<description>&lt;p&gt;Three visions of darkness as the days draw in. Adam Rutherford's guests for Radio 4's Monday discussion programme are a poet, a photographer of night-time and a National Gallery curator. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Night Vision is the latest book from the award-winning poet and writer Jean Sprackland exploring our complex relationship with the dark: what we fear and what we wish to banish. In the dark she finds a place of possibility and she asks what might we discover in the dark if we free our imagination. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The photographer Jasper Goodall has been taking photographs in the dark for many years, mainly in forests and woodlands. In 2025 in exhibitions on show at Nottingham, Brighton, Cornwall and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition he has displayed works which draw on classical myth, European folklore and animistic belief systems. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Christine Riding, Director of Collections and Research, talks about the images of scientific experiment and industrialisation in England on show in the National Gallery's exhibition showcasing the candlelight paintings of Wright of Derby (1734-1797). Wright of Derby: From the Shadows in the Sunley Room at the National Gallery runs until 10 May 2026 and there is an entrance fee. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Ruth Watts&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Shadows in art, photography and poetry: Adam Rutherford's guests discuss darkness.

Three visions of darkness as the days draw in. Adam Rutherford's guests for Radio 4's Monday discussion programme are a poet, a photographer of night-time and a National Gallery curator. Night Vision is the latest book from the award-winning poet and writer Jean Sprackland exploring our complex relationship with the dark: what we fear and what we wish to banish. In the dark she finds a place of possibility and she asks what might we discover in the dark if we free our imagination. The photographer Jasper Goodall has been taking photographs in the dark for many years, mainly in forests and woodlands. In 2025 in exhibitions on show at Nottingham, Brighton, Cornwall and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition he has displayed works which draw on classical myth, European folklore and animistic belief systems. Christine Riding, Director of Collections and Research, talks about the images of scientific experiment and industrialisation in England on show in the National Gallery's exhibition showcasing the candlelight paintings of Wright of Derby (1734-1797). Wright of Derby: From the Shadows in the Sunley Room at the National Gallery runs until 10 May 2026 and there is an entrance fee. Producer: Ruth Watts

The Dark

<description>&lt;p&gt;Three prize-winning authors in today's discussion programme hosted by Tom Sutcliffe:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The German Peasants’ War of 1524–1525 was the greatest popular uprising in Western Europe before the French Revolution. Tens of thousands of peasants rose up to demand a new, more egalitarian order—only to be crushed in a brutal counterattack that left up to 100,000 dead. The historian Lyndal Roper argues that this rebellion was far from chaotic: it was a coherent mass movement inspired by the radical ideals of the Protestant Reformation. Her book Summer of Fire and Blood is the winner of the 2025 Cundill History Prize. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The neurologist Masud Husain explores the human mind through the stories of seven patients. In asking what it is that makes us who we are, he explores how our identity can shift when we lose just a single cognitive ability. He examines the stories a man who ran out of words, a woman who stopped caring what others thought, and another who, losing her memory, believed she was having an affair with her own husband. His account of the science of identity, Our Brains, Our Selves, won the Royal Society's 2025 Trivedi Science Book Prize. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The historian Hannah Durkin explores the stories of the survivors of the Clotilda, the last ship of the Atlantic slave trade. Based on her original research she uses first hand accounts to tell the stories of the enslaved in their own words. Survivors: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade is the winner of the 2025 Wolfson History Prize. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Ruth Watts&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Lyndal Roper, Masud Husain and Hannah Durkin.

Three prize-winning authors in today's discussion programme hosted by Tom Sutcliffe:The German Peasants’ War of 1524–1525 was the greatest popular uprising in Western Europe before the French Revolution. Tens of thousands of peasants rose up to demand a new, more egalitarian order—only to be crushed in a brutal counterattack that left up to 100,000 dead. The historian Lyndal Roper argues that this rebellion was far from chaotic: it was a coherent mass movement inspired by the radical ideals of the Protestant Reformation. Her book Summer of Fire and Blood is the winner of the 2025 Cundill History Prize. The neurologist Masud Husain explores the human mind through the stories of seven patients. In asking what it is that makes us who we are, he explores how our identity can shift when we lose just a single cognitive ability. He examines the stories a man who ran out of words, a woman who stopped caring what others thought, and another who, losing her memory, believed she was having an affair with her own husband. His account of the science of identity, Our Brains, Our Selves, won the Royal Society's 2025 Trivedi Science Book Prize. The historian Hannah Durkin explores the stories of the survivors of the Clotilda, the last ship of the Atlantic slave trade. Based on her original research she uses first hand accounts to tell the stories of the enslaved in their own words. Survivors: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade is the winner of the 2025 Wolfson History Prize. Producer: Ruth Watts

