Is idleness ever a virtue? In a world that seems to privilege utility and productivity above all else, Matthew Sweet considers whether we can rethink the importance of doing nothing. His guests for Radio 4's late night ideas discussion programme are:Tom Hodgkinson, editor of The Idler and author of books including Idle Thoughts: Letters on Good Living, How to Live Like a Stoic: A Handbook for Happiness Polly Dickson, a literary scholar at the University of Durham, who’s researching the art of doodling Katrien Devolder, Professor of Applied Ethics at the University of Oxford Gavin Francis, doctor and author of many books including The Bridge Between Worlds and coming in Feb 2026 The Unfragile Mind, Making Sense of Mental Health Steve Connor, cultural historian, Director of Research of the Digital Futures Institute, King’s College, London.Producer: Luke Mulhall

Is idleness ever a virtue? Matthew Sweet investigates

Idleness

Do individuals or broader forces shape history? In the 2025 Reith lectures on BBC Radio 4, Rutger Bregman argues that small groups of individuals can have an outsize influence and he looks to examples in history from suffragism to the ending of slavery. In the Free Thinking studio for Radio 4's round-table discussion about the history of ideas, Matthew Sweet is joined by:Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer prize winning historian and author of Autocracy Inc, which looks at the networks linking powerful people in our world Jake Subryan Richards, New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by the BBC and AHRC which puts research on radio. His new book is The Bonds of Freedom: Liberated Africans and the End of the Slave Trade Selina Todd, historian and author of The People: The Rise and Fall of the Working Class Clare Jackson, historian of seventeenth century Britain, whose latest book is Mirror of Great Britain: A Life of James VI &amp; I Rupert Read, philosopher, climate advocate and co author of Transformative Adaptation and The Climate Majority ProjectProducer: Eliane Glaser

Matthew Sweet and guests ask who makes history and debate arguments in the Reith lectures

Influencing History

Why marry? Jane Austen began her novel Pride and Prejudice with the observation "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife". Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics show less than half the adult UK population are married or in a legal partnership and predictions are that by 2050, only 3 in 10 people in the UK will marry.Shahidha Bari hosts Radio 4's round-table discussion programme Free Thinking, which brings together philosophical and historical insights in a conversation about issues resonating in the present day. Her guests this week are: columnist Zoe Strimpel, who has been considering the history and current state of the family in a 5 part series running on Radio 4 this week Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch, biographer of Thomas Cromwell and author of Lower than Angels: A history of Sex and Christianity Dr Reetika Subramanian from the University of East Anglia, who hosts a podcast called Climate Brides. Reetika is one of Radio 4's current researchers in residence on the New Generation Thinkers scheme run in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Psychoanalyst and literary scholar Josh Cohen Philosopher and film scholar Catherine WheatleyProducer: Luke Mulhall

Shahidha Bari joined by guests including Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch and Zoe Strimpel

Marriage

Rocks have shaped the fates of civilizations and the study of geology has transformed our intellectual landscape. In the 19th century developments in earth sciences led to the scientific rejection of Biblical timescales in favour of the far greater spans of geological time, which opened the way for Darwin's development of the theory of evolution by natural selection. More recently, historians have been keen to incorporate factors like access to natural resources and major events like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions into their accounts of the past and analyses of the present. Matthew Sweet asks how disciplines in the humanities, like history and political theory, might be transformed by incorporating insights and data from the earth sciences, and also how the earth sciences might be transformed if they become more historically and culturally aware. With historians Peter Frankopan and Rosemary Hill, geologist Anjana Khatwa, philosopher Graham Harman, and poet Sarah Jackson.Producer: Luke Mulhall

How can earth sciences like geology transform our understanding of history and society?

Rocks

What function do ceremonies like Armistice Day perform? How do we balance desires for reconciliation with feelings about revenge? How we remember wars and what commemoration means is much less settled than we might think. And that throws up questions, in times when conflicts are spreading close to us in western Europe, of how wars end and how we balance our concern for justice and peace with darker impulses?Joining presenter Anne McElvoy for BBC Radio 4's roundtable discussion about the ideas shaping our world are: classicist Natalie Haynes whose most recent novel No End to this House re-imagines the story of Medea, former solider Ashleigh Percival-Borley, who is now an academic and on the New Generation Thinkers scheme run by the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council Duncan Wheeler, author of Following Franco and an academic studying contemporary Spain. neuro-scientist Nicholas Wright who advises the Pentagon and has written Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain and, Andy West, prison philosophy teacher and author of The Life InsideProducer: Ruth Watts

In the week we mark the Armistice of World War I, Anne McElvoy and guests discuss revenge

