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Episode details

Radio 3,14 Sep 2017,45 mins

Russian Nationalism. Scythians. Hull and Port Talbot on stage.

Free Thinking

Available for over a year

Anne Applebaum talks to Anne McElvoy about Russian nationalism and Ukrainian history in a programme exploring the importance of borders and the way identities are bound up with a sense of place. Nick Tandavanitj and Rhiannon White discuss creating drama out of the specific histories of Hull and Port Talbot. St John Simpson, curator of a British Museum exhibition devoted to a nomadic culture of antiquity, explains the ethos of the Scythians. Anne Applebaum is a Professor at LSE and a columnist for The Washington Post. Her new book is called Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine and covers the period from 1917 to the present. Rhiannon White is co-artistic director of Common Wealth which is staging We're Still Here in Port Talbot at the Byass Works, Dock Road between 15 - 30 September in conjunction with National Theatre Wales. It's 6 years since they staged The Passion there. Nick Tandavanitj has worked with Blast Theory since 1994. 2097:We Made Ourselves Over comprises five short science fiction films - each accompanied by an interactive film for smartphones - and live events across both Hull and Aarhus. Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia runs at the British Museum from 14 September 2017 - 14 January 2018. Producer: Torquil MacLeod.

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