A Point of View
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors including historian Lisa Jardine, novelist Sarah Dunant and writer Alain de Botton.
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Episodes available:
Indefinitely
All episodes (59)
Will Self: A Right Loyal Toast 25 May 2012
Fri, 25 May 12
Duration:
10 minsWill Self reflects on the historical tradition of the Loyal Toast. A week before the Jubilee celebrations get underway, he muses on where deference is properly due.
Will Self: Europe & My Quadriga-Spotting Tour 18 May 2012
Fri, 18 May 12
Duration:
10 minsWill Self ponders the future of Europe as he stands by Berlin's Brandenburg gate and asks whether we should consider an end to the European Union "in its current banjaxed form".
Will Self: Military Matters 11 May 2012
Fri, 11 May 12
Duration:
10 minsWill Self calls for a return of National Service in the UK and asks why political leaders are so fond aligning themselves with the military to enhance their tough-guy credentials.
Will Self: Lords, Lordlings and Crumpets 04 May 2012
Fri, 4 May 12
Duration:
10 minsWill Self savages the continuing role of hereditary peers in parliament and denounces the narrowing of the range of political choice in Britain.
Will Self: The Rights of Humans... and Animals 27 Apr 2012
Fri, 27 Apr 12
Duration:
10 minsWill Self asks whether "human rights" really exist - when they can so easily be taken away?
Will Self: Challenging Intellect 20 Apr 2012
Fri, 20 Apr 12
Duration:
10 minsWill Self says we should embrace the intellectual challenge of 'difficult' books and art, and value works which are more taxing than our increasingly low-brow popular culture.
David Cannadine: Jubilee Celebrations 13 Apr 2012
Fri, 13 Apr 12
Duration:
11 minsHistorian David Cannadine looks ahead to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, reflecting on the history of royal jubilees worldwide and, in particular, the celebrations for Queen Victoria.
David Cannadine: Cathedral Heritage 06 April 12
Fri, 6 Apr 12
Duration:
11 minsHistorian David Cannadine reflects at Easter time on the architectural glories of cathedrals and the part these buildings have played in our national history and culture.
David Cannadine: Fat Policemen 30 Mar 2012
Fri, 30 Mar 12
Duration:
10 minsHistorian David Cannadine reflects on the changing images of the typical British Bobby, in light of a recent report that over half of the members of the Metropolitan Police are overweight.
David Cannadine: The Fashion for Westerns 23 Mar 2012
Fri, 23 Mar 12
Duration:
11 minsHistorian David Cannadine recalls the heyday of cinema and television Westerns and wonders if a forthcoming adaptation of the Lone Ranger will find a new audience.
David Cannadine: Power of the Press 16 Mar 2012
Fri, 16 Mar 12
Duration:
11 minsHistorian David Cannadine reflects on the power of the press, past and present, recalling how early twentieth century press barons attempted to influence British politics.
David Cannadine: Churchill's American Speeches 09 Mar 2012
Fri, 9 Mar 12
Duration:
10 minsHistorian David Cannadine reflects on the enduring resonance of the important speeches which Winston Churchilll delivered in colleges and universities in the United States.
David Cannadine: Why Wear a Tie? 02 Mar 2012
Fri, 2 Mar 12
Duration:
10 minsHistorian David Cannadine compares the traditions of tie wearing on both sides of the Atlantic. He reflects on the social significance of this element of male dress and observes a recent phenomenon - that politicians seem to campaign in open neck shirts but govern wearing ties.
David Cannadine: A History of Monetary Unions 24 Feb 2012
Fri, 24 Feb 12
Duration:
11 minsHistorian David Cannadine reflects on the legacy of monetary unions and what causes success or failure. Ancient Greece was a pioneer, whereas modern Greece has hit problems before.
David Cannadine: Bankers in America 17 Feb 2012
Fri, 17 Feb 12
Duration:
11 minsHistorian David Cannadine reflects on current and historic attitudes towards bankers in America. He sees today's criticism as mild by comparison with the attitude of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
David Cannadine: Anniversary Cornucopia 10 Feb 2012
Fri, 10 Feb 12
Duration:
10 minsHistorian David Cannadine surveys the current crop of anniversaries and finds a cornucopia of dates to prompt reflection. Awareness of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens may be widespread but fewer may know 2012 marks the two hundredth anniversary of the death of the only British prime minister to be assassinated.