Revenge and reconciliation

"Doom-prepping" tech billionaires have been in the headlines recently and whether it’s ecological crisis or a breakdown in law and order, fear of societal collapse seems to lurk in the background of a lot of discussion in politics and wider society. But what does it mean? When has it happened in the past? Can we avoid it – or survive it – in the future? Joining presenter Shahidha Bari for Radio 4's roundtable discussion about the ideas shaping our world are: Luke Kemp from the Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, the writer and commentator Peter Hitchens, classical historian Neville Morley, historian of modern politics Phil Tinline and Rhiannon Firth, sociologist at University College London.Producer: Luke Mulhall

Peter Hitchens, Rhiannon Firth, Neville Morley, Phil Tinline, Luke Kemp join Shahidha Bari

The end of civilisations and societies

From economics to dreams: Anne McElvoy and guests consider the value of irrationality. How often is emotion, instinct and unsound thinking behind the decisions taken by governments, financial markets and citizens? And does it matter if long term strategic thinking relying on calm assessments of the trade offs, conventional wisdom and the lessons of experience take a back seat. Is there a value in irrationality? Guests include: Bronwen Maddox, Director and CEO of Chatham House, the international think tank; Lionel Barber, author of Gambling Man: The Wild Ride of Japan's Masayoshi Son; Salma Shah, who sits on the boards of Policy Exchange and the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge; Patrick Foulis, the foreign editor at the Economist and, Jonathan Egid, philosopher and BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker.Producer: Ruth Watts

Anne McElvoy considers the value of irrationality with Lionel Barber and Bronwen Maddox.

Rational and Irrational decision making

From military ceremonies to folk customs - can traditions really provide an answer to nationalism and boost local pride? Former MP Penny Mordaunt is publishing a book called Pomp and Circumstance: Why Britain's Traditions Matter written with Chris Lewis. She's one of Matthew Sweet's guests in the Free Thinking studio alongside Sunder Katwala, author of How to be a patriot: Why love of country can end our very British culture war. He is the director of British Future which conducted the biggest-ever public consultation on immigration. Muriel Zagha is a journalist and co-host of the podcast Garlic &amp; Pearls which compares French and British culture and attitudes. Ceri Houlbrook is one of the academics involved in a National Folklore Survey for England and the co-author with Owen Davies of Folklore: A Journey Through the Past and Present. Dr Uran Ferizi has a background in scientific and financial research and since January 2024 he has been the Albanian Ambassador to the UK and to Ireland.Producer: Robyn Read

Ex MP Penny Mordaunt's new book asks Why Britain's Traditions Matter. Matthew Sweet hosts

Traditions, roots and local pride

Science is one of the major sources of authority in society today. Scientists develop technologies to make our lives easier and more comfortable. They fight diseases, they have identified and are helping to combat climate change. Yet developments like AI, and some areas of genetic science, seem to raise ethical dilemmas that scientists on their own can't address. And at a time when the authority of 'experts' has been challenged, where does that leave the authority of scientists? Shahidha Bari discusses science in society with theologian Dr Dafydd Mills Daniel, who's been working on Samuel Clarke, known as Newton's Bulldog, as a case study in the status of science in 17th century England, and Dr Sandra Knapp, researcher at the Natural History Museum and chair of the judges of this year's Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize. Also Hannah Devlin, science correspondent for The Guardian, Nick Spencer, Senior Fellow at Theos, and geneticist, author and broadcaster Adam Rutherford.Producer: Luke Mulhall

Shahidha Bari and guests discuss the status of science in society and culture

The status of Science

What does living a good life involve? Michael Rosen's new book is called Good Days and offers suggestions to brighten our daily lives. Dr Sophie Scott-Brown is a research fellow at St Andrews' Institute of Intellectual History. The Rev'd Fergus Butler-Gallie has spent time working in the Czech republic and South Africa and ministering in parishes in Liverpool and London. His most recent book is Twelve Churches: An Unlikely History of the Buildings that made Christianity. Dr Rachel Wiseman lectures on philosophy at the University of Liverpool and explored the impact of the relative absence of women philosophers. Sudhir Hazareesingh is a Fellow and Tutor in Politics at Balliol, Oxford and author of "Daring to be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World, which raises questions about the Enlightenment's exclusion of enslaved people from the universal vision of a good society. Matthew Sweet hosts the discussion about what it means to be good. The six books shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2025 which will be announced on December 2nd are:•	Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age by Eleanor Barraclough (Profile Books) •	The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV by Helen Castor (Allen Lane) •	Multicultural Britain: A People’s History by Kieran Connell (Hurst Publishing) •	Survivors: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade by Hannah Durkin (William Collins) •	The Gravity of Feathers: Fame, Fortune and the Story of St Kilda by Andrew Fleming (Birlinn) •	The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective by Sara Lodge (Yale University Press)The judges for the Wolfson History Prize 2025 are Mary Beard, Sudhir Hazareesingh, Helen King and Diarmaid MacCulloch, with the panel chaired by David Cannadine.Producer: Jayne Egerton