Histories, emotions and identity

<description>&lt;p&gt;What can the cosmos tell us about our past and future? Tom Sutcliffe and guests look skyward and deep into the quantum world to ask how much we can really know about the universe - and about ourselves. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock, presenter of this year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, shares her passion for inspiring the next generation to think big, as she explores the wonders of our solar system and the questions that still puzzle astronomers. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Physicist and cosmologist Paul Davies introduces his new book Quantum 2.0, charting the strange and revolutionary principles of quantum mechanics and how they are reshaping technology, science, and our understanding of reality itself. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;From the Natural History Museum, Caroline Smith brings insights from meteorites — fragments of ancient worlds — and explains how these cosmic messengers help scientists search for life beyond Earth and piece together the story of our solar system’s origins. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Together, in Radio 4's weekly ideas discussion programme Start the Week, they consider the limits of knowledge: whether in decoding quantum mysteries, interpreting rocks from space, or imagining the motivations of those who first looked to the stars.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Ruth Watts
Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Tom Sutcliffe looks to the stars with Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Paul Davies and Caroline Smith

What can the cosmos tell us about our past and future? Tom Sutcliffe and guests look skyward and deep into the quantum world to ask how much we can really know about the universe - and about ourselves. Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock, presenter of this year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, shares her passion for inspiring the next generation to think big, as she explores the wonders of our solar system and the questions that still puzzle astronomers. Physicist and cosmologist Paul Davies introduces his new book Quantum 2.0, charting the strange and revolutionary principles of quantum mechanics and how they are reshaping technology, science, and our understanding of reality itself. From the Natural History Museum, Caroline Smith brings insights from meteorites — fragments of ancient worlds — and explains how these cosmic messengers help scientists search for life beyond Earth and piece together the story of our solar system’s origins. Together, in Radio 4's weekly ideas discussion programme Start the Week, they consider the limits of knowledge: whether in decoding quantum mysteries, interpreting rocks from space, or imagining the motivations of those who first looked to the stars.Producer: Ruth Watts
Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez

Space, Quantum Frontiers and Cosmic Clues

<description>&lt;p&gt;What can genetics and palmistry tell us about how we understand identity, character and health? Adam Rutherford is joined by Professor of Zoology Matthew Cobb; the historian Professor Alison Bashford and the geneticist Charlotte Houldcroft.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Matthew Cobb discusses his biography Crick: A Mind in Motion. From the discovery of DNA’s structure to Francis Crick’s later work on consciousness, Cobb reveals a restless thinker whose collaborations — with scientists, artists and poets — shaped some of the most profound ideas of the 20th century.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Alison Bashford turns to palm reading in her new book Decoding the Hand, a history of palmistry and its surprising entanglement with science, medicine and magic.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The geneticist Charlotte Houldcroft's research uses ancient DNA to work out how DNA viruses - such as smallpox and herpes - change over time and the consequences of this evolution for our immune systems.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Natalia Fernandez&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Alison Bashford, Matthew Cobb and Charlotte Houldcroft with Adam Rutherford.

What can genetics and palmistry tell us about how we understand identity, character and health? Adam Rutherford is joined by Professor of Zoology Matthew Cobb; the historian Professor Alison Bashford and the geneticist Charlotte Houldcroft.Matthew Cobb discusses his biography Crick: A Mind in Motion. From the discovery of DNA’s structure to Francis Crick’s later work on consciousness, Cobb reveals a restless thinker whose collaborations — with scientists, artists and poets — shaped some of the most profound ideas of the 20th century.Alison Bashford turns to palm reading in her new book Decoding the Hand, a history of palmistry and its surprising entanglement with science, medicine and magic.The geneticist Charlotte Houldcroft's research uses ancient DNA to work out how DNA viruses - such as smallpox and herpes - change over time and the consequences of this evolution for our immune systems.Producer: Natalia Fernandez

Genes and hands: mapping character and health

<description>&lt;p&gt;How can we reclaim the internet? Tom Sutcliffe and guests discuss the digital age - its supporters and discontents. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tech critic Cory Doctorow introduces his new book Enshittification, a blistering diagnosis of how online platforms have decayed — from innovation to exploitation — and what we can do to make it better for ordinary users. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Novelist and broadcaster Naomi Alderman draws on history in Don’t Burn Anyone at the Stake Today, arguing that we’ve lived through information crises before, and that lessons from the invention of writing and the printing press can help us navigate today’s digital turbulence. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Journalist Oliver Moody, the author of Baltic: The Future of Europe, discusses Estonia’s radical embrace of digital governance, and what it reveals about the possibilities — and limits — of a truly connected state.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Katy Hickman
Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Cory Doctorow, Naomi Alderman and Oliver Moody with Tom Sutcliffe.

How can we reclaim the internet? Tom Sutcliffe and guests discuss the digital age - its supporters and discontents. Tech critic Cory Doctorow introduces his new book Enshittification, a blistering diagnosis of how online platforms have decayed — from innovation to exploitation — and what we can do to make it better for ordinary users. Novelist and broadcaster Naomi Alderman draws on history in Don’t Burn Anyone at the Stake Today, arguing that we’ve lived through information crises before, and that lessons from the invention of writing and the printing press can help us navigate today’s digital turbulence. Journalist Oliver Moody, the author of Baltic: The Future of Europe, discusses Estonia’s radical embrace of digital governance, and what it reveals about the possibilities — and limits — of a truly connected state.Producer: Katy Hickman
Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez

Digital Futures and Information Crises

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