Start the Week gets emotional at the Free Thi...

What does the phrase 'Victorian values' conjure today? Matthew Sweet and guests explore what we have inherited from that formative era in relation to political ideas, civic culture, aesthetics, and social and sexual mores. How does our view of the Victorian age match the historic ...  Show more

Are we addicted to novelty? What are the cultural settings that allow innovation to flourish? And are novelty and innovation things we've always valued? Matthew Sweet is joined by writer and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan, Professor of Innovation Tim Minshall, and historians Agn ...  Show more

The British Government has just allocated £289 million to the World Service for the next five years, in a bid to promote UK soft power. But where will this money go, and what does this mean for the BBC's independence? Roger Bolton talks to the Director of the BBC World Service Gr ...  Show more

The Danish Girl is the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, portrayed in the film respectively by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) and Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), and directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hoope ...  Show more

Ryan speaks with Heather Cox Richardson about her new book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, her mission to deliver history as a way of promoting human connection, changing ...

Sam Harris speaks with Derren Brown about his work as a “psychological illusionist.” They discuss the power of hypnosis, the power of expectations, the usefulness of Stoic philosophy, and other topics. Derren Brown began his UK television career in December 2000 with a series of ...  Show more