麻豆约拍

To See Ourselves

AL Kennedy explores the downsides of personal and national introspection.

• 10 mins

Isis: A modern revolutionary force?

John Gray argues that the Sunni extremist group Isis is revolutionary, not reactionary.

• 10 mins

Believing in reason is childish

John Gray argues that the belief in human reason is more 'childish' than religious faith.

• 10 mins

Is patriotism the last refuge of the scoundrel?

Will Self reflects on what really lies behind our sense of patriotism.

• 10 mins

The Changing Nature of Utopias

Will Self reflects on what the changing nature of utopias says about us.

• 10 mins

Believing in Beliefs

Will Self offers a weekly reflection on a topical issue.

• 10 mins

The Affliction of Consumption

Will Self reflects on the power of modern-day consumption and the effect it has on us.

• 10 mins

What's Funny?

Will Self reflects on comedy, asking what really makes us laugh.

• 10 mins

Why Orwell Is the Supreme Mediocrity

Will Self takes on one of the nation's best-loved figures, George Orwell.

• 10 mins

When fiction comes to the historian's rescue

Lisa Jardine on how fiction can be more useful than fact in helping us understand the past

• 10 mins

The Horror of War

Lisa Jardine says commemorating a war should not mean losing sight of its horror.

• 10 mins

Red Dress Sense

Red may be now fashionable, but in the past it was powerful, reflects Lisa Jardine.

• 10 mins

Keeping Time

Lisa Jardine reflects on the history of timepieces and the power of clocks and watches.

• 10 mins

Short and Successful

Adam Gopnik thinks there is a simple reason why short men enjoy stable marriages.

• 10 mins

Dying with Dignity

Adam Gopnick thinks we fail all too often to let people die with dignity.

• 10 mins

The Football Fallacy

Adam Gopnik explains why the English are better at watching football than at playing it.

• 10 mins

A Lesson from Love Locks

Adam Gopnik draws a lesson on the nature of love from the eyesore of love locks in Paris.

• 10 mins

Cures for Anxiety

Adam Gopnik identifies four different types of anxiety that afflict modern people.

• 10 mins

Capitalism and the Myth of Social Evolution

John Gray reflects on why the advance of capitalism is not inevitable.

• 10 mins

Soylent and the Charm of the Fast Lane

John Gray explores why human beings crave busy lives.

• 10 mins

Dostoevsky and Dangerous Ideas

John Gray points to lessons from the novels of Dostoevsky about the danger of ideas.

• 10 mins

Thinking the Unthinkable

John Gray argues that 'thinking the unthinkable' means exaggerating fashionable beliefs.

• 10 mins

Faking It

Roger Scruton muses on the difference between genuine art and that based on fake emotion.

• 10 mins

Kitsch

Why the fear of producing kitsch art has led to a new kind of pre-emptive kitsch.

• 10 mins

Art: The Real Thing

What constitutes real art, as opposed to kitsch or that based on fake emotions and cliche?

• 10 mins

Monarch's Message

David Cannadine reflects on the history of the Queen's Christmas message.

• 10 mins

The Pursuit of Happiness

AL Kennedy reflects on what it means to pursue happiness.

• 10 mins

Charlie Hebdo

Adam Gopnick reflects on the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

• 10 mins

Language and Listening

AL Kennedy reflects on the importance of learning languages and listening to one another.

• 10 mins

The Power of Art

AL Kennedy reflects on the power of art to sustain the human spirit.

• 10 mins