The Essay

Rabbi Julia Neuberger considers the middle section of the Lord's Prayer. She reflects on the line "Give us this day our daily bread".Five brilliant voices essay on different sections of the Lord's Prayer for our time. Author Ali Smith, Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies Mona Siddiqui, Rabbi Julia Neuberger, poet and undertaker Thomas Lynch and poet and author Andrew Motion examine each thought with a modern day searchlight, bringing theological knowledge, personal memory, poetic insight and imagination to an understanding of this prayer, murmured by millions every day. In all it's not even sixty words long and, as it appears in the Gospel according to Matthew, it's introduced by Jesus as a 'how to pray' guide: 'This then, is how you should pray". Today it's bound with the need to express our longing for a better world and something we all share, but what do these short lines mean and how do they help?Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.Producer, Kate Bland.

British Muslim Academic Mona Siddiqui explores the second section of the Lord's Prayer. She considers the lines "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven".Five brilliant voices essay on different sections of the Lord's Prayer for our time. Author Ali Smith, Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies Mona Siddiqui, Rabbi Julia Neuberger, poet and undertaker Thomas Lynch and poet and author Andrew Motion examine each thought with a modern day searchlight, bringing theological knowledge, personal memory, poetic insight and imagination to an understanding of this prayer, murmured by millions every day. In all it's not even sixty words long and, as it appears in the Gospel according to Matthew, it's introduced by Jesus as a 'how to pray' guide: 'This then, is how you should pray". Today it's bound with the need to express our longing for a better world and something we all share, but what do these short lines mean and how do they help?Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.Producer, Kate Bland.

Author Ali Smith begins this series of essays on the Lord's Prayer. She focuses on the first lines, "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name".Five brilliant voices essay on different sections of the Lord's Prayer for our time. Author Ali Smith, Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies Mona Siddiqui, Rabbi Julia Neuberger, poet and undertaker Thomas Lynch and poet and author Andrew Motion examine each thought with a modern day searchlight, bringing theological knowledge, personal memory, poetic insight and imagination to an understanding of this prayer, murmured by millions every day. In all it's not even sixty words long and, as it appears in the Gospel according to Matthew, it's introduced by Jesus as a 'how to pray' guide: 'This then, is how you should pray". Today it's bound with the need to express our longing for a better world and something we all share, but what do these short lines mean and how do they help?Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.Producer, Kate Bland.

Critic Martin Gayford tells the stories of his encounters and friendships with leading jazz musicians as a fan, an amateur music promoter and, latterly, as a journalist.Martin describes his encounters with "miscreant grandfather substitute" pianist Jimmy Rowles. Rowles's varied musical career saw him achieve success as a solo artist and the vocal coach at the Hollywood studios, where he taught Marilyn Monroe how to sing.

Critic Martin Gayford tells the stories of his encounters and friendships with five leading jazz musicians as a fan, an amateur music promoter and, latterly, as a journalist.Martin recalls the lessons that he learnt from his two meetings, over the space of a 12 years, with the saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins. Martin travelled to New York in 2010 to interview him on the eve of a concert celebrating his 80th birthday, his life changed by the events of September 11th, when his lower Manhattan home was destroyed.

Critic Martin Gayford tells the stories of his encounters and friendships with leading jazz musicians as a fan, an amateur music promoter and, latterly, as a journalist.The American cornettist Ruby Braff had a fierce reputation for a bad temper and his scrapping with bandmates, but from his home in Cape Cod, he used to regularly call Martin for long, revealing telephone conversations.

Critic Martin Gayford tells the stories of his encounters and friendships with leading jazz musicians as a fan, an amateur music promoter and, latterly, as a journalist.The British pianist Marian McPartland found fame across the Atlantic, spending six decades at the heart of the swinging New York jazz scene and hosting a long-running National Public Radio programme. When Martin brought her to Cambridge for a concert, he reflected on their shared suburban upbringings.ii.

