Derek Sayer and discussing it with him is Andrew Lass and Dr Rajendra Chitnis. And Anne speaks to Michael Landy about his new exhibition at the National Gallery, Saints Alive.