Lisa Jardine: Email Etiquette 03 Feb 2012
Fri, 3 Feb 12
Duration:
10 minsHistorian Lisa Jardine reflects on the perils of over-hasty emails compared with the time allowed for reflection by old fashioned letter writing.
Lisa Jardine: The Thatcher Story 27 Jan 2012
Fri, 27 Jan 12
Duration:
10 minsHistorian Lisa Jardine reflects on the portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in the film The Iron Lady, and considers the complexities of portraying the lives of both public and private figures.
Lisa Jardine: Volume Control 20 Jan 2012
Thu, 19 Jan 12
Duration:
10 minsHistorian Lisa Jardine reflects on her aversion to today's new sources of noise and traces the history of some attempts at noise abatement.
Lisa Jardine: The Nature of Gardening 13 Jan 2012
Fri, 13 Jan 12
Duration:
11 minsHistorian Lisa Jardine recalls the seventeenth century Lord Chancellor, and keen gardener, Sir Francis Bacon as she reflects on the art of gardening, as both pure human pleasure and a means of self advancement.
Lisa Jardine: Information Overload 6 Jan 2012
Fri, 6 Jan 12
Duration:
11 minsHistorian Lisa Jardine proposes that information overload is not a new problem, explaining that by the seventeenth century there was widespread anxiety that the sheer volume of available knowledge was getting out of hand.
Lisa Jardine: Glamour in Austerity 30 Dec 2011
Fri, 30 Dec 11
Duration:
11 minsHistorian Lisa Jardine remembers 2011 for the spectacle of the Royal Wedding, reflecting on the historic power of regal glamour in times of austerity. Queen Elizabeth I, she says, used ostentation and opulence in her dress as a political tool to increase national confidence in the solvency of her regime.
Simon Schama: The Memory Business 29 Dec 2011
Thu, 29 Dec 11
Duration:
15 minsHistorian Simon Schama reflects on how the world, ten years on, remembered the events of 9/11 and ponders why it is vital to remember: Ten years is an aeon in tweet-time, he writes, but 9/11 bleeds, in every sense, into today's front pages.
Will Self: Media Malpractice 28 Dec 2011
Wed, 28 Dec 11
Duration:
15 minsWill Self reflects on the depth of the malpractices revealed by the Leveson inquiry into the media. He says it has drawn the attention of people outside the Westminster and Fleet Street villages to the existence of a systematically corrupt and corrupting dimension to public life in the UK.
Sarah Dunant: The Meaning of Debt 27 Dec 2011
Tue, 27 Dec 11
Duration:
14 minsAuthor Sarah Dunant looks back on 2011 and reflects on the meaning of the word 'debt'. While deploring what she calls the 'catastrophe' of the debt ridden economy, she views a debt also owed to the protest movements both in the Arab world and camped outside St Paul's Cathedral.
John Gray: The End, Yet Again? 26 Dec 2011
Mon, 26 Dec 11
Duration:
14 minsPolitical philosopher Prof John Gray reflects on the merits of living for the present. He argues that looking to the future to give meaning to our lives fails to cherish the here and now.
Lisa Jardine: Carols at Christmas 23 Dec 2011
Fri, 23 Dec 11
Duration:
10 minsHistorian Lisa Jardine reflects on the power of music to move, especially at Christmas, when the singing of carols unites singers and listeners alike, in an outpouring of community spirit.
Lisa Jardine: Climate Change Belief 16 Dec 2011
Fri, 16 Dec 11
Duration:
11 minsHistorian Lisa Jardine thinks selective hearing skews the debate over climate change and urges climate scientists to fully engage in a conversation with their sceptical critics.
Lisa Jardine: Beware the Experts 09 Dec 2011
Fri, 9 Dec 11
Duration:
11 minsHistorian Lisa Jardine recalls the English physicist and novelist C.P. Snow, who served in several important positions in the British civil service, for lessons on the danger of government-by-experts. She says democracy depends on our being able to sustain informed debate about science and economics.
Lisa Jardine: Finding Family History 02 Dec 2011
Fri, 2 Dec 11
Duration:
10 minsThe historian Lisa Jardine finds herself converted to the value of family history after the discovery of a tape recording, which shed light on a puzzling family photograph taken in 1906.
