Free Thinking

Latest Episodes:

Free Thinking - Beauty: Dame Fiona Reynolds. The Bowes Museum. David Willetts on The State. May 19, 2016

Show notes

Anne McElvoy talks to Dame Fiona Reynolds about a career spent defending the beauty of the British landscape, and considers an exhibition of English beauties at the Bowes Museum. She is also joined by former minister The Rt Hon David Willetts, media executive Charles Brand and Marc Stears head of the New Economics Foundation to discuss the role of the state in the 21st century, and ahead of Sunday's Drama on 3 she explores literary depictions of the city of Venice with David Barnes.

Dame Fiona Reynolds' book is called The Fight For Beauty: Our Path to a Better Future

English Rose Feminine Beauty from Van Dyck to Sargent runs at the Bowes Museum from 14 May - 25 September 2016 and if you're in Liverpool there's still a couple of weeks to catch the Walker Gallery show of Pre Raphaelite beauties Pre-Raphaelites: Beauty and Rebellion which runs until June 5th

David Willetts is the author of The Pinch.

David Barnes' book is called The Venice Myth: Culture, Literature, Politics, 1800 to the Present.

Naomi Alderman's imagining of the story of Jessica from the Merchant of Venice is being broadcast on Sunday night on Radio 3 at 10pm and there's an introductory animation on the Radio 3 website and a link to Professor Jerry Broton's Sunday Feature investigating the Venice Ghetto.

Producer: Eliane Glaser

Free Thinking - Landmark: In Parenthesis, by David Jones May 19, 2016

Show notes

Recorded before an audience at the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff before the premiere of Iain Bell's opera inspired by the poem Philip Dodd presents a Landmark edition of Free Thinking devoted to David Jones' epic In Parenthesis. The discussion hears from the composer Iain Bell, the writer, Iain Sinclair, one of the librettists Emma Jenkins and Paul Hills, curator of a touring exhibition of Jones' pictures and the co-author with Ariane Bankes of the most recent book about the artist.

Iain Bell's In Parenthesis is at WNO in Carcdiff from 13th May -3 June, in Birmhingham on 10 June and then at the Royal Opera House in London from 29 June -1 July It will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on July 2nd.

David Jones's In Parenthesis is published by Faber David Jones - Vision and Memory - is at the Djanogly Gallery in Nottingham until 5 June. It was previously on show at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester. His art is also on show at the Martin Tinney Gallery in Cardiff in May and June.

Free Thinking - Transformations: Becoming a Goat, Neil Bartlett May 17, 2016

Show notes

Neil Bartlett discusses Victorian cross-dressing performer Ernest Boulton with Matthew Sweet. Thomas Thwaites explains why he decided to try to live as a goat to explore the difference between humans and animals. Colin Gale from the Bethlem Museum of the Mind and historian Sarah Wise talk about perceptions of mental illness in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Poet Fiona Sampson on the relationship between poetry and health.

The world premiere of Neil Bartlett's play Stella is at the Brighton Festival on May 27th and 28th. Thomas Thwaites has written GoatMan: How I Took A Holiday From Being Human Fiona Sampson's latest collection of poetry is The Catch Sarah Wise is the author of Inconvenient People: Lunacy, Liberty and the Mad-Doctors in Victorian England

Free Thinking - Germany: Neil MacGregor. A.T. Williams & Philippe Sands. Threepenny Opera. Volker Kutscher. May 12, 2016

Show notes

Crime writer and former newspaper editor Volker Kutscher's Babylon Berlin is being made into a TV series by Tom Tykwer. Neil MacGregor has now left the British Museum to work with the Humboldt Forum to create a new German cultural centre in Berlin. Simon Stephens has written a new translation of Brecht's Threepenny Opera for the National Theatre. The production will star Haydn Gwynne. Philippe Sands has written about the Nuremberg Trials - as has A.T. Williams. They join Anne McElvoy for a programme exploring diverse aspects of German culture.

Neil MacGregor's book Germany: Memories of a Nation is now out in paperback. Threepenny Opera runs at the National Theatre from May 19th in rep through to September. Babylon Berlin by Volker Kutscher translated by Niall Sellar is out in English now. Philippe Sands is professor of law at University College London. His book East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity is out now. He has also made a documentary film My Nazi Legacy: What Our Fathers Did A.T. Williams' book A Passing Fury: the story of the Nuremberg Trials is also out now

Producer: Ruth Watts

Free Thinking - The Cultural Revolution May 11, 2016

Show notes

Rana Mitter is joined by the historians Frank Dikötter, Patricia Thornton and Kerry Brown, and by the writers Xinran and Xiaolu Guo, to revisit the Cultural Revolution 50 years on.