Critic Martin Gayford tells the stories of his encounters and friendships with leading jazz musicians as a fan, an amateur music promoter and, latterly, as a journalist.In this first programme, Martin recalls his meetings with Doc Cheatham, a trumpeter whose lengthy career spanned almost all recorded jazz. In an attempt to befriend one of his musical heroes, Martin booked the octogenarian Doc to play a gig in Cambridge. The tactic worked, when he embarked on a tour with Doc and found himself rooming with him in Soho. Here Doc told Martin his stories of playing in bands in Nashville, accompanying Billie Holiday, deputising for Louis Armstrong and becoming a celebrated solo artist in his own right. Producer Paul Smith, for Just Radio.

This week, various authors remember a significant swimming experience:5. Author and journalist Philip Hoare would avoid the water. He overcame his fear and started to swim everywhere. But what compelled him to jump into Southampton Water?Producer Duncan Minshull.

This week, various authors remember a significant swimming experience:4. Novelist Kamila Shamsie is with friends in Byron Bay, Australia. They stay on shore, she goes for a dip and before long something starts to 'pull' at her...Producer Duncan Minshull.

This week, five authors remember a favourite swimming experience:3. Musician and author Marcus O'Dair dons his wet suit and blazes a trail across blackish Ullswater in the Lake District, thinking of his strokes and other famous swimmers, and his mother swims with him too!Producer Duncan Minshull.

This week, various authors remember a significant swimming experience:2. Antonia Quirke enjoys a gentle dip in the South Pacific, but alludes to some darker waters of her childhood and also some swims in England's gravel pits. Plus, the ocean with Spielberg's Jaws in it is 40 years old this year...Producer Duncan Minshull.

This week, various authors remember a significant swimming experience:1. Novelist Christopher Hope describes a Pretoria swimming pool of his youth, where, if things got too much, he'd happily sink to the bottom and stay there a while. Letting things pass over him...Producer Duncan Minshull.

In the week leading up to our celebration of International Women's Day, a series of The Essay celebrating five women who have been unacknowledged movers and shakers in the world of classical music down the ages. Each of these women overcame societal expectations or personal adversity to have real influence on the music of their day, and subsequently ours.Betty Freeman was possibly the most influential patron of twentieth century classical music. From 1964 onwards, she gave a total of 413 grants and commissions for living expenses, compositions, recordings, performances and librettos to 81 artists. These include John Cage, Steve Reich, Robert Wilson and Peter Sellars and also younger composers such as Olga Neuwirth and Hans Peter Kyburz. An editor of BBC Music Magazine, Helen Wallace looks for the woman behind the list of names and discovers what drove her to play so formative a role in the lives of these great musicians.Produced by Simon RichardsonTo find out more about Radio 3's International Women's Day programming follow @BBCRadio3 and the hashtag #womensday.

In the week leading up to our celebration of International Women's Day, a series of The Essay celebrating five women who have been unacknowledged movers and shakers in the world of classical music down the ages. Each of these women overcame societal expectations or personal adversity to have real influence on the music of their day, and subsequently ours.We tend to remember William Ewart Gladstone as a reformer who wanted to pacify Ireland. We know that Queen Victoria preferred Disraeli's flattery to Gladstone's earnest lectures. And we've heard that this long-serving Prime Minister relaxed by cutting down trees on the Hawarden estate. What we don't imagine about this Grand Old Man is his sensuality. In fact, W.E. Gladstone was passionately musical and he owed much of the pleasure he gained from exploring his musical tastes, as well as the moral purpose he derived from it, to the influence of his daughter Mary. As Dr Phyllis Weliver explains, Mary was a pioneering Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, one who advised on ecclesiastical appointments with a strong bias towards those who shared her sense of the moral purpose of music. She was also a subtle master of 'soft diplomacy' in the way she brought music making to Downing Street and the heart of her father's government. Produced by Simon RichardsonTo find out more about Radio 3's International Women's Day programming follow @BBCRadio3 and the hashtag #womensday.

