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Free Thinking Episodes

  1.

    The Tale of Genji, Algorithms

    Rana Mitter discusses The Tale of Genji, sometimes called the world's first novel.

  2. Latin America: Juan Gabriel Vasquez, Claudia Pineiro, Eric Hobsbawm

    Philip Dodd explores Latin America with writers Juan Gabriel Vasquez and Claudia Pineiro.

  3. Photographers Dorothy Bohm, Wolfgang Suschitzky and Neil Libbert, Carry On Films

    With the Carry On film as social history and a photography show charting the 20th century.

  4. Beauty: Dame Fiona Reynolds, The Bowes Museum, David Willetts on the State

    Dame Fiona Reynolds talks to Anne McElvoy about preserving beauty in the countryside.

  5. Landmark: In Parenthesis, by David Jones

    Iain Sinclair, Emma Jenkins, Paul Hills and Iain Bell discuss the writing of David Jones.

  6. Transformations: Becoming a Goat, Neil Bartlett

    Neil Bartlett on Victorian performer Ernest Boulton and Thomas Thwaites on becoming a goat

  7. Germany: Neil MacGregor, Volker Kutscher, Threepenny Opera

    Anne McElvoy explores Germany with Neil MacGregor, Volker Kutscher and Haydn Gwynne.

  8. The Cultural Revolution

    Frank Dikotter, Xiaolu Guo and Xinran discuss the Cultural Revolution with Rana Mitter.

  9. Revolutionary thinking: Paul Mason, Bryan and Mary Talbot, Dacher Keltner

    Paul Mason and Bryan and Mary Talbot discuss Louise Michel with Matthew Sweet.

  10. Writers Writing about Love

    Alain de Botton, Tahmima Anam and AL Kennedy join Anne McElvoy to talk about love in prose

  11. Olafur Eliasson, Andrey Kurkov, Mary Dejevsky and Zinovy Zinik on Soviet Culture

    Philip Dodd talks to artist Olafur Eliasson and novelist Andrey Kurkov.

  12. Concrete: Marina Lewycka, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Lynsey Hanley

    Matthew Sweet discusses home with Marina Lewycka. Plus art at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

  13. TE Lawrence on stage, Jeremy Thorpe, Privacy

    Playwright Howard Brenton and director Adrian Noble discuss dramas depicting TE Lawrence.

  14. Sounds of Shakespeare: Landmark - The Winter's Tale

    Sam West, Carol Rutter and Michael Dobson join Matthew Sweet to discuss The Winter's Tale.

  15. Sicily, The London Library, John Hardyng's Chronicle

    Anne McElvoy discusses Sicily. Plus 175 years of the London Library, with Tom Stoppard.

  16. Slavoj Zizek

    Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek offers Philip Dodd his solution to the migrant crisis.

  17. Landmark: Tarkovsky's Stalker

    Matthew Sweet and guests discuss Andrei Tarkovsky's 1979 film Stalker.

  18. Syrian buildings, Judging Book Prizes, Georgian Literature

    Architect Marwa Al-Sabouni talks to Anne McElvoy about Syria's built environment.

  19. British Conceptual Art, Smart Thinking

    Philip Dodd and artist Bruce McLean on the history and politics of British conceptual art.

  20. Jonathan Coe and Richard Cameron on Stage at Birmingham Rep

    Author Jonathan Coe and playwright Richard Cameron join Matthew Sweet at Birmingham Rep.

  21. Economics: Liam Byrne, John Redwood, Luke Johnson, Juliet Michaelson and Matt Wolf

    Anne McElvoy considers new books from Thomas Piketty and Yanis Varoufakis.

  22. Anders Lustgarten, Saki Stories, Riad Sattouf, Guy Longworth

    With Rana Mitter. Including playwright Anders Lustgarten and Saki's satirical stories.

  23. Evelyn Waugh

    Bryony Lavery, Alexander Waugh, Philip Eade and Adam Mars-Jones celebrate Evelyn Waugh.

  24. Light: Anne Wroe, Dan Flavin at the Ikon, Blackpool Illuminations, The Sun

    Ann Wroe joins Anne McElvoy for an exploration of light from Blackpool to the South Downs.

  25. Jerry Brotton on Elizabethan England and the Islamic World

    Jerry Brotton talks to Rana Mitter about Elizabethan England and the Islamic world.

  26. Suits; Neil LaBute

    Shahidha Bari explores the history of suits with Anne McElvoy. Plus dramatist Neil LaBute.

  27. The Green Man, George Monbiot

    Rana Mitter considers the myth of the Green Man and our relationship with the land.

  28. Alan Clarke's TV Career

    Phil Davis, Clio Barnard and Molly Clarke on the TV career of director Alan Clarke.

  29. Russia and the Arts: Julian Barnes, Roxana Silbert and Suhayla El-Bushra

    Anne McElvoy discusses Russian cultural figures on show at the National Portrait Gallery.

  30. Philosophy: Bryan Magee

    Matthew Sweet considers the state of philosophy today.

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