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Guests: Columnist David Aaronovitch
Literary critic Professor John Carey
Comedian Natalie Haynes

Oliver!
Tom, David, John and Natalie consider the new revival of Lionel Bart’s twist on Dickens. It stars Rowan Atkinson as Fagin and the winner of ´óÏó´«Ã½1’s ‘I’d Do Anything’, Jodie Prenger, as Nancy. And its £15 million advance ticket sales reportedly make it the fastest-selling show in history of London’s West End. But does the core story – of hunger, pickpocketing and the threat of the noose – still make sense in ‘The X-Factor’ era? Tom asks the panel if they were left wanting more, or if they’d do anything to avoid going again…

Oliver! is at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in central London.

The Wrestler
Hell-raising Eighties movie star Mickey Rourke eventually lost everything and languished in the wilderness for 15 years. He even spent six as a prize-fighter. Now, in Darren Aronofsky’s new film, he plays hell-raising Eighties wrestler Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson – another washed-up star who is desperately trying to repair his life.
Rourke is being tipped for major awards for this performance. So has he finally earnt the comeback of which Randy can only dream?

The Wrestler on general release, certificate 15, from Friday 16 January.

The Art of the Presidential Inaugural Speech
On Tuesday night, Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States of America, and deliver the 56th inaugural address. Tom and his guests explore this very particular genre, listen to legendary examples from Presidents Roosevelt, Kennedy and Reagan - and discuss what President Obama will need to do to make his version equally memorable.

British news coverage of President Obama’s inaugural on Tuesday 20 January will include an extended edition of PM on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4 from 4.30pm to 6pm.

On Kindness
The psychoanalyst Adam Phillips and the historian Barbara Taylor argue that kindness has become the ‘forbidden pleasure’ of our age. Their new book combines a history of kindness from the Stoics to the NHS with an analysis of the fears that, they contend, stop us enjoying being kind to each other. But how kindly will Tom, John, David and Natalie respond – and what impact can a book like this have?

On Kindness is published by Hamish Hamilton.

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