Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Radio 4,09 Nov 2025,28 mins

The Little Box Which Contains the World

Illuminated

Available for over a year

Emily Berry leads us on an exploration of agoraphobia: a poetic journey through the lives of people who don't like going on journeys. Agoraphobia is elusive and elastic – and it's very probably not what you think it is. Poet Emily Berry was diagnosed with agoraphobia over ten years ago, a condition which limits her ability to travel. And so she's setting off in a different way: on a journey into the life of the mind, guided by a chorus of fellow agoraphobics. What does it mean to come up against the boundaries of the self and how might those limits be breached through the power of the imagination – in the words of poet Vasko Popa, "the little box which contains the world." Featuring Graham Caveney, Charlotte Levin and Peter Ruppert. Includes extracts from a BBC interview with Dr Claire Weekes. Graham Caveney's memoir is called On Agoraphobia (Picador) Charlotte Levin's most recent novel is If I Let You Go (Mantle) Peter Ruppert's on-line community is anxietyfitness.com

Programme Website
More episodes