Michael Rosen,Fergus Butler-Gallie Sophie Scott-Brown, Rachel Wiseman, Sudhir Hazareesingh

The Good Life

In party conference season, we look at what bonds party members and what it means to create a new network with its own shared beliefs and rituals. What light can the big thinkers from the worlds of anthropology and sociology shed? From political tribes to criminal gangs, from social media to social class - how do shared beliefs, rituals, rules and values bond us together - and pull us apart?Anne McElvoy is joined by Kit Davis, emeritus professor of anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London; Lynsey Hanley writer and author of Estates and Respectable: The Experience of Class; Adele Walton, Journalist and author of Logging Off; Alistair Fraser, professor of criminology at Glasgow University; assistant editor of The Spectator and political journalist and Isabel Hardman; and, Rebecca Earle, Professor of History and Chair of the British Academy Book PrizeShortlist for the British Academy Book Prize announced on October 22nd: The Burning Earth: An Environmental History of the Last 500 Years by Sunil Amrith The Baton and The Cross: Russia’s Church from Pagans to Putin by Lucy Ash The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World by William Dalrymple Africonomics: A History of Western Ignorance by Bronwen Everill Sick of It: The Global Fight for Women's Health by Sophie Harman Sound Tracks: Uncovering Our Musical Past by Graham LawsonProducer: Ruth Watts

Anne McElvoy and guests discuss connections, divisions and creating new political parties

Finding my tribe

The French philosopher Michel Foucault though friendship could be one of the most subversive relationships around. Our friends can be the most important people in our lives. But managing friendships can be hard work too. Matthew Sweet is joined by a psychotherapist, a historian, a philosopher, a literary historian, and a film critic to discuss the history, politics, and psychology of friendship.Tiffany Watt Smith is the author of Bad Friend: A Century of Revolutionary Friendships Susie Orbach's books include Between Women: Love, Envy and Competition in Women's Friendships, co-written with Luise Eichenbaum Stephen Shapiro is Professor of American Literature at the University of Warwick Alexander Douglas is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of St Andrews and author of Against Identity: The Wisdom of Escaping the Self Phuong Le is a film critic whose writing appears in Sight &amp; Sound, The Guardian and elsewhereProducer: Luke Mulhall

Matthew Sweet discusses the mythology, psychology and politics getting along with people

Friendship

Shahidha Bari looks at censorship, editing and self-censorship with guests including historian of China, Rana Mitter, Jemimah Steinfeld of Index on Censorship and Nigel Warburton, host of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Amelia Fairney discusses her research on sensitivity readers and the conversations that take place in publishing houses. And, Nicola Wilson, who’s been studying reading recommendations from The Book Society which operated in the UK between 1929 and 1968. The book selectors sometimes suggested changes to the published texts so we hear about this history and look at publishing now.Nicola Wilson's book Recommended! The influencers who changed how we read is out now Nigel Warburton has written many books on philosophy including A Little History of PhilosophyProducer: Ruth Watts

Shahidha Bari's guests in frank topical discussion include Rana Mitter and Nicola Wilson

Censorship, editing and self-censorship

Anne McElvoy and guests explore the intersections between Christian faith and political decision-making and look at some recent dramas which explore the impact of belief.Chine McDonald is director of the Christian Think Tank Theos, Mark Lawson is a writer, broadcaster and theatre critic of Catholic journal The Tablet, Prof Anna Rowlands is St Hilda Professor of Catholic Social Thought &amp; Practice at the University of Durham, Dafydd Mills Daniel is a Lecturer in Divinity at the University of St Andrews and Sam Tanenhaus, has published a biography of influential American conservative thinker and Catholic, William F Buckley Jnr. called Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America.Producer: Debbie Kilbride

Anne McElvoy explores the visibility of Catholic & Christian faith in politics & culture

Christian faith, politics and culture

Journalists Peter Hitchens and Oliver Kamm, radio presenter and comedian Ellis James, languages expert Ross Perlin, Diana Sutton director of The Bell Foundation and podcaster and academic Reetika Revathy Subramanian join Matthew Sweet for a conversation about how language unites and divides us.Ross Perlin's book Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues was the winner of the British Academy Book prize and he is in London for the British Academy Summer showcase. Reetika Revathy Subramanian has been chosen as one of six researchers in residence at BBC Radio 4 in the coming year on the New Generation Thinkers scheme run in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council. She is a Senior Research Associate, School of Global Development at the University of East Anglia and hosts the Climate Brides podcast. You can also find a recent episode of Free Thinking exploring peace which features another of the researchers in residence Ashleigh Percival-Borley, a former soldier who is now a military historian based at the University of Durham.Producer: Debbie Kilbride

