Strange Beds

Colin Thubron

Colin Thubron recalls booking into a room that once belonged to a merciless Chinese leader

• 15 mins

Strange Beds

Rachel Cooke

Journalist Rachel Cooke on spending a night in accommodation in the wilds of Scotland.

• 15 mins

Strange Beds

Philip Hoare

Philip Hoare on spending a night in a hospital observation ward after falling off his bike

• 15 mins

Strange Beds

John Walsh

Writer John Walsh describes sleeping in a hammock in the jungle in Guyana.

• 15 mins

Strange Beds

Naomi Alderman

Naomi Alderman describes a trip to the Arctic, where she spent much time confined to bed.

• 15 mins

The Other Auld Alliance

Episode 1

Stuart Kelly on the role that Prince Albert played in the invention of modern Scotland.

• 15 mins

The Other Auld Alliance

Episode 2

Stuart Kelly discusses educationalists AS Neill and Kurt Hahn.

• 15 mins

The Other Auld Alliance

Episode 3

Stuart Kelly on the career of Willa Muir, who translated Kafka and other German writers.

• 15 mins

The Other Auld Alliance

Episode 4

Stuart Kelly discusses Austrian painter Oskar Kokoschka and German artist Joseph Beuys.

• 15 mins

The Other Auld Alliance

Episode 5

Stuart Kelly addresses the philosophy of Martin Heidegger and his Scottish translator.

• 15 mins

Burgess at 100

Burgess and the Morality of Contemporary Culture - AL Kennedy

An essay by AL Kennedy about writer Anthony Burgess.

• 15 mins

Burgess at 100

Burgess and the Malay Novels - Tash Aw

An essay by Tash Aw about writer Anthony Burgess.

• 15 mins

Burgess at 100

Burgess and Populism/Class - Dr Simon Rennie

An essay by Simon Rennie about writer Anthony Burgess.

• 15 mins

Burgess at 100

Burgess and Criticism - Rhoda Koenig

An essay by Rhoda Koenig about writer Anthony Burgess.

• 15 mins

Burgess at 100

Burgess and Language - Kevin Jackson

An essay by Kevin Jackson about writer Anthony Burgess.

• 15 mins

Five Screen Goddesses

Katharine Hepburn

Author Sarah Churchwell explains how actress Katharine Hepburn inspired her.

• 15 mins

Five Screen Goddesses

Barbara Stanwyck

Sarah Churchwell discusses the work of actress Barbara Stanwyck.

• 15 mins

Five Screen Goddesses

Jean Harlow

Sarah Churchwell discusses the original 'blonde bombshell', actress Jean Harlow.

• 15 mins

Five Screen Goddesses

Joan Crawford

Sarah Churchwell discusses her affection for the work of Hollywood actress Joan Crawford.

• 15 mins

Five Screen Goddesses

Bette Davis

Author and broadcaster Sarah Churchwell discusses the work of actress Bette Davis.

• 14 mins

Free Thinking 2017

Monks, Models and Medieval Time

Seb Falk discusses the 14th-century monks who studied astronomy.

• 15 mins

Free Thinking 2017

Alexander the Great's Lost City

The story of Alexander the Great's lost city, buried beneath Bagram air base, Afghanistan.

• 15 mins

Free Thinking 2017

In the Shadows of Biafra

New Generation Thinker Louisa Egbunike explores the legacy of the Biafran war.

• 15 mins

Free Thinking 2017

The British Writer and the Refugee

Katherine Cooper on the work by British writers to save colleagues in Europe during WWII.

• 15 mins

Free Thinking 2017

Russia's Sacred Ruins

Victoria Donovan explores the dilemmas of post-war reconstruction in Soviet Russia.

• 15 mins

Free Thinking 2017

Faith, Fire and the Family

Catherine Fletcher on the story of her grandfather, a missionary in India.

• 15 mins

Free Thinking 2017

The Magic Years

Medical historian Matthew Smith explores 1970s US psychiatry: a time of hope and promise.

• 15 mins

Free Thinking 2017

England's First European

Exploring Fynes Moryson's An Itinerary, a European travel book from the early 17th century

• 15 mins

Free Thinking 2017

Creating Modern India

Preti Taneja on the architectural links between Letchworth Garden City and New Delhi.

• 15 mins

Free Thinking 2017

Killing Time in Imperial Japan

Christopher Harding discusses Tokyo in the early 20th century.

• 15 mins