16 April 2007
Monday 16 April 2007 21:45-22:30 (Radio 3)
On the eve of an exhibition of holy books at the British Library, Matthew Sweet asks whether the book has any value as an object, with the American novelist Nicolson Baker.
Playlist
Intellectuals and the French Presidential Elections
On Sunday, the first round of voting on a new French president takes place.
It is an election that many see as a watershed in a country calling out for change to deal with problems of economic growth, unemployment and national identity.
But where do France's famed intellectuals, particularly those who emerged from the political upheaval of 1968, stand on the two main candidates Socialist Segolene Royal and centre-right Nicholas Sarkozy?
Matthew finds out how what has happened to the views of French intellectuals, since the re-election of President Chirac in 2002, and asks whether their influence on debate has changed since the landmark election of Socialist Francois Mitterand in 1981.
Digital Libraries
As libraries are digitised with ever-greater speed, do books have any value as objects?
Are they an old and limited technology, or do they tell us as much about their time through their cover, layout, fonts and paper texture as they do through their text?
On the eve of a new exhibition of holy books at the British Library in central London, the American novelist and library campaigner Nicolson Baker, the British novelist Nicholas Blincoe and Kristian Jensen from the British Library join Matthew to discuss the status of the book in a world of palmtops, audio books and online journals.
The exhibition Sacred: Discover what we share opens at the British Library on Friday 27 April and runs until 23 September.
Secret Lives
The criminologist and film-maker Roger Graef reviews the new channel 4 drama thriller Secret Life, written and directed by Rowan Joffe and starring Matthew Macfadyen.
The drama explores what happens to convicted paedophiles when they are released from prison, how society deals with them, and the lack of effective measures in place to prevent them from re-offending.
Secret Life is on Channel 4 at 9pm on Thursday (19 April).
Flat Earth
Why did people persist in thinking the earth is flat in the face of the evidence?
And were they always confronted by people arguing the earth was round?
Christine Garwood, author of a history of this resilient delusion, and science writer Marcus Chown join Matthew to discuss.
Flat Earth: The History of an Infamous Idea is published on Friday (20 April).