Matthew Sweet and guests explore the way language unites and divides us

Language

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." The words of Samuel Beckett from a 1983 short story Worstward Ho inspire a Free Thinking conversation about failure chaired by Matthew Sweet. His guests are: Cath Bishop rowed for Britain in the Olympics, winning a silver medal and worked as a diplomat and business coach. She has written a book called The Long Win and co-hosts the Inside Out Culture Podcast with Colin Ellis which explores what can go wrong from business to sport, the Met police to the music industry. David Stevenson is Dean and Professor of Cultural Policy and Arts Management at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. He has researched the failure of arts organisations and co-authored with Leila Jancovich Failures in Cultural Participation Katarina Skoberne started an advertising agency, has worked as an interpreter in conflict zones and presented a TV show showcasing her experience in coaching. She now runs training in speech-making BeYourBestRemoteSelf. Dr Michelle Clement's research focuses on British government and public service reform. She's based at King's College, London. She has written a book The Art of Delivery: The Inside Story of How the Blair Government Transformed Britain’s Public Services Dr Joseph Anderton is an Associate Professor of Literature at Birmingham City University researching authors including Samuel Beckett and he is the author of Beckett's Creatures: Art of Failure after the HolocaustProducer: Luke Mulhall

From business to sport, politics to the writing of Samuel Beckett: how do we view failure

Failure

Personal Identity is at the heart of contemporary culture. Political philosophies are built around it and family history is a hobby undertaken by hundreds of thousands. Understanding where you came from is seen as central to understanding who you are. But what if the things that are uncovered are uncomfortable, upsetting or even life-changing?Matthew Sweet is joined at the Hay Festival by three writers who have hosted podcasts which raise these questions – Joe Dunthorne, whose memoir Children of Radium and BBC Radio 4 series Half Life explore his great-grandfather's work with chemical weapons; Kavita Puri, whose series Three Million told the story of the Bengal Famine, and of British culpability in it; and Jenny Kleeman, whose BBC Radio 4 podcast The Gift tells the stories of lives upended by DNA testing kits. How does the format of the podcast help them explore these complicated subjects?The Gift, Three Million and The History Podcast, Half Life are all available now on BBC Sounds Producer: Luke Mulhall

Matthew Sweet discusses difficult histories with 3 BBC podcast hosts at the Hay Festival

Podcasting difficult histories

What do we mean by 'common sense'? In 1925 the philosopher GE Moore wrote a Defence of Common Sense which argued against philosophical idealism, on the grounds that it seemed to deny a set of propositions that he claimed were indisputably true. His colleague Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote a detailed response to Moore's paper, and its influence extended into the work of contemporaries like Susan Stebbing. How do we understand common sense now? What role does common sense play in politics? Matthew Sweet's guests are the philosopher Dr Rachael Wiseman, the politician Ann Widdecombe, the historian of emotion Dr Tiffany Watt Smith and the journalist and scholar of post colonial culture Dr Sarah Jilani.Producer: Luke Mulhall

Ann Widdecombe, Rachael Wiseman, Sarah Jilani and Tiffany Watt Smith with Matthew Sweet

Common Sense

Political power can take many forms, from the top-down model of the Roman Empire, to operating in the democratic politics of today, to the possibilities offered by new technologies for more horizontal power structures in the future.Matthew Sweet is joined on a stage at the Hay Festival by historian Tom Holland, whose new translation of Suetonius’ Lives of the Caesars examines Roman power politics from the inside; Guto Harri, who saw the inside workings of power as Downing Street Director of Communications; Adam Greenfield, whose book Lifehouse looks at local networks of mutual aid that have emerged in response to climate crisis; and political philosopher Sophie Scott-Brown - whose book The Radical Fifties: Activist Politics in Cold War Britain is out in July.Producer: Luke Mulhall

From the Hay Festival, Matthew Sweet discusses the many forms of political power

Power: A User's Guide

Wolves were once hunted and persecuted to the point of near extinction but are now enjoying a come back across Europe, if not the UK. What can explain the way they've been targeted, and even demonised, given the low risk they pose to human beings? Shahidha Bari talks to Adam Weymouth, author of Lone Wolf, which describes his journey tracking a wolf called Slavc across the Alps, folklore experts Zoe Gilbert and Daisy Black, the environmentalist, Ben Goldsmith and Brian Zimmerman, the Director of Conservation and Science at Bristol Zoological Society. Are we seeing a change in wolves' troubled fortunes in the context of debates about rewilding?Producer: Jayne Egerton

How wolves shape our modern world.

WOLVES

BBC Radio 4

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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