In the week leading up to our celebration of International Women's Day, a series of essays celebrating five women who have been unacknowledged movers and shakers in the world of classical music down the ages. Each of these women overcame societal expectations or personal adversity to have real influence on the music of their day, and subsequently ours.Leopoldine Wittgenstein is someone it's easy to overlook. Neurotic and shy, she stands in the shadow not just of her extraordinarily talented children, who include that giant of twentieth century philosophy, Ludwig Wittgenstein, but also of her overwhelming and dominant husband, Karl, who built himself up to become one of the wealthiest and most successful industrialists of the late Austro-Hungarian Empire. But Leopoldine, or Poldy, as she was known in the family, was an exceptionally gifted pianist. And she presided over one of the most important and glittering musical salons in fin de siècle Vienna, attended not just by Hanslick, but by Brahms, Mahler and Richard Strauss. Bethany Bell, the BBC's Vienna Correspondent, takes to the streets of the modern city on the trail of this most misunderstood woman. Produced by Simon RichardsonTo find out more about Radio 3's International Women's Day programming follow @BBCRadio3 and the hashtag #womensday.

In the week leading up to our celebration of International Women's Day, a series of essays celebrating five women who have been unacknowledged movers and shakers in the world of classical music down the ages. Each of these women overcame societal expectations or personal adversity to have real influence on the music of their day, and subsequently ours.Lady Maud Warrender was a respected performer, and one of the most influential patrons of music in the early twentieth century, all while living with her lesbian lover, the opera singer Marcia Van Dresser. Her life, lived very much in the public gaze, but with whole areas that were kept so discreetly private that it is hard to find any concrete information, was an example of a tightrope successfully and deftly trodden - a perilous path between respectability and scandal.Dr Kate Kennedy tells the story of this extraordinary woman who wielded more power in the musical world than many male professional concert promoters put together.Produced by Simon RichardsonTo find out more about Radio 3's International Women's Day programming follow @BBCRadio3 and the hashtag #womensday.

In the week leading up to our celebration of International Women's Day, a series of essays celebrating five women who have been unacknowledged movers and shakers in the world of classical music down the ages. Each of these women overcame societal expectations or personal adversity to have real influence on the music of their day, and subsequently ours.Nadezhda von Meck was 46 and had recently lost her husband when she first wrote to Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, who was in his mid-thirties, asking the rising star for some pieces to be played at her country house. Money followed in a registered envelope - an amount so big that it slightly embarrassed - but also dazzled - him. And that payment was only the start. For the 13 years that followed, Madame von Meck kept the composer in grand style.But the money came, and kept coming, on one condition: that the composer and his benefactor should never meet.Author and journalist Vanora Bennett, the eldest daughter of the flute player William Bennett and the cellist Rhuna Martin, tells the fascinating story of one woman's single-minded dedication to a cause she passionately believed in. Produced by Simon RichardsonTo find out more about Radio 3's International Women's Day programming follow @BBCRadio3 and the hashtag #womensday.

Fear is one of the six basic universal emotions (the others are anger, disgust, happiness, sadness and surprise) and like all human emotions not easy to understand. Fear can be played upon, enjoyed, conquered. It is an obstacle to progress ("the only thing to fear is fear itself") and, as we stand at the kerb, it saves our lives every day. This series of The Essay brings you five essays on different aspects of fear.At first sight it appears that fear can be understood in a straightforward way as an adaptive response, promoting behaviour to protect us from threats to life and limb. In humans, however, the biological givens are invariably transformed and serve ends not envisaged in biology.Physician and philosopher Raymond Tallis explores the uniqueness of human fear, how it is rooted in the distinctive nature of human as opposed to animal consciousness, and how it is often led by thought and imagination. He considers why, seemingly perversely, we might enjoy cultivating fear through stories and games.Producer Laura Thomas.

Fear is one of the six basic universal emotions (the others are anger, disgust, happiness, sadness and surprise) and like all human emotions not easy to understand. Fear can be played upon, enjoyed, conquered. It is an obstacle to progress ("the only thing to fear is fear itself") and, as we stand at the kerb, it saves our lives every day. This series of The Essay brings you five essays on different aspects of fear.Author and animal scientist Temple Grandin tells the story of how, in 1949, she was diagnosed with autism at aged two. Autism was not always well understood at the time, but Grandin's mother refused to accept the notion that her daughter could never participate in mainstream society. Grandin has since become a leading advocate for autistic people, explaining the role fear and anxiety plays in their condition and how they those feelings can be managed. Her experience of fear has also given her a unique insight into animal welfare, and led her to campaign for improved animal rights and care of livestock.Producer Laura Thomas.

