Arts & Ideas Podcast
Leading thinkers discuss the ideas shaping our lives – looking back at the news and making links between past and present. Broadcast as Free Thinking, Fridays at 9pm on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4. Presented by Matthew Sweet, Shahidha Bari and Anne McElvoy.
Episodes to download
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Landmarks: Alien
Thu 8 Jan 2004
Philip Dodd considers the enduring appeal of the film Alien and whether it's blend of...
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Free Thinking: 'Play' in urban design, Gillian Allnutt
Thu 23 Feb 2017
Philip Dodd considers the importance of 'play' in the way our city centres are designed.
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Soil Stories Old and New
Wed 22 Feb 2017
Elizabeth-Jane Burnett, Jules Pretty, Andrew Scott, Philip Coupland, Matthew Kelly
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Free Thinking - Shakespeare in cartoons; Jess Phillips; Sidney Nolan's Australian legends.
Tue 21 Feb 2017
Anne McElvoy talks to cartoonists and curators about creating memorable images.
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Free Thinking: Hull: A trip down memory lane.
Thu 16 Feb 2017
Basil Kirchin's Hull, Richard Bean's Civil War play and the re-opened Ferens Art Gallery.
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Free Thinking: Martin Luther- fundamentalist reactionary or enlightened creator of our modern world
Thu 16 Feb 2017
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Ulinka Rublack and Peter Stanford discuss Martin Luther
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Free Thinking: Paolozzi; Daniel Dennett
Wed 15 Feb 2017
Philip Dodd looks at the art of Paolozzi and talks consciousness with Daniel Dennett.
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Rude Valentines. Neil Gaiman, Translating China's Arts
Tue 14 Feb 2017
Neil Gaiman talks Norse myths with Rana Mitter. And a look at the ugly side of Valentines
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Free Thinking: Professor Paul Gilroy
Thu 9 Feb 2017
Philip Dodd is in extended conversation about culture & race with Professor Paul Gilroy.
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Free Thinking: Robots, and an Icelandic Dracula
Wed 8 Feb 2017
Matthew Sweet meets Eric the UK's first robot, built in 1928 now at the Science Museum.
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Free Thinking: Russian Art and Revolution
Tue 7 Feb 2017
Dolya Gavanski, Stephen Smith, Victor Sebestyen, Charlotte Hobson and Anne McElvoy.
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Borders: On the ground, on the map, in the mind
Thu 2 Feb 2017
From Ireland to Turkey, from soldiering to walking to photographing - with Anne McElvoy.
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Free Thinking: Anger and friendships with Pankaj Mishra and Elif Shafak.
Wed 1 Feb 2017
Novelist Elif Shafak, US magazine editor Julius Krein, Douglas Murray and Pankaj Mishra.
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Free Thinking - Caribbean Culture.
Tue 31 Jan 2017
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, Colin Grant and Kei Miller discuss the Caribbean with Matthew Sweet
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Free Thinking: Yaa Gyasi. Daniel Levitin. Peter Bazalgette, James Bartholomew on Clarity, Civility and Strong States.
Thu 26 Jan 2017
Tooling a stronger civil society plus a novel on Slavery on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Davos Discussions. Shobana Jeyasingh. New Generation Thinker Seán Williams
Thu 26 Jan 2017
Anne McElvoy explores topics discussed at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum
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Free Thinking: Oscar Nominations; T2 Trainspotting; Denial
Tue 24 Jan 2017
Matthew Sweet and guests consider film making in 2017.
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Free Thinking - Victorian Bodies, Citizens of Everywhere
Thu 19 Jan 2017
Rana Mitter talks Victorian bodies and looks at the Citizens of Everywhere arts project.
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Free Thinking - The influence of the British Black Art movement.
Wed 18 Jan 2017
Artists Sonia Boyce, Isaac Julien, Eddie Chambers and Harold Offeh talk to Anne McElvoy.
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Free Thinking: The War of the Worlds sequel, Eimear McBride
Tue 17 Jan 2017
Matthew Sweet talks to Stephen Baxter about his sequel to HG Wells's novel.
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Free Thinking - Chibundu Onuzo; Nadeem Aslam. Lockwood Kipling's art.
Thu 12 Jan 2017
Anne McElvoy reads novels set in Pakistan and Nigeria; plus Lockwood Kipling art teacher.
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Free Thinking: The Arts of Running
Wed 11 Jan 2017
Artists Kai Syng Tan and Angus Farquhar join Hayden Lorimer and Vybarr Cregan-Reid.
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Free Thinking: La La Land and Hollywood - past and present
Wed 11 Jan 2017
Matthew Sweet and guests consider Hollywood's obsession with Hollywood.
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Free Thinking - Breaking Free: Karl Kraus - Jonathan Franzen.
Mon 2 Jan 2017
Philip Dodd looks at the biting satire and contemporary relevance of Austrian Karl Kraus
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Free Thinking: Patriotism: The Union Jack
Fri 23 Dec 2016
Afua Hirsch, Graham Bartram, John Bew, Ash Sarkar & Andrew Rosindell join Anne McElvoy.
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Free Thinking - Patriotism: China, Russia, Japan, Latin America.
Wed 21 Dec 2016
Xiaolu Guo, Oscar Guardiola-Rivera, Michael Auslin and David Priestland join Rana Mitter
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Free Thinking - Patriotism: Alain Finkielkraut, Karim Miské
Tue 20 Dec 2016
Philip Dodd talks to Alain Finkielkraut and Karim Miské about French identity
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Free Thinking: Calling to Account: Bronwen Maddox, Margaret Hodge, Matthew Parris.
Fri 16 Dec 2016
Are public enquiries good government? Plus Matthew Parris on scorn. Anne McElvoy presents
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Free Thinking: John Simpson on the death of the war correspondent.
Wed 14 Dec 2016
Philip Dodd and guests consider what we mean by 'news' in 2016.
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Free Thinking - A Brexit reading list.
Tue 13 Dec 2016
Edith Hall, Chris Kissane + Matthew Sweet consider what might be on a Brexit reading list