<description>&lt;p&gt;A cosy cottage with warming fireplaces, comfort food, crime dramas on tv: Matthew Sweet and guests discuss art, literature and drama that are comfortable to engage with and how difficulty, a dedication to campaigning or the reading of Nietzsche might disrupt this. Does a theatre critic tell audiences they are in for a thought provoking show? And what role does it play in social and politial thinking today? Our guests include:
Deborah Sugg Ryan, writer and broadcaster and Professor Emerita of Design History at the University of Portsmouth.
Sir Alexander McCall Smith prolific author of the best selling Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.
Bioethicist and Fellow of the British Academy Tom Shakespeare
Theatre Critic Susannah Clapp.
Philosopher and Nietzsche expert Hugo Drochon.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Lisa Jenkinson&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Alexander McCall Smith, Susannah Clapp, Tom Shakespeare, Deborah Sugg Ryan & Hugo Drochon

A cosy cottage with warming fireplaces, comfort food, crime dramas on tv: Matthew Sweet and guests discuss art, literature and drama that are comfortable to engage with and how difficulty, a dedication to campaigning or the reading of Nietzsche might disrupt this. Does a theatre critic tell audiences they are in for a thought provoking show? And what role does it play in social and politial thinking today? Our guests include:
Deborah Sugg Ryan, writer and broadcaster and Professor Emerita of Design History at the University of Portsmouth.
Sir Alexander McCall Smith prolific author of the best selling Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.
Bioethicist and Fellow of the British Academy Tom Shakespeare
Theatre Critic Susannah Clapp.
Philosopher and Nietzsche expert Hugo Drochon.Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

Cosy comfort reading or Nietzsche?

<description>&lt;p&gt;Political upheaval, the role of the press and free speech, attitudes towards divorce: the poet John Milton thought and wrote about all of these issues which also concern us today. Milton (9th Dec 1608-8th Nov 1674) might be best known to us today as the man behind the epic poem Paradise Lost, dictated after he had become blind, and published in 1674, but he was also the author of The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates and Eikonoklastes (1649) which examined the right of the people to hold authority to account and provided a defence of regicide. He also attacked pre-printing censorship in Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, to the Parlament of England (1644). Matthew Sweet and his guests look at the resonances of Milton's writing now.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Andrew Doyle writes plays, performs stand-up, hosts a show on GB news and has written articles for Spiked. He is the co-author with Tom Walker of Jonathan Pie: Off the Record and has published a book called The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World. He has a doctorate in early Renaissance poetry from the University of Oxford.
Professor Alice Hunt is based at the University of Southampton and is working on a book titled England’s Republic: The Lost Decade, 1649–1660 supported by a Leverhulme Research Fellowship
Dr Kate Maltby is a lead columnist for The i newspaper and a theatre critic. She is also a Senior Research Associate at Jesus College, Cambridge working on Renaissance literature.
Professor Islam Issa is based at Birmingham City University. His books include Alexandria, the City that Changed the World, Milton in the Arab-Muslim World and Milton in Translation, ed. with Angelica Duran and Jonathan Olson&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Luke Mulhall&lt;/p&gt;</description>

It's 350 years since the death of Milton - we discuss ideas of Puritanism and divorce

Political upheaval, the role of the press and free speech, attitudes towards divorce: the poet John Milton thought and wrote about all of these issues which also concern us today. Milton (9th Dec 1608-8th Nov 1674) might be best known to us today as the man behind the epic poem Paradise Lost, dictated after he had become blind, and published in 1674, but he was also the author of The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates and Eikonoklastes (1649) which examined the right of the people to hold authority to account and provided a defence of regicide. He also attacked pre-printing censorship in Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, to the Parlament of England (1644). Matthew Sweet and his guests look at the resonances of Milton's writing now.Andrew Doyle writes plays, performs stand-up, hosts a show on GB news and has written articles for Spiked. He is the co-author with Tom Walker of Jonathan Pie: Off the Record and has published a book called The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World. He has a doctorate in early Renaissance poetry from the University of Oxford.
Professor Alice Hunt is based at the University of Southampton and is working on a book titled England’s Republic: The Lost Decade, 1649–1660 supported by a Leverhulme Research Fellowship
Dr Kate Maltby is a lead columnist for The i newspaper and a theatre critic. She is also a Senior Research Associate at Jesus College, Cambridge working on Renaissance literature.
Professor Islam Issa is based at Birmingham City University. His books include Alexandria, the City that Changed the World, Milton in the Arab-Muslim World and Milton in Translation, ed. with Angelica Duran and Jonathan OlsonProducer: Luke Mulhall

Milton and our modern world

<description>&lt;p&gt;With Day of the Dead, Halloween and All Souls Day being marked in different countries around the world - Shahidha Bari's guests discuss the belief in ghosts and the search for meaning in mysticism. They are:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Dr Chris Harding is a cultural historian of Japan, India and East-West connections and is based at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of The Japanese and Japan Story.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Dr Hetta Howes is a Senior Lecturer in English Literature at City, University of London and Deputy Programme Director for the BA in English. She is a BBC Radio 3 and 4 New Generation Thinker and the author of a new book “Poet Mystic Widow Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simon Critchley is a philosopher and the Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York, USA. His latest book is On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Dr Iriving Finkel is Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures in the Department of the Middle East at the British Museum and has published The First Ghosts: A rich history of ancient ghosts and ghost stories&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Lisa Jenkinson&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Shahidha Bari with Irving Finkel, Simon Critchley, Chris Harding & Hetta Howes