Fear is one of the six basic universal emotions (the others are anger, disgust, happiness, sadness and surprise) and like all human emotions not easy to understand. Fear can be played upon, enjoyed, conquered. It is an obstacle to progress ("the only thing to fear is fear itself") and, as we stand at the kerb, it saves our lives every day. This series of The Essay brings you five essays on different aspects of fear.Professor Quentin Skinner of Queen Mary University of London tells the story of how 17th century British philosopher Thomas Hobbes came to believe that "fear and I were twin born" and to write fear into the heart of his political philosophy, arguing that it underpins all human motivation and action.Producer Laura Thomas.

Fear is one of the six basic universal emotions (the others are anger, disgust, happiness, sadness and surprise) and like all human emotions not easy to understand. Fear can be played upon, enjoyed, conquered. It is an obstacle to progress ("the only thing to fear is fear itself") and, as we stand at the kerb, it saves our lives every day. This series of The Essay brings you five essays on different aspects of fear.Kier-La Janisse is a writer and the Founder of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, and reflects on how educational films like Dark and Lonely Water, The Finishing Line and Signal 30 have scared more children more deeply than any horror feature film, and explains how - in mid-twentieth century America - fear was exploited to create an educational film boom.Producer Laura Thomas.

Fear is one of the six basic universal emotions (the others are anger, disgust, happiness, sadness and surprise) and like all human emotions not easy to understand. Fear can be played upon, enjoyed, conquered. It is an obstacle to progress ("the only thing to fear is fear itself") and, as we stand at the kerb, it saves our lives every day. This series of The Essay brings you five essays on different aspects of fear.Tonight writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet uncovers the tragic history of The Little Albert Experiment, conducted by John B Watson, a 1920s psychologist who conditioned a toddler to recoil from a white rat and, eventually, any white fluffy object.Producer Laura Thomas.

You won't find this photograph in a glossy coffee table book. It's not art and the person who took it doesn't feature in the Photographers Hall of Fame. But this picture has had an enormous impact on our legal system. In 1866 a butcher sat for his photograph in the remote town of Wagga Wagga, Australia. Three years later this likeness had Britain transfixed. Jennifer Tucker tells the story of how it was central to the longest legal battle in 19th-century England, and sparked a debate about evidence, the law, ethics and facial recognition that has continued ever since.Jennifer Tucker is Associate Professor of History and Science in Society at Wesleyan University, USA.Producer: Rosie Dawson.

You won't find this photograph in a glossy coffee table book. It's not art and the person who took it doesn't feature in the Photographers Hall of Fame. But this picture has had an enormous impact on the way Britain sees what has come to be known as its cultural heritage.The man who took the photo, W. Jerome Harrison, launched a scheme for recording the country's past in which amateur photographers up and down the land took pictures of the buildings which were important them. Wiki-buildings and English Heritage do this now on a much grander scale. But Elizabeth Edwards argues that the mass participation of people in defining what matters about the past began with Harrison, and changed the way in which a nation viewed itself.Elizabeth Edwards is Research Professor of Photographic History and Director of the Photographic History Research Centre at De Montfort University, Leicester.Producer: Rosie Dawson.

The Dogon. Jeanne Haffner on how aerial photography changed the spaces we live in.You won't find this photograph in a glossy coffee table book. It's not art and the person who took it doesn't feature in the Photographers Hall of Fame. But this picture has had an enormous impact on the organisation of our living spaces. The birds-eye photograph of the Dogon tribe working their fields in Mali was taken by the French Africanist Marcel Griaule. He'd trained in aerial photography during the First World War and he argued that the Dogon landscape, seen from the air, revealed the patterns and secrets of the lives of its inhabitants, patterns which could teach Western city planners and architects how to build a happier society.Jeanne Haffner is lecturer in the Department of History and Science at Harvard University.Producer: Rosie Dawson.