Mary Beard: The Oxbridge Interview 25 Nov 2011
Fri, 25 Nov 11
Duration:
10 minsCambridge university classicist Prof Mary Beard reflects on the purpose of the much-maligned Oxbridge interview and defends the 'would you rather be an apple or a banana?' school of questioning.
Mary Beard: Reflections on Monetary Union 18 Nov 2011
Fri, 18 Nov 11
Duration:
10 minsWith the euro in turmoil, classicist Prof Mary Beard reflects on the very first monetary union, two and a half thousand years ago - ironically masterminded by the Greeks in ancient Athens.
Mary Beard: Age and Beauty 11 Nov 2011
Fri, 11 Nov 11
Duration:
10 minsClassicist Prof Mary Beard takes a peek at Miss World 2011 and ponders why - unlike her days as a radical feminist teenager - the whole occasion doesn't fill her with fury.
Mary Beard: Tyrants 04 Nov 2011
Fri, 4 Nov 11
Duration:
10 minsFrom the ingeniously ghastly ways they killed their opponents to their weird forms of dress, classicist Prof Mary Beard reflects on the uncanny similarities between Colonel Gaddafi and the tyrants of ancient Rome. She argues that the similarities were present in life - and in death.
Will Self: The Arms Trade 28 Oct 2011
Fri, 28 Oct 11
Duration:
11 minsWill Self deplores the arms trade and Britain's role in it, including the sale of weapons to authoritarian regimes which abuse human rights. He takes aim at the euphemisms that surround the sector, arguing: the elision of business-speak with the foggy verbiage of warfare is perhaps the most deranging aspect of the contemporary arms trade.
Will Self: Class, Race and Social Mobility 21 Oct 2011
Fri, 21 Oct 11
Duration:
10 minsWill Self reflects that racism is rarely a sole cause of social injustice but alongside other problems, such as poverty, it can limit people's social mobility. He says: it's not a case of class or family or education or money or race, it's a matter of of class, family, education, money AND race."
Will Self: In Praise of Wind Farms 14 Oct 2011
Fri, 14 Oct 11
Duration:
10 minsWill Self praises the beauty of wind turbines and says protests against them spring from a misconceived idyllic view of our already man-made landscape.
Will Self: Why Prisons Fail 07 Oct 2011
Fri, 7 Oct 11
Duration:
11 minsWill Self sees an urgent need to reform the prison system and deplores what he sees as a lack of political will to tackle its present failings. He says: not only does prison, for the vast majority of those who endure it not work - either as punishment or as rehabilitation - but there is no escaping the conclusion that it functions as a stimulant to crime, rather than its bromide.
Will Self: Political Party Membership 30 Sept 2011
Fri, 30 Sep 11
Duration:
10 minsWill Self attacks the people who join political parties as "donkeys led by donkeys". He criticises the spectacle of party conferences - "a parade of endlessly biddable Dobbins" - and argues that members repeatedly see their principles betrayed by the actions of leaders who are continually fighting over the same patch of turf.
John Gray: Churchill, Chance and the Black Dog 23 Sept 2011
Fri, 23 Sep 11
Duration:
11 minsPolitical philosopher Prof John Gray argues that Winston Churchill's appointment as wartime Prime Minister came about through a strange conjunction of events and chance encounters in a couple of days in May 1940. He also ponders whether it was it Churchill's recurring melancholy which made for his greatness.
John Gray: Believing in Belief 16 Sept 2011
Fri, 16 Sep 11
Duration:
10 minsPolitical philosopher John Gray argues that the scientific and rationalist attack on religion is misguided. Atheist critics do not realise that religion is not generally about personal belief.
John Gray: Cats, Birds and Humans 09 Sept 2011
Fri, 9 Sep 11
Duration:
10 minsPolitical philosopher John Gray considers why the human animal needs contact with something other than itself - and tells the tale of an eminent philosopher who persuaded his cat to become a vegan.
John Gray: The Revolution of Capitalism 02 Sept 2011
Fri, 2 Sep 11
Duration:
11 minsPolitical philosopher John Gray argues that one side-effect of the financial crisis is an increasing number of people who believe that Karl Marx was right. He outlines why Marx's belief that capitalism would lead to revolution - and end bourgeois life - has come true, but not in the way Marx imagined.
John Gray: Kim Philby 26 Aug 2011
Fri, 26 Aug 11
Duration:
10 minsAs recently discovered letters from Kim Philby are published, political philosopher Prof John Gray argues that the spy's life illustrates why we are so poor at predicting the future. Where Philby saw a bright future in Soviet Communism - one that led him to betray friends and colleagues - many in the West hoped for a different utopia in Russia as Communism collapsed. Neither saw their dreams realised.
