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Free Thinking Episodes

  1.

    Why We Need New News: Being Human Festival Research

    Shahidha Bari looks at news past and present from hangings to updating TV news bulletins.

  2. Weimar and the Subversion of Cabaret Culture

    Le Gateau Chocolat, Lucy McCormick and Gaylene Gould with Matthew Sweet at the Barbican.

  3. The 2019 Free Thinking Imperial War Museum Remembrance Debate

    Carrie Reichardt, Peter Bazalgette, Zahed Tajeddin and Rebecca Newell with Anne McElvoy.

  4. The changing image of masculinity

    Writers Ben Lerner, JJ Bola and Derek Owusu on images of masculinity in fiction and life.

  5. Quatermass

    Matthew Sweet celebrates the classic TV sci-fi series with Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat.

  6. Halloween. Ghost Stories

    Haunting stories with Kirsty Logan, Jeremy Dyson and host Shahidha Bari.

  7. Cars, Parking and Motorways.

    A discussion reflecting on automobiles, AI and the 60th anniversary of the M1 motorway.

  8. Writing Real Life from Brexit to Grenfell

    Ali Smith, Jay Bernard and James Graham join Matthew Sweet at the British Library.

  9. Landmark: The Yorkshire Feminist Winifred Holtby

    Matthew Sweet is joined by Rachel Reeves MP, Jane Thomas and Katie Cooper in Hull.

  10. What to Believe

    Rana Mitter and guests look at the history of atheism and morality.

  11. The 2019 Frieze Free Thinking Museums Debate

    Museum directors from Asia and France join Anne McElvoy and an audience at RIBA.

  12. Dictators

    Matthew Sweet and guests on Chaplin's 1941 film, The Great Dictator, and rising populism.

  13. The Woolly episode.

    From Sean the Sheep & Damien Hirst to clothiers & a knitted bikini. Shahida Bari presents.

  14. 2019 Booker Prize, The Power of Ancient Artefacts

    Anne McElvoy talks prehistory with archaeologist Mike Pitts and artist Renee So.

  15. East Meets West

    Historian Tom Holland, critic Fatima Bhutto, Ziauddin Sardar, and artist Inci Eviner.

  16. Modern Dutch Writing

    Laurence Scott looks at the way Dutch writers are addressing history and contemporary life

  17. The Frieze Masters Free Thinking Conversation about Art

    Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Michael Govan talks art with Philip Dodd.

  18. Rebecca Solnit, Truth, National Poetry Day

    Who holds the power? US activist and author Rebecca Solnit talks to Shahidha Bari.

  19. From the Spains to Latinx, including Iain Sinclair's Peruvian Journey

    Rana Mitter talks to Jason Webster, Ed Morales, Iain Sinclair and Iwona Blazwick.

  20. Mark Haddon

    Anne McElvoy talks to Mark Haddon about his career and latest novel The Porpoise.

  21. Myth making, satire and Caryl Churchill

    Interviews w/ illustrator Gerald Scarfe & artist Kiki Smith+ Caryl Churchill's new plays.

  22. Anxiety

    Comedian Sofie Hagen, Colombian novelist Héctor Abad & Isabel Hardman join Shahidha Bari.

  23. Surveillance and Secrets from the Archives

    Matthew Sweet on surveillance capitalism, The Third Man and Stieg Larsson's archive.

  24. Back to the '80s

    From Stranger Things to Stephen King's It - Matthew Sweet and guests revisit '80s culture.

  25. Landmark: Susan Sontag's Against Interpretation.

    Lauren Elkin, Lisa Appignanesi and Ben Moser debate Susan Sontag's life and ideas.

  26. Tolerance, censorship and free speech

    Susan Neiman, Ursula Owen and Christopher Hampton join Anne McElvoy.

  27. James Ellroy

    Philip Dodd is in conversation with American author James Ellroy.

  28. Book Parts and Difficulty

    Matthew Sweet looks at frontispieces, titles and marginalia, and hard texts.

  29. New angles on post-war Germany and Austria

    Anne McElvoy with Florian Huber, Sophie Hardach, Adam Scovell and Tom Smith

  30. Camille Paglia

    Camille Paglia in conversation with Philip Dodd about free speech and feminism.

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