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Free Thinking Episodes

  1.

    Neil Jordan, the Lonely City, Contemporary Cities

    Film director Neil Jordan on writing fiction. Olivia Laing explores loneliness.

  2. Russian Culture Inwards and Outwards

    Anne McElvoy discusses Russian Eurasianism, the Soviet Union and Africa, and Eisenstein.

  3. Karl Ove Knausgard, Ingrid Carlberg, Dorthe Nors on Nordic Culture

    Karl Ove Knausgard talks to Philip Dodd in a programme exploring Scandinavia today.

  4. Religion Without Belief: Stephen Batchelor, Kader Abdolah, Linda Woodhead

    Rana Mitter discusses a translation of the Qur'an and atheism in the UK and ancient Greece

  5. Utopianism in Politics

    Anne McElvoy chairs a debate on realism and utopianism in politics and history.

  6. Delacroix, Petain, de Gaulle, Jonathan Lynn

    Jonathan Lynn talks about his new play exploring Petain's relationship with de Gaulle.

  7. Hieronymus Bosch Anniversary

    Tom Shakespeare and Peter Greenaway join Matthew Sweet to discuss Hieronymus Bosch.

  8. Screaming Lord Sutch on Stage, Margaret MacMillan

    Playwright James Graham discusses his new comedy, which puts Screaming Lord Sutch on stage

  9. Dadaism, The Invisible Present, National Treasures

    Including Dadaism, an exhibition about time, and the celebrity as a 'national treasure'.

  10. Joseph Crawhall, Madame Bovary, The James Plays

    Anne McElvoy profiles painter Joseph Crawhall. Plus Madame Bovary and The James Plays.

  11. John Irving

    The author of The Cider House Rules on religion, Mexico and the USA. With Philip Dodd.

  12. Dad's Army, Utopia in sci-fi, States of Mind at the Wellcome Collection

    Marking Dad's Army on film, Matthew Sweet looks at the fifth column.

  13. Anna Pavord: Gardens in Art, University

    Anna Pavord visits Painting the Modern Garden the Royal Academy and talks to Anne McElvoy.

  14. Stefan Zweig, Howard Jacobson, Michael Sandle

    Philip Dodd with Howard Jacobson and Karen Leeder. Plus sculptor Michael Sandle.

  15. Con Men, John Dee, F for Fake

    Matthew Sweet explores the art of the con with Maria Konnikova. Plus a John Dee exhibition

  16. The Arab Spring, Sahar Assaf, Owen Hatherley, Social Media and Language

    Anne McElvoy discusses what happened to the Arab Spring five years on.

  17. Holes in the Ground

    Rana Mitter discusses underground worlds past and present.

  18. Landmark: The Picture of Dorian Gray

    Matthew Sweet, Will Self, Fiona Shaw and Merlin Holland discuss The Picture of Dorian Gray

  19. Westerns, The Oscars

    Matthew Sweet discusses the revival of westerns and considers the 2016 Oscar contenders.

  20. French Thought and Politics

    Philip Dodd debates the question 'does France have to stop being French to survive?'.

  21. TS Eliot Prize, Lisa Randall, New Architecture, Flooding

    Anne McElvoy is joined by Sarah Howe, winner of the 2015 TS Eliot Prize.

  22. Laura Cumming on Velazquez, John Bratby, The Pan Hag Project

    Anne McElvoy and Laura Cumming on a 19th-century court case involving a Velazquez portrait

  23. Lorraine Hansberry

    Philip Dodd explores the writing of Lorraine Hansberry and its continuing resonance.

  24. Teenage Life: David and Ben Aaronovitch, Viv Albertine, Simon Stephens

    Matthew Sweet talks to David and Ben Aaronovitch, Viv Albertine and Simon Stephens.

  25. Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Ruth Scurr on John Aubrey, Beowulf

    Anne McElvoy talks to Christopher Hampton and Adjoa Andoh about Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

  26. Cities and Safety

    Philip Dodd reflects on safe cities and discusses Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent.

  27. Landmark: Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries

    Matthew Sweet is joined by Colm Toibin and others to discuss Bergman's Wild Strawberries.

  28. Must the Arts Be Relevant? A Free Thinking BASCA Debate

    Mark Baldwin, Catherine Wood, Jennifer Walshe, Sarah Kent and Vayu Naidu debate the arts.

  29. Northern Lights: Crime Fiction and Cold Settings

    Margaret Atwood, Arnaldur Indriadason and MJ McGrath talk about crime fiction and cold.

  30. Mein Kampf, Larissa MacFarquhar, Julia Margaret Cameron

    Anna Fox and Chantal Joffe on Julia Margaret Cameron, plus Larissa MacFarquhar on altruism

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