The Essay Episodes Available now
Antonia Quirke—Swimming Stories
2/5 Antonia Quirke describes a dip in the south Pacific that reminded her of darker waters.
Christopher Hope—Swimming Stories
1/5 Christopher Hope describes swimming in outdoor pools in Pretoria during his youth.
Betty Freeman—Classical Music's Unsung Heroines
5/5 Helen Wallace on Betty Freeman, perhaps the greatest patron of modern classical music.
Mary Gladstone—Classical Music's Unsung Heroines
4/5 Discussing Mary Gladstone, daughter of William, who brought music to Downing Street.
Leopoldine Wittgenstein—Classical Music's Unsung Heroines
3/5 Bethany Bell on the life of Leopoldine Wittgenstein, host of a Viennese musical salon.
Lady Maud Warrender—Classical Music's Unsung Heroines
2/5 Kate Kennedy tells the story of Lady Maud Warrender, an aristocrat and patron of music.
Nadezhda von Meck—Classical Music's Unsung Heroines
1/5 Vanora Bennett on Tchaikovsky's generous benefactor, who refused to ever meet the composer
Raymond Tallis—Fear Itself
5/5 Raymond Tallis explains how human fear is often led by thought and imagination.
Temple Grandin—Fear Itself
4/5 Temple Grandin considers the role fear and anxiety plays in autistic people's lives.
Quentin Skinner—Fear Itself
3/5 How Thomas Hobbes came to argue that fear underpinned all human motivation and action.
