A Point of View Podcast
A weekly reflection on a topical issue.
Episodes to download
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Presidents as Monarchs
Fri 15 May 2015
David Cannadine says Barack Obama is not the first American president to act like a king.
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Leaders Old and Young
Fri 1 May 2015
David Cannadine reflects on the merits of youth and age in political leaders.
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Commemorative Style
Fri 24 Apr 2015
David Cannadine compares the style of national commemorations in the US and in Britain.
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Ideology Versus Art
Fri 17 Apr 2015
Howard Jacobson explains why he prefers art to ideology, especially at election time.
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Life's a Selfie
Fri 10 Apr 2015
Howard Jacobson explains why he dislikes the narcissism of the selfie.
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Mankle Image Crisis
Fri 3 Apr 2015
Howard Jacobson thinks skimpy suits show men are suffering from a self-image crisis.
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The Price of Independence
Fri 27 Mar 2015
Tom Shakespeare says that disabled people's right to independent living is under threat.
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Trial by Select Committee
Fri 20 Mar 2015
Tom Shakespeare thinks that reformed select committees have revitalised Parliament.
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Cognitive Decline
Fri 13 Mar 2015
Tom Shakespeare says wisdom in middle age is some compensation for cognitive decline.
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The Power of Fiction
Fri 20 Feb 2015
Will Self reflects on the power of our relationship with fictional characters.
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The Purpose of Satire
Fri 13 Feb 2015
Will Self finds himself driven to reconsider the nature and purpose of satire.
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Having Children
Fri 6 Feb 2015
Will Self reflects on the growing divide between people with and without children.
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Losing Touch
Fri 30 Jan 2015
Will Self laments diminishing personal contact as a result of the rise of technology.
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The Power of Art
Fri 23 Jan 2015
AL Kennedy reflects on the power of art to sustain the human spirit.
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Language and Listening
Fri 16 Jan 2015
AL Kennedy reflects on the importance of learning languages and listening to one another.
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Monarch's Message
Boxing Day 2014
David Cannadine reflects on the history of the Queen's Christmas message.
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Art: The Real Thing
Fri 19 Dec 2014
What constitutes real art, as opposed to kitsch or that based on fake emotions and cliche?
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Kitsch
Fri 12 Dec 2014
Why the fear of producing kitsch art has led to a new kind of pre-emptive kitsch.
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Faking It
Fri 5 Dec 2014
Roger Scruton muses on the difference between genuine art and that based on fake emotion.
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Thinking the Unthinkable
Fri 28 Nov 2014
John Gray argues that 'thinking the unthinkable' means exaggerating fashionable beliefs.
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Dostoevsky and Dangerous Ideas
Fri 21 Nov 2014
John Gray points to lessons from the novels of Dostoevsky about the danger of ideas.
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Soylent and the Charm of the Fast Lane
Fri 14 Nov 2014
John Gray explores why human beings crave busy lives.
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Capitalism and the Myth of Social Evolution
Fri 7 Nov 2014
John Gray reflects on why the advance of capitalism is not inevitable.
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Cures for Anxiety
Fri 31 Oct 2014
Adam Gopnik identifies four different types of anxiety that afflict modern people.
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A Lesson from Love Locks
Fri 24 Oct 2014
Adam Gopnik draws a lesson on the nature of love from the eyesore of love locks in Paris.