On 16th May 1966, Mao Zedong initiated a mass movement aimed at purging all "capitalist" and "traditional elements" from the Chinese Communist Party, and from Chinese society as a whole. This initiated the 10 years of social and political turmoil known as the Cultural Revolution. There are no plans to publicly mark the anniversary of these events in China, but elsewhere this troubled period of Chinese history is being re-examined.

Frank Dikötter is the author of The Cultural Revolution: A People's History, 1962-1976, the final instalment in the People's Trilogy

Producer: Luke Mulhall

Free Thinking - Revolutionary thinking: Paul Mason, Bryan and Mary Talbot, Dacher Keltner. May 11, 2016

Show notes

Journalist Paul Mason and graphic novelists Mary and Bryan Talbot discuss Louise Michel, the revolutionary feminist anarchist dubbed 'The Red Virgin of Montmartre', who fought on the barricades defending the Paris Commune in 1871. UC Berkeley psychologist Dr Dacher Keltner explores what he calls the power paradox.

The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia by Bryan and Mary Talbot is out now. The Power Paradox by Dacher Keltner is out now.

Producer: Jacqueline Smith

Free Thinking - Writers Writing about Love May 05, 2016

Show notes

Anne McElvoy invites three novelists into the studio to discuss Love - the theme of each of their new novels. A L Kennedy's Serious Sweet examines love in later life, Tahmima Anam explores different aspects of young love in The Bones of Grace and Alain de Botton says no-one lives happy ever after, we should talk a lot more about what comes next - hence the title of his book The Course of Love. Aside from whether Romanticism is plague or blessing, the writers also discuss whether writers themselves make good lovers and the challenge of making life choices in an increasingly mobile and crowded world.

Presenter: Anne McElvoy

Guests: A L Kennedy 'Serious Sweet' is out at the end of May 2016 Tahmima Anam 'The Bones of Grace' is out at the end of May 2016 Alain de Botton 'The Course of Love' is out now

Producer: Jacqueline Smith

Free Thinking - Olafur Eliasson. Andrey Kurkov. Mary Dejevsky and Zinovy Zinik on Soviet Culture. May 04, 2016

Show notes

Philip Dodd talks to the artist Olafur Eliasson who famously created artificial sunlight in the Weather Project at Tate Modern. He's also been responsible for engineering four man-made waterfalls in New York, founded a company producing solar powered LED lights, and has just published a cook book.

The Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov discusses his latest, The Bickford Fuse, an allegorical study of the Soviet soul set between the end of World War 2 and the fall of communism.

And to consider the Russian soul today, Philip is joined by columnist and Russian commentator, Mary Dejevsky, and novelist Zinovy Zinik.

The Kitchen by Studio Olafur Eliasson and Unspoken Spaces by Olafur Eliasson are out now. Andrey Kurkov's The Bickford Fuse is published on the 6th of May. Zinovy Zinik's latest novel, Sounds Familiar or The Best of Artek, is published now.

Producer: Craig Smith

Free Thinking - Concrete: Marina Lewycka, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Lynsey Hanley May 03, 2016

Show notes

Author Marina Lewycka discusses Lubetkin's social housing with Matthew Sweet in a programme which considers concrete homes past and present. Curator Helen Pheby describes transporting a former council house which has been turned into a kind of blue grotto by artist Roger Hiorns as the Yorkshire Sculpture Park hosts an exhibition on the theme of Home. Lynsey Hanley talks about the experience of growing up on a Birmingham council estate and the powerful connections between concrete and class. And architecture historian Barnabas Calder invites us to look again at the beauty of brutalism.

Marina Lewycka's novel is called The Lubetkin Legacy At Home at the Bothy Gallery at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park runs from 19.03.16 - 03.07.16 Lynsey Hanley's book is called Respectable: The Experience of Class Barnabas Calder has written Raw Concrete

Producer: Ruth Watts

Free Thinking - TE Lawrence on stage. Jeremy Thorpe. Privacy. Apr 28, 2016

Show notes

Playwright Howard Brenton and director Adrian Noble discuss stage plays drawing on the life of TE Lawrence. Journalist John Preston has explored MP Jeremy Thorpe's downfall. And Philip Dodd is joined by Chris Bryant for a wider discussion about privacy in public life. And Mary Beard joins us to discuss another imperial endeavour, Rome.

Howard Brenton's new play Lawrence After Arabia runs at the Hampstead Theatre from April 28th to June 4th. Adrian Noble is directing Terence Rattigan's play Ross at Chichester Theatre from 3rd to 25th June. John Preston's book is called A Very English Scandal. Mary Beard's Rome: Empire without limit continues on BBC 2 at 9pm on Wednesday 5th May

Producer: Ruth Watts

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