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Free Thinking Episodes

  1.

    The Liverpool Biennial Debate

    How to reflect Liverpool's history in new artworks: Anne McElvoy hosts a discussion.

  2. Spy Talk

    From a secret Iraqi cell to new revelations of Cold War exploits. Rana Mitter hosts.

  3. From Blackface to Beyonc茅

    Hanif Abdurraqib, Dawn Walton, Adjoa Osei on black performers from jazz to the Super Bowl

  4. Writing about Faith

    Stand-up Frank Skinner and novelists Jeet Thayil and Yaa Gyasi talk to Laurence Scott.

  5. Churchill's Reputation

    Anne McElvoy and guests on attitudes to the politician, his rhetoric and foreign policies.

  6. Pleasure

    Matthew Sweet's guests share some secrets as they ask: Is pleasure ever simple or guilty?

  7. Frantz Fanon

    Re-reading the major 20th century theorist of decolonisation

  8. Syria: Hope and Poetry

    An architect who lived in Homs during the war, a translator of Adonis and a media analyst.

  9. Introducing New Generation Thinkers 2021

    Ten researchers look at colonial history, alphabets, punctuation, poetry, art terminology.

  10. What do we learn from census stats?

    John Gallagher talks to four researchers uncovering lives from past census records.

  11. Edward Said's thinking

    Rana Mitter reads the first biography of the Palestinian academic, pianist and negotiator

  12. The Vietnam-Paris Connection

    Author Viet Thanh Nguyen, film critic Phuong Le and Peter Salmon join Matthew Sweet.

  13. From Life on Mars to Dangerous Space Junk

    Seb Falk talks to researchers about attitudes to Mars, seeing colour and Skylab's crash.

  14. Speech, Voice, Accents and AI

    Sadie Ryan, Lynda Clark and Allison Koenecke talk about their research with Matthew Sweet.

  15. Breakdown: Horatio Clare, Stevie Smith

    Horatio Clare talks to Laurence Scott about mania and healing. Plus Stevie Smith.

  16. Girls

    Shahidha Bari looks at research into girls in film and fiction to Malawi health projects.

  17. Foucault: The History of Sexuality 4

    Shahidha Bari reads a new English translation by Robert Hurley.

  18. Humans, Animals, Ecologies

    Matthew Sweet talks to Joanna Bourke and Anna Tsing about the human and the non human.

  19. Saint John Henry Newman

    Kate Kennedy, Tim Stanley, Catherine Pepinster and Dafydd Mills Daniel on Newman's thought

  20. Adoption, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Ren茅e Vivien and Violette Leduc

    Fiona Sampson, Peggy Reynolds and Anne McElvoy talk poetry and writing personal stories

  21. Turkey: Adnan Menderes, populism, and history

    Having survived a plane crash, the Turkish prime minister 1950-60 died in an execution.

  22. Pakistan Politics, Water Supplies

    Samira Shackle, Ejaz Haider and Majed Akhter talk about Karachi, power, crime and energy.

  23. Coins, going cashless and the magic money tree

    In February 1971, the UK went decimal. Anne McElvoy and guests look at money old and new.

  24. Darwin's The Descent of Man (1871)

    Matthew Sweet and guests assess Darwin's arguments about the human species, sex and race.

  25. Fashion Stories in Museums

    Claire Wilcox, fashion curator of the V&A, talks to Shahidha Bari and other researchers.

  26. Class and Social Mobility

    Selina Todd, David Goodhart, Timandra Harkness and Sadie Ryan talk with Matthew Sweet.

  27. Patricia Lockwood and Andr茅 Aciman

    Two American authors talk to Laurence Scott about their sense of time, place and self.

  28. Eco-Criticism

    Who are the best writers past and present who give us an insight into the natural world?

  29. What Makes a Good Lecture?

    Ted talks, zoom and lectures :Mary Beard, Homi Bhabha and Se谩n Williams join Shahidha Bari

  30. Yiddish and Rotwelsch Languages, Nazi France

    Michael Rosen and Martin Puchner talk to Matthew Sweet about languages, codes and secrecy.

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