John Gray: Greece and the Meaning of Folly 19 Aug 2011
Fri, 19 Aug 11
Duration:
10 minsPolitical philosopher Prof John Gray reflects on the meaning of folly. Taking the myth of the Trojan horse as his starting point, he explores what he sees as the modern day folly unfolding in Europe. He calls on European leaders to reconsider the single European currency - a project he says was always doomed to fail.
Alain de Botton: The Advantages of Pessimism 12 Aug 2011
Fri, 12 Aug 11
Duration:
11 minsAlain de Botton reflects on why pessimism is the key to happiness. He argues that the best way to find contentment is to learn to be a bit more gloomy.
Alain de Botton: Modern Parenting 05 Aug 2011
Fri, 5 Aug 11
Duration:
11 minsAlain de Botton takes a witty look at modern parenting. He explains why today's parent simply can't avoid baking biscuits and helping to paint Tyrannosaurus Rex's scales.
Alain de Botton: Social Climbing 29 Jul 2011
Fri, 29 Jul 11
Duration:
10 minsAlain de Botton reflects on social climbing and argues that the activity should be seen, at times, as evidence of a natural curiosity about the modern world. He says in the current environment, it is often not idle pleasure-seeking but an attempt to keep oneself in a job.
Alain de Botton: What's in a Marriage? 22 Jul 2011
Fri, 22 Jul 11
Duration:
11 minsAlain de Botton reflects on our high expectations for modern marriage. He argues that expecting one person to be a good partner, lover and parent is, almost, asking the impossible. He shows how different it all was before the mid eighteenth century.
Alain de Botton: The Art of Conversation 15 Jul 2011
Fri, 15 Jul 11
Duration:
10 minsAlain de Botton on why preparing conversation is as important as preparing a good salad for a summer picnic. He questions why we put so much effort into our social encounters, but leave our conversation to chance. With examples from history and literature, he argues that it is when there are rules to our conversation that our spirit can best be set free.
Alain de Botton: In Praise of the Zoo 08 Jul 2011
Fri, 8 Jul 11
Duration:
10 minsAlain de Botton muses on the value of exotic animals in helping to give us perspective on our own lives. He explains why he has rediscovered wild animals and suggests a zoo trip as a perfect summer outing.
Alain de Botton: On Marriage 11 Feb 2011
Fri, 11 Feb 11
Duration:
11 minsAlain de Botton muses on why a bookish life is a poor preparation for marriage. He says Western literature's obsession with unrequited love means the average love story is of help only to the lovelorn.
Alain de Botton: In Praise of the Nanny State 04 Feb 2011
Fri, 4 Feb 11
Duration:
11 minsAlain de Botton asks why the idea of a nanny state is so unappealing. He says complete freedom - left totally to our own devices - is rarely what we want and there is a lot to be said for a paternalistic nudge in the right direction.
Alain de Botton: Are Museums Our New Churches? 28 Jan 2011
Fri, 28 Jan 11
Duration:
10 minsAlain de Botton explores the notion that museums are our new churches. But museums - he says - have a lot to learn from churches about getting their message across and appeals for a complete revamp of some of our favourite museums.
Alain de Botton: Man and Nature 21 Jan 2011
Fri, 21 Jan 11
Duration:
10 minsAlain de Botton gives a philosopher's take on our ecological dilemmas. He argues that fear of environmental destruction has forever changed our relationship with nature. Far from being a threat, it is now something to be pitied and protected.
Alain de Botton: News and Concentration 14 Jan 2011
Fri, 14 Jan 11
Duration:
10 minsAlain de Botton argues that in our mad desire to keep up with what's new, we have lost our ability to concentrate. We are made to feel, he says, that at any point, somewhere on the globe, something may occur to sweep away old certainties. He suggests that a period of fasting from our obsession with 'news' may be what's needed.
Alain de Botton: What Humanities Should Teach 07 Jan 2011
Fri, 7 Jan 11
Duration:
10 minsAlain de Botton argues that teachers of humanities in universities have only themselves to blame for many of the swingeing cuts they are facing. He says they have failed to explain to the government - and the public at large - why what they do really matters.
