Landmarks
Key films, books, TV, plays, art: 1001 Nights – 2001 A Space Odyssey, Jane Austen - Jaws All of these programmes are available as Arts and Ideas podcasts via the Downloads tab.
Sam Selvon and The Lonely Londoners—Free Thinking
Selvon's evocative 1956 novel discussed at the British Library by Shahidha Bari & guests.
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Can - Future Days—Free Thinking
Matthew Sweet and guests take a deep dive into the influential German group's 1973 album
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Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation—Free Thinking
Matthew Sweet and guests look at the 1974 Gene Hackman film about surveillance and murder.
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Ursula Le Guin and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas—Free Thinking
Naomi Alderman, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson and others discuss the politics of this 1973 fable.
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On the Silver Globe—Free Thinking
Matthew Sweet and guests discuss Andrzej Zulawski's compelling science fiction film.
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Margaret Cavendish—Free Thinking
Nandini Das and guests discuss the Duchess of Newcastle - philosopher, poet and scientist.
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Harry Belafonte's career—Free Thinking
The long career of the American singer, film star & activist with Matthew Sweet & guests.
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JG Ballard's Crash—Free Thinking
Iain Sinclair, Mark Blacklock, Muriel Zagha and Jo Stanley join Matthew Sweet.
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The Red Shoes—Free Thinking
Ahead of a BFI festival, Matthew Sweet and guests discuss Powell and Pressburger's film
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Valis and Philip K Dick—Free Thinking
A weirdly autobiographical science fiction novel from 1981, inspired by hallucinations.
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Hobbes and New Leviathans—Free Thinking
John Gray on why rereading Hobbes can help us understand contemporary politics.
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Rock Follies—Free Thinking
The groundbreaking 1970s TV drama reassessed with guests including actor Rula Lenska.
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Rocky Horror and camp—Free Thinking
Shahidha Bari is joined by Louise Creechan, Joan Passey and Paul Baker.
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The Sorrows of Young Werther—Free Thinking
The book of the Sturm und Drang generation. Anne McElvoy explores the ideas behind it.
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Adam Smith—Free Thinking
From the East India Company to Silicon Valley: the big ideas in his tercentennial year.
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Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe—Free Thinking
Historian Hetta Howes, novelists Claire Gilbert and Victoria MacKenzie join Shahidha Bari.
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Crossroads and TV soaps—Free Thinking
Russell T Davies and Paula Milne on the power of soap operas.
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Galatea and Shakespeare—Free Thinking
Trans narratives in pre-Shakespearian drama, plus Twelfth Night and the First Folio.
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Depicting AIDS in Drama—Free Thinking
Russell T Davies, Jill Nalder, Sabina Dosani and Matthew Sweet, recorded with an audience.
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Star Trek—Free Thinking
Matthew Sweet with George Takei, Naomi Alderman, Una McCormack and José-Antonio Orosco.
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Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment—Free Thinking
Stephen Frears, Matthew Reisz, Lucy Bolton and Matthew Sweet look at this 1966 film.
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The Wife of Bath—Free Thinking
Shahidha Bari is joined by Professor Marion Turner, poet Patience Agbabi and Hetta Howes.
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Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu—Arts & Ideas
Jane Smiley, Christopher Prendergast, Jayne Haynes, Marie Darrieussecq with Matthew Sweet
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Miles Davis and On The Corner—Free Thinking
Matthew Sweet and guests explore Davis's genre-stretching album, released on 11 Oct 1972.
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