Thomas Paine
Friday 26 May 2006 21:30-22:15 (Radio 3)
Matthew Sweet talks to Christopher Hitchens about the 18th century political philosopher Thomas Paine
Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh, who will be speaking to Matthew Sweet on tonight's Night Waves
Playlist
Christopher Hitchens on Thomas Paine
Matthew Sweet talks to the writer and polemicist Christopher Hitchens about his latest book 'Thomas Paine's Rights of Man', a biography of one of the greatest political writers in history. Hitchens discusses the relevance of Paine to Americans today and explains how a man from East Anglia came to write the document which formed the philosophical cornerstone of the United States of America .
'Thomas Paine's Rights of Man' by Christopher Hitchens is published by Atlantic Books
Ethnic Minority Authors
Also in the programme, a new report on the book industry reveals that, although nearly 8 per cent of the population of the UK now comes from a Black and Minority Ethnic background, only 1 per cent of the current best selling books are by authors from that background. Matthew and guests will be debating the issues of how effective the book industry is at serving the BME community and whether they are failing to recognise the diversity of their readers.
London Film School
As the London Film School celebrates its 50 th anniversary, the writer and director Mike Leigh, one of their most famous students, talks about his memories of his time there and his hopes for the future of the School.
The 50th anniversary of the London Film School is celebrated in a season at the National Film Theatre in London
Moral Education
The philosophers Stephen Law and Anthony O'Hear will also be joining Matthew in the studio to discuss Stephen's new book 'The War for Children's Minds'. Is teaching liberalism the best way to give children a moral education or should we be returning to a more authoritarian style of teaching?
'The War for Children's Minds' by Stephen Law is published by Routledge