You won't find this photograph in a glossy coffee table book. It's not art and the person who took it doesn't feature in the Photographers Hall of Fame. But this picture has had an enormous impact on our world. Today high-resolution photographs of nebulae or galaxies saturate our culture to such an extent that they are almost kitsch. But when Henry Draper took the very first pictures of a nebula in 1880 it was one of the greatest achievements of photography. Omar Nasim tells the story of how this photograph defied the imagination and raised questions not just about the size of the universe but about the very origins of humanity.Omar Nasim is lecturer in the School of History at the University of Kent.Producer: Rosie Dawson.

You won't find this photograph in a glossy coffee table book. It's not art and the person who took it doesn't feature in the Photographers Hall of Fame. But this picture has had an enormous impact on the world of medicine and our relationship with our bodies. The photograph of Anna Bertha Ludwig Rontgen's left hand taken in 1896 astounded the scientific world and alarmed the public. For the scientists it signalled the beginning of medical radiography. For the public it gave rise to fears about intrusion and privacy in much the same way as the introduction of the TSA body scanner did in 2007. From medical imaging to airport security, Kelley Wilder shows how X-ray photography changed the world.Kelley Wilder is Reader in Photographic History, De Montfort University, LeicesterProducer: Rosie Dawson.

Writers, painters and other practitioners re-visit an early piece of work. And tell us what they think about it now:5. Roger Michell, director of such films as Notting Hill and Hyde Park on Hudson, describes working for the BBC in the 1980's. He was fresh out of theatre, and making his first drama was a huge challenge - aesthetically and technically..

Writers, painters and other practitioners re-visit an early piece of work. And tell us what they think about it now:4. After deciphering some vivid dreams, singer-songwriter Stephen Coates formed a band called The Real Tuesday Weld. He also descended the depths to an underground river in London and this, too, helped with the band's formation..Producer Duncan Minshull.

Writers, painters and other practitioners re-visit an early piece of work. And tell us what they think about it now..3. Actress Janet Suzman was cast as an unknown to play Alexandra in a film about the Romanovs. It was called 'Nicholas and Alexandra', and it meant hello Hollywood! But if she watches herself as Russian royalty these days, what's her response?Producer Duncan Minshull.

Writers, painters and other practitioners re-visit an early piece of work. And tell us what they think about it now:2. Writer and painter Harland Miller ran a studio in New York in the early '90s, and was once mesmerised by a strange sign in a cafe. He made some notes about it - then realised his visual sense and love of word-play began to feed off each other...Producer Duncan Minshull.

Writers, painters and other practitioners re-visit an early piece of work. And tell us what they think about it now:1. Novelist Deborah Moggach wrote her first book in Pakistan, 38 years ago, and her heroine was a rebellious student called Laura. Now, who could that be based upon?Producer Duncan Minshull.

The grim, concrete forts and pillboxes of the east coast of England may seem a far cry from the romantic ruins of Britain's medieval castles. But as writer Ken Worpole argues, they have earned their place in the East Anglian landscape, and should be both preserved, and treasured as reminders of our past, just as much as ivy-clad castles and castle ruins from the high middle ages. As somebody who was born in wartime in a castle (his mother was a refugee from the East End) it was perhaps inevitable that Ken would be drawn to play as a child in the redundant forts of Essex, where his imagination could roam riot - unlike the out-of-bounds medieval castle down the road! But the link with medieval castles isn't coincidental. The architecture of many of these forts (and the architecture of the Martello towers constructed to defend the coast during the Napoleonic wars) builds on the legacy of medieval military design, and in turn would go on to influence brutalist architecture of the 1950s onwards. In France, such military structures as the Atlantic Wall, are stark reminders of an era many would prefer to forget, and there have been calls for these concrete 'monstrosities' to be removed from the landscape. But, as Worpole argues, this would the equivalent of removing medieval castles from the landscape. The power of ruins resides in their ability to set the imagination free, and at the same time grounding people in the reality of past lives, and of earlier generations' hopes and tribulations.

