Ideas and trends shaping the world
World Service,·159 episodes
The perils of identity politics and the emergence of a global identity
The rise of religious fundamentalism of all varieties and its challenges to governments
More than half the world's people live in cities. How do we make them fit for the future?
Is the pen mightier than the sword? Literature as vehicle for political thought and change
Does racism still blight Nelson Mandela's "rainbow nation" six years after his release?
Arthur C Clarke, author of 2001: Space Odyssey, in a special Millennial edition
Is Christmas shopping a prime case of retail mania? And what makes a shopaholic?
Archbishop Desmond Tutu talks about healing the divided communities in South Africa
Review of the year 2000 around the world starts with a reflection on the nature of time
Does being patriotic always have to mean being better than someone else?
More work for fewer people? Trends in working hours and workers' rights around the world
Why "in the new South Africa, there's incomprabably more to write about than ever before"
The effects and experience of being without a homeland for individuals and communities
What science and the arts have to learn from each other
Should we study history or give in to the allure of living in the permanent present?
The British sculptor on public art, working with the human figure and Angel of the North
Is modern life more stressful than it ever was before? Stress – its causes and remedies
What do the people want and should politicians always bow to their wishes?
Can there really be an ethical foreign policy or will realpolitik inevitably win the day?
The not-so-simple relationship between economic might and political power
Is censorship on the increase still, a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall?
Why are the numbers of fringe religions around the world growing and how do they recruit?
Lord Desai on causes of poverty and how we need to remove obstacles to self-sufficiency
How do we respond to cultural differences? Assimilate, tolerate or welcome them?
Life guides: a new wave of philosophical writing addressing the big issues of our age
What should the parent-child relationship be like in the 21st century?
Whatever happened to good manners – and do they really matter?
Noam Chomsky talks about his political writing – and what makes a "rogue state"
What would a new secular moral code basd on justice and equality mean for private conduct?
Why does the truth matter so much?