Joan Bakewell: Dear Diary 31 Dec 2010
Fri, 31 Dec 10
Duration:
10 minsJoan Bakewell celebrates the art of diary writing by public figures and private individuals whose accounts of everyday life help shape our view of the past.
Joan Bakewell: Sympathy 17 Dec 2010
Fri, 17 Dec 10
Duration:
10 minsJoan Bakewell contrasts our empathy for fictional characters on stage and screen with a reported increased lack of sympathy for real people in need.
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Play episodes
- Will Self: A Right Loyal Toast 25 May 2012
- Will Self: Europe & My Quadriga-Spotting Tour 18 May 2012
- Will Self: Military Matters 11 May 2012
- Will Self: Lords, Lordlings and Crumpets 04 May 2012
- Will Self: The Rights of Humans... and Animals 27 Apr 2012
- Will Self: Challenging Intellect 20 Apr 2012
- David Cannadine: Jubilee Celebrations 13 Apr 2012
- David Cannadine: Cathedral Heritage 06 April 12
- David Cannadine: Fat Policemen 30 Mar 2012
- David Cannadine: The Fashion for Westerns 23 Mar 2012
- David Cannadine: Power of the Press 16 Mar 2012
- David Cannadine: Churchill's American Speeches 09 Mar 2012
- David Cannadine: Why Wear a Tie? 02 Mar 2012
- David Cannadine: A History of Monetary Unions 24 Feb 2012
- David Cannadine: Bankers in America 17 Feb 2012
- David Cannadine: Anniversary Cornucopia 10 Feb 2012
- Lisa Jardine: Email Etiquette 03 Feb 2012
- Lisa Jardine: The Thatcher Story 27 Jan 2012
- Lisa Jardine: Volume Control 20 Jan 2012
- Lisa Jardine: The Nature of Gardening 13 Jan 2012
- Lisa Jardine: Information Overload 6 Jan 2012
- Lisa Jardine: Glamour in Austerity 30 Dec 2011
- Simon Schama: The Memory Business 29 Dec 2011
- Will Self: Media Malpractice 28 Dec 2011
- Sarah Dunant: The Meaning of Debt 27 Dec 2011
- John Gray: The End, Yet Again? 26 Dec 2011
- Lisa Jardine: Carols at Christmas 23 Dec 2011
- Lisa Jardine: Climate Change Belief 16 Dec 2011
- Lisa Jardine: Beware the Experts 09 Dec 2011
- Lisa Jardine: Finding Family History 02 Dec 2011
- Mary Beard: The Oxbridge Interview 25 Nov 2011
- Mary Beard: Reflections on Monetary Union 18 Nov 2011
- Mary Beard: Age and Beauty 11 Nov 2011
- Mary Beard: Tyrants 04 Nov 2011
- Will Self: The Arms Trade 28 Oct 2011
- Will Self: Class, Race and Social Mobility 21 Oct 2011
- Will Self: In Praise of Wind Farms 14 Oct 2011
- Will Self: Why Prisons Fail 07 Oct 2011
- Will Self: Political Party Membership 30 Sept 2011
- John Gray: Churchill, Chance and the Black Dog 23 Sept 2011
- John Gray: Believing in Belief 16 Sept 2011
- John Gray: Cats, Birds and Humans 09 Sept 2011
- John Gray: The Revolution of Capitalism 02 Sept 2011
- John Gray: Kim Philby 26 Aug 2011
- John Gray: Greece and the Meaning of Folly 19 Aug 2011
- Alain de Botton: The Advantages of Pessimism 12 Aug 2011
- Alain de Botton: Modern Parenting 05 Aug 2011
- Alain de Botton: Social Climbing 29 Jul 2011
- Alain de Botton: What's in a Marriage? 22 Jul 2011
- Alain de Botton: The Art of Conversation 15 Jul 2011
- Alain de Botton: In Praise of the Zoo 08 Jul 2011
- Alain de Botton: On Marriage 11 Feb 2011
- Alain de Botton: In Praise of the Nanny State 04 Feb 2011
- Alain de Botton: Are Museums Our New Churches? 28 Jan 2011
- Alain de Botton: Man and Nature 21 Jan 2011
- Alain de Botton: News and Concentration 14 Jan 2011
- Alain de Botton: What Humanities Should Teach 07 Jan 2011
- Joan Bakewell: Dear Diary 31 Dec 2010
- Joan Bakewell: Sympathy 17 Dec 2010
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