The Essay Podcast
Leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, themed across a week - insight, opinion and intellectual surprise.
Episodes to download
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Fort-de-France—Africa in the City
Thu 22 Oct 2020
Lindsay Johns's tour of cities influenced by Africa continues in Fort-de-France.
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Kingston—Africa in the City
Wed 21 Oct 2020
In Kingston, Jamaica, Lindsay Johns explores another city influenced by African migration.
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Philadelphia—Africa in the City
Tue 20 Oct 2020
Lindsay Johns continues exploring cities influenced by African migration, in Philadelphia.
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Marseille—Africa in the City
Mon 19 Oct 2020
Lindsay Johns discusses how Marseille has been influenced by African migration.
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The woman with the spoon—Discovering Black Portraiture
Fri 16 Oct 2020
5/5 Peter Brathwaite takes us into the world of his Rediscovering #BlackPortraiture project.
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The man with the pipe—Discovering Black Portraiture
Thu 15 Oct 2020
4/5 Peter Brathwaite takes us into the world of his Rediscovering #BlackPortraiture project
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The man with the French horn—Discovering Black Portraiture
Wed 14 Oct 2020
3/5 Peter Brathwaite takes us into the world of his Rediscovering #BlackPortraiture project
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The boy with the monkey on his back—Discovering Black Portraiture
Tue 13 Oct 2020
2/5 Peter Brathwaite takes us into the world of his Rediscovering #BlackPortraiture project
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The man with the ship on his head—Discovering Black Portraiture
Mon 12 Oct 2020
1/5 Peter Brathwaite takes us into the world of his Rediscovering #BlackPortraiture project
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Metacom—Mayflower Portraits
Fri 18 Sep 2020
5/5 David J Silverman explores the motivations of resistance leader Metacom
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Susanna White-Winslow—Mayflower Portraits
Thu 17 Sep 2020
4/5 Rebecca Fraser鈥檚 portrait of Susanna White-Whitlow, Mayflower passenger
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John Alden—Mayflower Portraits
Wed 16 Sep 2020
3/5 Michael Goldfarb on crew member turned colonist John Alden.
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Squanto—Mayflower Portraits
Tue 15 Sep 2020
2/5 Margaret Verble considers the role of Squanto in the Mayflower myth.
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400 years on—Mayflower Portraits
Mon 14 Sep 2020
1/5 Nick Bryant reflectis on what the Mayflower 400th anniversary means to Americans in 2020.
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Prison Break—New Generation Thinkers 2020
Fri 10 Jul 2020
10/10 New Generation Thinker Jeffrey Howard asks if it is ever ok to escape from prison.
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Egyptian Satire—New Generation Thinkers 2020
Thu 9 Jul 2020
9/10 Dina Rezk explores the power of humour in protest.
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Pogroms and Prejudice—New Generation Thinkers 2020
Wed 8 Jul 2020
8/10 Brendan McGeever looks at anti-Semitism, from Russian attacks to the present day.
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Facing Facts—New Generation Thinkers 2020
Tue 7 Jul 2020
7/10 From duelling injuries to eye patches - Emily Cock asks how we respond to people's faces.
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Facing Facts—New Generation Thinkers 2020
Mon 6 Jul 2020
6/10 From duelling injuries to eye patches - Emily Cock asks how we respond to peoples' faces.
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Not Quite Jean Muir—New Generation Thinkers 2020
Fri 3 Jul 2020
5/10 How does sewing a dress add to Jade Halbert's understanding of disappearing skills.
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Tudor Virtual Reality—New Generation Thinkers 2020
Thu 2 Jul 2020
4/10 The link between VR dinosaurs and a Tudor wall painting of the Judgement of Solomon.
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Coming out Crip and Acts of Care—New Generation Thinkers 2020
Wed 1 Jul 2020
3/10 Ella Parry-Davies draws on experiences of migrant domestic workers in the UK and Lebanon.
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Digging Deep—New Generation Thinkers 2020
Tue 30 Jun 2020
2/10 Susan Greaney asks whether Neolithic attitudes to the earth could shape our thinking.
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Berlin, Detroit, Race and Techno Music—New Generation Thinkers 2020
Mon 29 Jun 2020
1/10 Tom Smith on the early pioneers of Berlin's music scene and arguments about whiteness.
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The Holy Island—Islands
Fri 5 Jun 2020
5/5 Kenneth Steven visits another island and responds to its landscape in poetry and prose.
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Barra—Islands
Thu 4 Jun 2020
4/5 Kenneth Steven visits another island and responds to its landscape in poetry and prose.
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Staffa—Islands
Wed 3 Jun 2020
3/5 Kenneth Steven visits another island and responds to its landscape in poetry and prose.
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Jura—Islands
Tue 2 Jun 2020
2/5 Kenneth Steven visits another island and responds to its landscape in poetry and prose.
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Mingulay—Islands
Mon 1 Jun 2020
1/5 Kenneth Steven visits another island and responds to its landscape in poetry and prose.
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Ian Sansom: Mince on Toast with Christopher Isherwood—The Diarists
Fri 29 May 2020
5/5 Ian Sansom reflects on the supreme sociability of Christopher Isherwood.
Death in Trieste
A 1760s murder still informs ideas about aesthetics, a certain sort of sex, and death.
Watch: My Deaf World
Five compelling experiences of what it is like to be deaf in 21st-century Britain.
The Book that Changed Me
Five figures from the arts and science introduce books that changed their lives and work.
Download The Essay
Download all the episodes from the series and listen at your leisure.