Very often the visitor to a medieval castle in Britain is confronted with a mass of information and interpretation about the military activities of the men who inhabited these spaces, but very little about the women. Archaeologist Prof. Roberta Gilchcrist is keen to correct this imbalance, and argues that traditional interpretations of castles ignore the gendered spaces - the gardens, the apartments, the kitchens where female servants cooked, or indeed the adjoining parklands where aristocratic women occasionally hunted. There is abundant evidence that women gave birth in castles, and also had a hand in interior design, improving both plumbing and décor. Moreover, some women played a key role in the defence of medieval castles, in the absence of the lord. Archaeological research suggests women definitely did have a place in British castle history.

The walls of Kenilworth Castle, situated at the heart of England, might have seemed practically impregnable to the men defending them. And yet, as Dr Benjamin Wild argues in tonight's essay, the mightiest of fortresses was of little more account than a mere folly when men pursued force and fanfare at the expense of political relationships. In 1266 a somewhat humiliated Henry III laid siege to this red sandstone medieval mega-structure, determined to reassert his authority over his upstart subjects. Although the defiant rebels were few in number, they were in a position to taunt Henry. The King, in turn, had to use all the dark arts of propaganda to counter this public relations disaster. He tried to cut a dash in a fancy and highly impractical tunic, and attempted to taunt the starving rebels with the sights and smells of food - including an entire whale with which to feast his troops! Add to that the attempt to enlist the power of religion, by excommunicating the rebels, the siege undoubtedly exhibited elements of farce, as well as the latest in deadly weaponry. But when finally, after 172 days, the rebels submitted to royal authority there was one lesson to be learnt: that no wall, however.

It is generally conceded that, following his triumphant conquest of Wales, Edward I ordered to be constructed some of the finest castles in Britain. But who exactly designed them? And who managed this massive construction project? In general, little is known about the lives and careers of medieval master masons - the equivalent of today's architects. However, as architectural historian Dr Nicola Coldstream argues, we are fortunate in the case of these particular castles to be able to follow the careers of two men in particular: Master James of Savoy, and Master Hugh of Chester. In recent years, much has been made of Master James' architectural genius, a man drafted in from the continent to help bring Edward's project into being. However, as Dr Coldstream argues, Master James' knowledge has been exaggerated. Instead, it appears more likely that his genius lay more in project management than in castle design. Not that that was any lesser task: overseeing various building sites, where thousands of craftsmen were deployed, was no sinecure. There is little doubt that the King valued both James' and Hugh's efforts: they were privileged to have audience with the king, and it is possible that Edward had some involvement in the design of the castles by which he would seal his conquest of the Welsh people.

In the Fall and Rise of the British Castle, five writers reflect on the continuing power of the castles, which still dominate not only large sections of the British landscape, but also large areas of our imagination.In this first of the series, historian Professor Jeremy Black gives an overall view of the castle as an instrument of power and control, built to withstand siege warfare - a lesson which, by the eighteenth century, had been all but forgotten. At the height of the Jacobite Rebellion one Scottish lord had cause to regret having removed the iron bars from his castle windows, and weakening the walls by adding graceful wings to his residence. Would his stone residence survive the onslaught of the rebels? As Professor Black argues, he had forgotten the primary function of a castle, namely to to maintain the rule of force and government in Britain. Castles, whether built of timber, or stone, or both, were intended to promote a powerful symbol of authority over society. That they came to be built throughout the British Isles was the result of a remarkable public-private partnership - although as later events would show, it was never wise for monarchs, or governments, to entrust too much power into private hands. Britain's fortifications would eventually be monopolised by the state, who by the eighteenth century set greater store by the Royal Navy than by stone walls.

