Arts & Ideas Podcast
Leading thinkers discuss the ideas shaping our lives – looking back at the news and making links between past and present. Broadcast as Free Thinking, Fridays at 9pm on BBC Radio 4. Presented by Matthew Sweet, Shahidha Bari and Anne McElvoy.
Episodes to download
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Free Thinking - Michael Lewis.
Thu 9 Mar 2017
The New York Times bestselling author is in conversation with Matthew Sweet.
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Free Thinking: Neglected Women: Lady Mary Wroth, Margaret Cavendish, Charlotte Robinson.
Wed 8 Mar 2017
Author Tracy Chevalier and new academic research into women forgotten from history.
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Free Thinking: Landmark: Machiavelli's The Prince
Tue 7 Mar 2017
Sarah Dunant, Erica Benner, MP Gisela Stuart and Catherine Fletcher with Philip Dodd.
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Free Thinking - Neil Jordan, Flat Time House, Teletubbies
Thu 2 Mar 2017
Author Neil Jordan in a hall of mirrors and artist Laure Prouvost on Flat Time House
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Free Thinking: India/Pakistan: Mohsin Hamid. Gurinder Chadha's Viceroy's House. Preti Taneja and Sam Goodman
Wed 1 Mar 2017
Anne McElvoy and guests look back at 1947, the end of empire and refugees travelling now.
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Free Thinking - Japan Now Festival at the British Library.
Tue 28 Feb 2017
Christopher Harding talks to writers Alex Kerr, Yoko Tawada and filmmaker Momoko Ando.
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Free Thinking: 'Play' in urban design, Gillian Allnutt
Thu 23 Feb 2017
Philip Dodd considers the importance of 'play' in the way our city centres are designed.
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Soil Stories Old and New
Wed 22 Feb 2017
Elizabeth-Jane Burnett, Jules Pretty, Andrew Scott, Philip Coupland, Matthew Kelly
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Free Thinking - Shakespeare in cartoons; Jess Phillips; Sidney Nolan's Australian legends.
Tue 21 Feb 2017
Anne McElvoy talks to cartoonists and curators about creating memorable images.
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Free Thinking: Hull: A trip down memory lane.
Thu 16 Feb 2017
Basil Kirchin's Hull, Richard Bean's Civil War play and the re-opened Ferens Art Gallery.
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Free Thinking: Martin Luther- fundamentalist reactionary or enlightened creator of our modern world
Thu 16 Feb 2017
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Ulinka Rublack and Peter Stanford discuss Martin Luther
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Free Thinking: Paolozzi; Daniel Dennett
Wed 15 Feb 2017
Philip Dodd looks at the art of Paolozzi and talks consciousness with Daniel Dennett.
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Rude Valentines. Neil Gaiman, Translating China's Arts
Tue 14 Feb 2017
Neil Gaiman talks Norse myths with Rana Mitter. And a look at the ugly side of Valentines
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Free Thinking: Professor Paul Gilroy
Thu 9 Feb 2017
Philip Dodd is in extended conversation about culture & race with Professor Paul Gilroy.
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Free Thinking: Robots, and an Icelandic Dracula
Wed 8 Feb 2017
Matthew Sweet meets Eric the UK's first robot, built in 1928 now at the Science Museum.
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Free Thinking: Russian Art and Revolution
Tue 7 Feb 2017
Dolya Gavanski, Stephen Smith, Victor Sebestyen, Charlotte Hobson and Anne McElvoy.
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Borders: On the ground, on the map, in the mind
Thu 2 Feb 2017
From Ireland to Turkey, from soldiering to walking to photographing - with Anne McElvoy.
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Free Thinking: Anger and friendships with Pankaj Mishra and Elif Shafak.
Wed 1 Feb 2017
Novelist Elif Shafak, US magazine editor Julius Krein, Douglas Murray and Pankaj Mishra.
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Free Thinking - Caribbean Culture.
Tue 31 Jan 2017
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, Colin Grant and Kei Miller discuss the Caribbean with Matthew Sweet
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Free Thinking: Yaa Gyasi. Daniel Levitin. Peter Bazalgette, James Bartholomew on Clarity, Civility and Strong States.
Thu 26 Jan 2017
Tooling a stronger civil society plus a novel on Slavery on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Davos Discussions. Shobana Jeyasingh. New Generation Thinker Seán Williams
Thu 26 Jan 2017
Anne McElvoy explores topics discussed at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum
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Free Thinking: Oscar Nominations; T2 Trainspotting; Denial
Tue 24 Jan 2017
Matthew Sweet and guests consider film making in 2017.
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Free Thinking - Victorian Bodies, Citizens of Everywhere
Thu 19 Jan 2017
Rana Mitter talks Victorian bodies and looks at the Citizens of Everywhere arts project.
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Free Thinking - The influence of the British Black Art movement.
Tue 17 Jan 2017
Artists Sonia Boyce, Isaac Julien, Eddie Chambers and Harold Offeh talk to Anne McElvoy.
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Free Thinking: The War of the Worlds sequel, Eimear McBride
Tue 17 Jan 2017
Matthew Sweet talks to Stephen Baxter about his sequel to HG Wells's novel.
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Free Thinking - Chibundu Onuzo; Nadeem Aslam. Lockwood Kipling's art.
Thu 12 Jan 2017
Anne McElvoy reads novels set in Pakistan and Nigeria; plus Lockwood Kipling art teacher.
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Free Thinking: La La Land and Hollywood - past and present
Wed 11 Jan 2017
Matthew Sweet and guests consider Hollywood's obsession with Hollywood.
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Free Thinking: Patriotism: The Union Jack
Fri 23 Dec 2016
Afua Hirsch, Graham Bartram, John Bew, Ash Sarkar & Andrew Rosindell join Anne McElvoy.
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Free Thinking: The Arts of Running
Thu 22 Dec 2016
Artists Kai Syng Tan and Angus Farquhar join Hayden Lorimer and Vybarr Cregan-Reid.
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Free Thinking: Calling to Account: Bronwen Maddox, Margaret Hodge, Matthew Parris.
Fri 16 Dec 2016
Are public enquiries good government? Plus Matthew Parris on scorn. Anne McElvoy presents
