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The story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis is perhaps the most influential tale ever told.

Its chief components of God, Adam, Eve, the serpent, temptation and a paradise lost still exert a hold on western thinking. But this ancient story has not always been benign in its effects.

Presenter Dominic Arkwright is joined by three experts:

* Novelist Zina Rohan talks about her own investigations about what this story has meant, particularly to women in the west;

* Sean Thomas talks about his search for where the real garden might have been.

* Brook Wilensky-Lanford’s book ‘Paradise Lust’ described the events of the Scopes Trial of 1925 - the famous clash in Dayton, Ohio between Darwinists and creationists that featured an American presidential candidate who declared his belief that Eve was literally made from one of Adam's ribs.

Producer: Miles Warde

First broadcast on Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4 in June 2012.