Actor and playwright Lolita Chakrabarti explains how "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens affected her at a pivotal moment in her life. She first came across the novel at the age of 15, as a set text at school. Dickens's account of the French Revolution mirrored the tumult of the politics of the mid-1980s, while his narrative seized her imagination. "He paints pictures with words succinctly and with no pretension. He tells a cracking story, has a great sense of humour and creates credible, compelling characters," she says. The novel's portrayal of personality influenced her acting, leading her to search for the emotional impulse motivating each character. No wonder she still keeps her original paperback copy: "Many of the pages are loose, but I'm loath to throw it away because this book opened a door for me." Producer: Smita Patel.

Journalist and writer Jon Ronson explains the electrifying effect of reading Jonathan Coe's "What a Carve Up!" He first came across the satirical novel as a care-free nightclubber in his 20s. "It politicized me in a way," Ronson says, making him "understand that big politics affect those of us down here just trying to shuffle our way through life". He was horrified and fascinated by the Winshaws, the grotesque family at the centre of the book, who typify the excesses of the Thatcher years. Ronson says the book was a deep influence on his own writing. "I wanted to pass on to my own readers the great revelation I'd learned from 'What A Carve Up!' - that powerful, crazy people affect our lives in ways we barely notice." Producer: Smita Patel.

Jude Kelly, the artistic director of Southbank Centre, describes how "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott mirrored her own experiences growing up in a lively Liverpool home. Like the March family, Kelly grew up surrounded by sisters, and with a father who was often absent. She was inspired by the way Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy grew throughout the novel. "Each daughter is tested against her own frailties and foibles to see if she can become a woman of substance in her own terms ... and I wanted to be a woman of substance too," she says. And the book helped her come to terms with the loss of her baby sister Caroline of multiple sclerosis. "Maybe this is the biggest influence 'Little Women' had on me. It made me think about death as an inevitable part of our lives. Producer: Smita Patel.

The legendary singer-songwriter Steve Earle describes how Truman Capote's true-life murder story, "In Cold Blood", captured his imagination as a 12-year-old boy. He first encountered the tale - a dramatic account of a multiple killing in Kansas - in the film version, shown at a local drive-in movie house. "I had to find a copy of that book and read it for myself," he says, stealing the volume from his mother's handbag and devouring it over the next couple of days. Capote's story inspired his decades-long campaign against the death penalty. And the book led him to feel empathy for the killers at the centre of the tale, thanks to "the power of intellect and humanity flowing from heart to hand to pen to page." Producer: Smita Patel.

Writer Polly Coles reads So Near to Venice, the last of her essays about some of the ways in which Venetians and others have adapted to live in 21st-century Venice. Moving to Venice with her family for several years gave her a resident's view of a city she loves and despairs of in equal measure. Once the most cosmopolitan city in Europe, nowadays it seems little more than a stage-set for the tourist industry. But Venice will always be more than the most idealized city in the world.In this edition, Polly looks at the invisible residents of Venice who service the millions of tourists who descend on the city each year.Written and performed by Polly Coles Producer: Melanie Harris Sparklab Productions.

Writer Polly Coles reads The Writing on the Wall, the third of her essays about some of the ways in which Venetians and others have adapted to live in 21st-century Venice - one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In tonight?s essay, Polly argues that the recent Biennale fashion of rigging up neon strips of random text around the city Venice is nothing new in city that has always been written upon - in every sense of the phrase.Written and performed by Polly Coles Producer: Melanie Harris Sparklab Productions.

Writer Polly Coles reads Tinseltown, the second of her essays about some of the ways in which Venetians and others have adapted to live in 21st-century Venice - one of the most acclaimed cities in the world. Moving to Venice with her family for several years gave her a resident's view of a city she loves and despairs of in equal measure. Once the most cosmopolitan city in Europe, nowadays it seems little more than a stage-set for the tourist industry. But Venice will always be more than the most idealized city in the world.In this edition, Polly looks at the impact of celebrity on Venice, suggesting it's a familiar phenomenon for Venetians down the centuries.Written and performed by Polly Coles Producer: Melanie Harris Sparklab Productions.

