Free Thinking Episodes Episode guide
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Vikings
From the Victorian craze to modern takes on Norse myths, Netflix and archaeological finds.
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The Stasi poetry circle, Nazi schools and German culture
How an East German creative writing class fought the cold war - was their poetry any good?
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Blackmail and Shame
Mark Ravenhill on staging the play on which Hitchcock based Blackmail.
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New research into women's history
The Clean Break theatre company, sex strikes, East European feminism. Naomi Paxton hosts.
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Sisters
The Unthank sisters, Sally Alexander, Lucy Holland, Oyinkan Braithwaite and Shahidha Bari.
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The Generation Gap
Writer Howard Jacobson, photographer Ruth Sutoy茅 talk family histories with Matthew Sweet
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The Barbican, art and writing in 50s Britain
Lisa Mullen & guests mark the 40th anniversary of the opening of London's Barbican centre
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Climate change, nature and art
Ingrid Pollard, Julian Perry, Patricia Dominguez, Will Abberley and Eleanor Barraclough.
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Perfecting the Body
Eugenics to cyborgs: Adam Rutherford, Clare Chambers, Xine Yao and Harry Parker discuss.
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Artists' models and fame
Egon Schiele's women, Whistler's Woman in White, new radio ballads. Shahidha Bari hosts.
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Pankaj Mishra, Research into Indian history
Pankaj Mishra discusses his new novel about four friends in an age of upheaval.
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Hitchhiking
Matthew Sweet considers examples from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Polish tokens.
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China, Freud, War and Sci-Fi
From AI and fan fiction to 1930s replica antiquities: new ways of thinking about China.
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Stonehenge History
Anne McElvoy is joined by Neil Wilkin, Mike Pitts, Susan Greaney and Seren Griffiths.
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Existential Risk
Planning and creating in the shadow of the doomsday clock with Shahidha Bari and guests.
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Whale Watching
Rana Mitter dives into the world of whales and examines our relationship to marine life.
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Diverse Classical Music II
New research into music by Margaret Bonds, Robert Nathaniel Dett, Ali Osman, Isaac Hishow.
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Futurism
Matthew Sweet and guests look at the manifesto celebrating youth, technology and violence.
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Modernism around the World
Rana Mitter looks at Bauhaus in Delhi, Japanese and South African novels and Mexican art.
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How to Create a Modernist Masterpiece
Will Self, Alexandra Harris, Kevin Le Gendre and Owen Hatherley build up a manifesto.
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Asta Nielsen
Matthew Sweet and guests look at the Danish star of androgynous early romcoms and Hamlet.
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Yishai Sarid, Marking Holocaust Memorial Day 2022
Anne McElvoy talks to Israeli novelist Yishai Sarid & hears about new historical research.
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Diverse Classical Music
Digging into the music of composers Joseph Bologne, Kikuko Kanai and Julia Perry.
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Touki Bouki
A close look at Djibril Diop Mamb茅ty's classic 1973 film with Matthew Sweet and guests.
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Paper
An exploration of the cultural and social history of paper.
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Writing Love: Sarah Hall, Monica Ali, Adam Mars-Jones
Shahidha Bari talks to authors about writing love stories set against troubling times.
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Mind-Altered States
Matthew Sweet and guests knock on the doors of perception.
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惭茅濒耻蝉颈苍别
The mermaid-like figure from medieval folklore is discussed by Shahidha Bari and guests.
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Adapting Moli猫re
Liz Lochead is one of Anne McElvoy's guests discussing how to update Moli猫re.
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Appeasement
How does Neville Chamberlain's capitulation to Hitler in 1938 affect politics in 2022?
