A Point of View

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.

Radio 4,839 episodes

Episodes

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The War with Words
Bernardine Evaristo on news that Girl, Woman, Other may be banned in some US schools.
13 May 2022,9 mins
Basic Instincts in the House of Commons
Sarah Dunant takes the temperature of sexual equality in politics.
06 May 2022,9 mins
Reconsidering Cannabis and the Law
Will Self proposes a very British solution to the legalisation of marijuana.
01 May 2022,9 mins
The Unlistened-to Story
Howard Jacobson on why stories of truth in war cannot be ignored.
22 Apr 2022,9 mins
What is a Woman?
Zoe Strimpel asks the simple-yet-complex question, 'what is a woman?'
15 Apr 2022,9 mins
A View From Russia: All I Have To Say
The everyday repression of life in Russia, as seen by an anonymous dissident playwright.
08 Apr 2022,9 mins
Helpless
A L Kennedy reflects on a 1950s experiment in inducing despair.
01 Apr 2022,9 mins
Tolstoy in Our Time
Adam Gopnik seeks enlightenment for our time in Tolstoy's War and Peace.
25 Mar 2022,9 mins
Every Picture Tells a Story
Sarah Dunant on the power of images in war.
18 Mar 2022,9 mins
There Are No Words
Rebecca Stott on conversations with her Russian friend.
11 Mar 2022,9 mins
Return of the Bomb
Will Self argues that the threat of a nuclear apocalypse has never really gone away.
04 Mar 2022,9 mins
It's Not Their War
Sara Wheeler says that the attack on Ukraine is not the war of Russians she has known.
25 Feb 2022,9 mins
An Ecological Reparation
John Connell on planting trees on his family farm as reparation for years of flying.
18 Feb 2022,9 mins
Selective Vision
Sara Wheeler reflects on the harm done by seeing only from our own point of view.
11 Feb 2022,9 mins
Misopedia
Will Self deplores the British attitude to children, mixing sentimentality with cruelty
04 Feb 2022,9 mins
Leaving the Ivory Tower
As she leaves academia, Rebecca Stott says an audit culture is stifling universities.
28 Jan 2022,9 mins
The Right Side of History
Sarah Dunant asks if we should judge the past by the standards of the present - or future.
21 Jan 2022,9 mins
Etonian Lives Matter... but not as much as they used to.
David Goodhart rejects what he calls the 'Eton conspiracy myth'.
14 Jan 2022,9 mins
On Rapid Home Delivery
Zoe Strimpel reflects on the impact of rapid home delivery on the way we live our lives.
07 Jan 2022,9 mins
On lost souls... and mobile phones
Adam Gopnik on the quest for lost souls.
31 Dec 2021,9 mins
The Sea at Christmas
Howard Jacobson stares out to sea....and ponders the 'mysterious nexus of sea and Santa'.
24 Dec 2021,9 mins
A Sense of Home
Will Self on our fetishisation of property.
17 Dec 2021,9 mins
I Read the News Today, Oh Boy
Sarah Dunant discusses living on a cusp of history.
10 Dec 2021,9 mins
But Does it Matterhorn?
Sara Wheeler reflects on why place names matter.
03 Dec 2021,9 mins
More Questions Than Answers
Tom Shakespeare on University Challenge and a starter for ten.
26 Nov 2021,9 mins
Annoying
AL Kennedy on why everything these days is... annoying.
19 Nov 2021,9 mins
The Child Question
Zoe Strimpel on the binary choice of motherhood.
12 Nov 2021,9 mins
The Eve of Destruction
Sarah Dunant reflects on political will and its relationship to changing behaviour.
05 Nov 2021,9 mins
Car Hatred
Will Self on motor-mania.
29 Oct 2021,9 mins
Two Small Scandals
Adam Gopnik poses the question: Do you have a right to make my life into your art?
22 Oct 2021,9 mins