With Day of the Dead, Halloween and All Souls Day being marked in different countries around the world - Shahidha Bari's guests discuss the belief in ghosts and the search for meaning in mysticism. They are:Dr Chris Harding is a cultural historian of Japan, India and East-West connections and is based at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of The Japanese and Japan Story.Dr Hetta Howes is a Senior Lecturer in English Literature at City, University of London and Deputy Programme Director for the BA in English. She is a BBC Radio 3 and 4 New Generation Thinker and the author of a new book “Poet Mystic Widow Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women.”Simon Critchley is a philosopher and the Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York, USA. His latest book is On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy.Dr Iriving Finkel is Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures in the Department of the Middle East at the British Museum and has published The First Ghosts: A rich history of ancient ghosts and ghost storiesProducer: Lisa Jenkinson

Ghosts, death and ecstatic states

<description>&lt;p&gt;Does the reach of the USA and its cultural influence mean "we're all American now?" Anne McElvoy and her guests discuss the similarities and differences across the Anglosphere and think about the changing dynamics on the international stage. They are:
Freddy Gray, Deputy Editor of the Spectator Magazine and host of the Americano podcast.
Dr Katie McGettigan, Senior Lecturer in American Literature and co-editor of the Journal of American Studies.
Amanda Taub writes The Interpreter, an explanatory column and newsletter about world events for The New York Times.
Kit Davis, an American living in London, an anthropologist and Emeritus Professor at SOAS.
Rana Mitter ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Lisa Jenkinson&lt;/p&gt;</description>

3Short
Freddy Gray, Dr Katie McGettigan, Amanda Taub, Kit Davis, Rana Mitter

Does the reach of the USA and its cultural influence mean "we're all American now?" Anne McElvoy and her guests discuss the similarities and differences across the Anglosphere and think about the changing dynamics on the international stage. They are:
Freddy Gray, Deputy Editor of the Spectator Magazine and host of the Americano podcast.
Dr Katie McGettigan, Senior Lecturer in American Literature and co-editor of the Journal of American Studies.
Amanda Taub writes The Interpreter, an explanatory column and newsletter about world events for The New York Times.
Kit Davis, an American living in London, an anthropologist and Emeritus Professor at SOAS.
Rana Mitter ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School.Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

Are we all American now?

<description>&lt;p&gt;The philosopher Leo Strauss claimed that many of the great texts of Western philosophy can be read in two ways. There's the message intended for everybody, but also a deeper level, accessible only to those who can see it. Taking this as a starting point, Matthew Sweet grapples with the closed world of social media tribes, the challenges posed by conspiracy theory, and the history of thinking in allegorical symbols.
With:
Marianna Spring, the BBC's Disinformation Correspondent
Lisa Bortolotti, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham
Daniel Herskowitz, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Theology &amp;amp; Religion, University of Oxford
Hugh Cullimore, PhD student at the Warburg Institute&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And Constantine Sandis, Director of Lex Academic discusses the shortlist for the 2024 Nayef Al-Rodhan Book Prize in Transdisciplinary Philosophy. The shortlisted books are:
Chris Armstrong, Global Justice and the Biodiversity Crisis (Oxford University Press).
Mazviita Chirimuuta, The Brain Abstracted: Simplification in the History and Philosophy of Neuroscience (The MIT Press).
Shannon Vallor, The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking (Oxford University Press).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;https://royalinstitutephilosophy.org/book-prize/&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Luke Mulhall&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Matthew Sweet and guests explore the secret languages of the internet and beyond

The philosopher Leo Strauss claimed that many of the great texts of Western philosophy can be read in two ways. There's the message intended for everybody, but also a deeper level, accessible only to those who can see it. Taking this as a starting point, Matthew Sweet grapples with the closed world of social media tribes, the challenges posed by conspiracy theory, and the history of thinking in allegorical symbols.
With:
Marianna Spring, the BBC's Disinformation Correspondent
Lisa Bortolotti, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham
Daniel Herskowitz, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Theology &amp; Religion, University of Oxford
Hugh Cullimore, PhD student at the Warburg InstituteAnd Constantine Sandis, Director of Lex Academic discusses the shortlist for the 2024 Nayef Al-Rodhan Book Prize in Transdisciplinary Philosophy. The shortlisted books are:
Chris Armstrong, Global Justice and the Biodiversity Crisis (Oxford University Press).
Mazviita Chirimuuta, The Brain Abstracted: Simplification in the History and Philosophy of Neuroscience (The MIT Press).
Shannon Vallor, The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking (Oxford University Press).https://royalinstitutephilosophy.org/book-prize/Producer: Luke Mulhall

Insiders & Outsiders

Leading thinkers discuss the ideas shaping our lives – looking back at the news and making links between past and present. Broadcast as Free Thinking, Fridays at 9pm on BBC Radio 4. Presented by Matthew Sweet, Shahidha Bari and Anne McElvoy.

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