A Point of View

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.

Radio 4,839 episodes

Episodes

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Faking It
Roger Scruton muses on the difference between genuine art and that based on fake emotion.
05 Dec 2014,10 mins
Thinking the Unthinkable
John Gray argues that 'thinking the unthinkable' means exaggerating fashionable beliefs.
28 Nov 2014,10 mins
Dostoevsky and Dangerous Ideas
John Gray points to lessons from the novels of Dostoevsky about the danger of ideas.
21 Nov 2014,10 mins
Soylent and the Charm of the Fast Lane
John Gray explores why human beings crave busy lives.
14 Nov 2014,10 mins
Capitalism and the Myth of Social Evolution
John Gray reflects on why the advance of capitalism is not inevitable.
07 Nov 2014,10 mins
Cures for Anxiety
Adam Gopnik identifies four different types of anxiety that afflict modern people.
31 Oct 2014,10 mins
A Lesson from Love Locks
Adam Gopnik draws a lesson on the nature of love from the eyesore of love locks in Paris.
24 Oct 2014,10 mins
The Football Fallacy
Adam Gopnik explains why the English are better at watching football than at playing it.
17 Oct 2014,10 mins
Dying with Dignity
Adam Gopnick thinks we fail all too often to let people die with dignity.
10 Oct 2014,10 mins
Short and Successful
Adam Gopnik thinks there is a simple reason why short men enjoy stable marriages.
03 Oct 2014,10 mins
Keeping Time
Lisa Jardine reflects on the history of timepieces and the power of clocks and watches.
26 Sep 2014,10 mins
Red Dress Sense
Red may be now fashionable, but in the past it was powerful, reflects Lisa Jardine.
19 Sep 2014,10 mins
The Horror of War
Lisa Jardine says commemorating a war should not mean losing sight of its horror.
12 Sep 2014,10 mins
When fiction comes to the historian's rescue
Lisa Jardine on how fiction can be more useful than fact in helping us understand the past
05 Sep 2014,10 mins
Why Orwell Is the Supreme Mediocrity
Will Self takes on one of the nation's best-loved figures, George Orwell.
29 Aug 2014,10 mins
What's Funny?
Will Self reflects on comedy, asking what really makes us laugh.
22 Aug 2014,10 mins
The Affliction of Consumption
Will Self reflects on the power of modern-day consumption and the effect it has on us.
15 Aug 2014,10 mins
Believing in Beliefs
Will Self offers a weekly reflection on a topical issue.
08 Aug 2014,10 mins
The Changing Nature of Utopias
Will Self reflects on what the changing nature of utopias says about us.
01 Aug 2014,10 mins
Is patriotism the last refuge of the scoundrel?
Will Self reflects on what really lies behind our sense of patriotism.
25 Jul 2014,10 mins
Believing in reason is childish
John Gray argues that the belief in human reason is more 'childish' than religious faith.
18 Jul 2014,10 mins
Isis: A modern revolutionary force?
John Gray argues that the Sunni extremist group Isis is revolutionary, not reactionary.
11 Jul 2014,10 mins
To See Ourselves
AL Kennedy explores the downsides of personal and national introspection.
04 Jul 2014,10 mins
Battling the Botnets
AL Kennedy asks if it is time for us to rethink our devotion to computers.
27 Jun 2014,10 mins
If You Haven't Got Anything Nice to Say...
AL Kennedy argues for a world with less gossip.
20 Jun 2014,10 mins
No Burning Required
As libraries close, AL Kennedy argues that we must reassess the importance of books.
13 Jun 2014,10 mins
Bring Back the Heptarchy!
Tom Shakespeare asks if England should consider returning to an earlier order.
06 Jun 2014,10 mins
Should we be frightened of disability?
Tom Shakespeare argues that we have nothing to fear from disability.
30 May 2014,10 mins
Why we should be religious but not spiritual
Tom Shakespeare argues that we should be religious but not spiritual.
23 May 2014,10 mins
Testing Times
Mary Beard reflects on exam season - past and present.
16 May 2014,10 mins