Writer Polly Coles reads At Home, the first of her essays about some of the ways in which Venetians and others have adapted to live in 21st-century Venice - one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Moving to Venice with her family for several years gave her a resident's view of a city she loves and despairs of in equal measure. Once the most cosmopolitan city in Europe, nowadays it seems little more than a stage-set for the tourist industry. But Venice will always be more than the most idealized city in the world.In this essay, Polly looks at what home and house mean to different types of Venetian residents in modern day Venice. From the aristocrat in her Palazzo to the stowaway Moldovan in a broom cupboard, she wonders if anyone can survive in Venice without the tourist dollar.Written and performed by Polly Coles Producer: Melanie Harris Sparklab Productions.

Tom Shakespeare challenges stereotypical ideas about creativity and disability, by celebrating a selection of disabled artists, discussing how their impairments fuelled their genius and demonstrating the variety and achievement of disabled lives.Lucy Jones may well be the best British painter you've never heard of. There is no doubt about her disability, because she was born with cerebral palsy. But she has no intention of identifying as a disabled artist. Cerebral palsy and dyslexia and depression are part of her biography, but they're not on the label for the artwork, any more than being a woman or living in Ludlow should define her or explain what she does. She wants her portraits to offer a universal comment on humanity.

Tom Shakespeare challenges stereotypical ideas about creativity and disability, by celebrating a selection of disabled artists, discussing how their impairments fuelled their genius and demonstrating the variety and achievement of disabled lives.What comes to mind when you think of disability? Perhaps the child born with a genetic condition, or the person in the prime of life who becomes spinal-cord injured. But only 5% of children and only 10% of working age adults are disabled. The majority of people become disabled in later life, and artists are no exception. In this programme,Tom Shakespeare discusses how the lives of three artists - the painters Goya, Klee and Matisse - show how restriction created by ageing or disease can open up new creative possibilities.

Tom Shakespeare challenges stereotypical ideas about creativity and disability, by celebrating five disabled artists, discussing how their impairments fuelled their genius and demonstrating the variety and achievement of disabled lives.The visionary Brazilian sculptor Arthur Bispo do Rosario spent fifty years of his life on a Rio de Janeiro psychiatric ward, and did not even think of himself as an artist. Born in Japaratuba on the east coast of Brazil, the descendent of African slaves, he was exposed to a strongly religious culture and to the hybrid traditions of folk art. He'd been a sailor and an odd-job man when, in 1938, he had a vision of angels bathed in light. He felt that the Virgin Mary had guided him to record the universe in visual form, in preparation for the Day of Judgement. The same year, he was hospitalized for treatment for paranoid schizophrenia. For Bispo do Rosario, this creative outpouring was a spiritual, not an artistic task: he saw it as his duty to prepare for the Last Judgement. Bispo do Rosario's work is reminiscent of surrealism, of the ready-mades of Marcel Duchamp, of the fabric creations of Louise Bourgeois, the solitary confinement of Kurt Schwitters: all the more extraordinary in that Bispo do Rosario was entirely self-taught, worked in an artistic vacuum, and generated all this extraordinary art through his own originality and imagination.Producer: Martin Williams.

Tom Shakespeare challenges stereotypical ideas about creativity and disability, by celebrating five disabled artists, discussing how their impairments fuelled their genius and demonstrating the variety and achievement of disabled lives.Bryan Pearce, a painter from St Ives in Cornwall, was one of the very few people with learning disability who has achieved fame in their own right. He was born with the metabolic disorder Phenylketonuria. Today, all children are tested at birth for PKU, and if they have the genetic mutation, are placed on a special diet, and so grow up unaffected. In 1929, the condition was unknown, and as a result, Bryan Pearce experienced intellectual impairment and other health problems. As a teenager, Bryan was encouraged by his mother and other artists to paint. His obvious talent meant that he attended the St Ives School of Painting during his twenties. Although he painted slowly, producing perhaps one picture a month, he had a long and very successful career, exhibiting throughout the UK. Bryan Pearce was limited in his ability to learn and communicate verbally. But alongside his deficits was a huge talent to see and communicate through art. As he said to his mother: "What would I do if I didn't paint? What would I do?"Producer: Martin Williams.