Egypt's democracy, Diana Quick, Laura Knight, Technology & Cities

Available for over a year

The situation in Egypt is developing quickly. But as the army deposes an elected president, seemingly in support of popular protestors in the streets, it's difficult to see where the sympathies of democrats should lie. Philip is joined by the historian Tom Holland and the political scientist Salwa Ismail to try to make sense of the revolution unfolding in front of us. Actress Diana Quick reflects on playing Eva, a charming but controlling German-Jewish émigré in Richard Greenberg's play The American Plan, and discusses the way she's perceived and the type of roles she gets offered since coming to fame as Lady Julia Flyte in Brideshead Revisited back in 1981. Laura Knight was one of the most popular artists of the twentieth century and the first woman to be elected to the Royal Academy. Best known for her work during the Second World War as well as her series of paintings at the ballet and the circus, she resolutely rejected modernism. There's been a revival of interest in her work recently and the National Portrait Gallery is mounting an exhibition of her work. James Malpas joins Philip to review it. More than half of the world's population now live in cities and the percentage will continue to rise. As architects and planners attempt to cater for ever-growing urban populations, the challenge is to create environments that offer the rich and varied experience of our best loved cities. To discuss how to make our evolving cities more habitable, Philip is joined by Richard Sennett, Professor of Sociology at LSE, Amanda Levete, founder of ALA Architects and Gerard Evenden, Senior Partner at Foster and Partners. Produced by Luke Mulhall.