Episodes from Night Waves broadcast in 2009

4/4. Rana Mitter discusses Moliere's The Misanthrope and re-assesses Jean-Paul Sartre.

3/4. Anne McElvoy and guests re-assess the reputation of philosopher Bertrand Russell.

2/4. Matthew Sweet talks to new Dr Who producer Steven Moffat and film director James Cameron.

1/4. Philip Dodd and guests on the contested reputation of German dramatist Bertolt Brecht.

Julia Neuberger gives a lecture about ending prejudice against Britain's senior citizens.

Matthew Sweet and international guests on Herta Muller, eco art and cultures of dance.

Philip Dodd talks to influential Paris-based philosopher Tzvetan Todorov.

Anne McElvoy talks to critic Andrew Graham-Dixon about the history of Russian art.

A debate at the 2009 Free Thinking festival asking what sort of future lies ahead for men.

Philip Dodd talks to director Richard Linklater about his film Me and Orson Welles.

Matthew Sweet reviews an all-star version of Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Presented by Rana Mitter. With writer and film-maker Tariq Ali.

Psychoanalyst Michael Brearley delivers a talk about the nature of leadership.

Presented by Matthew Sweet. With critic Frank Kermode and a debate on studying English.

Philip Dodd talks to leading German poet and intellectual Hans Magnus Enzensberger.

Presented by Anne McElvoy. With a review of Tchaikovsky's opera The Tsarina's Slippers.

A debate about the importance of the rivers of the North East: the Tyne, Tees and Wear.

Philip Dodd talks to Zadie Smith about her new collection of essays Changing My Mind.

Anne McElvoy discusses Vladimir Nabokov's previously unpublished final novel.

Rana Mitter talks to Shlomo Sand, author of a controversial history of the Jewish people.

Lisa Jardine on how IVF is changing our ideas about the definition of a family.

Matthew Sweet talks to film-maker Stephen Poliakoff and reviews Michael Haneke's latest.

Matthew Sweet talks to American film director Steven Soderbergh.

Philip Dodd hosts a debate from Berlin 20 years after the fall of the Wall.

Philip Dodd and guests debate which is the greater human achievement - sport or the arts.

With Anne McElvoy. Michael Goldfarb on his experience of the 1989 revolutions in Europe.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband talks to Philip Dodd at 2009's Free Thinking festival.

Matthew Sweet talks to director Jane Campion. Plus Michael Goldfarb's memories of 1989.

Rana Mitter hosts a public debate: Is The West Losing Its Nerve?

Innovative music producer William Orbit presents his personal guide to the world of sound.

Philip Dodd meets psychotherapist Gwen Adshead. Contains some disturbing images.

Ken Livingstone asks an audience in Gateshead if the North-South divide still matters.

2/2. Matthew Sweet hosts further conversation and debate about the 2009 Free Thinking festival.

1/2. Matthew Sweet hosts conversation and debate about Radio 3's 2009 Free Thinking festival.

2009's Free Thinking festival opens with Tanya Byron's vision of the 21st-century family.

Film director Mike Leigh joins Philip Dodd to discuss Francois Truffaut's Jules et Jim. (R)

Rana Mitter presents an extended conversation with celebrated Israeli writer Amos Oz. (R)

With historian David Kynaston on his new book and the Royal Academy sculpture exhibition.

Rana Mitter talks to moral philospher Mary Midgley.

Philip Dodd explores The Threepenny Opera.

Matthew Sweet talks to Dave Eggers about his novel The Wild Things.

Anne McElvoy talks to historian Amanda Vickery about domestic life in Georgian England.

Rana Mitter talks to Harvard moral philosopher Michael Sandel about justice.

Anne McElvoy talks to Harold Evans, one Britain's most celebrated newspapermen.

Philip Dodd presents a crime special, talking to PD James and Diego Gambetta.

With Rana Mitter. William Dalrymple and Madeleine Bunting discuss their new books.

Presented by Matthew Sweet. With director Terry Gilliam and the 2009 Turner Prize.

With Jenny Uglow, Robert Service, the film Swastika and a new version of Inherit the Wind.

The arts and ideas programme.

Matthew Sweet talks to celebrated essayist, critic and writer Clive James.

Philip Dodd talks to Pete Townshend of The Who.

Matthew Sweet meets leading Australian novelists Thomas Keneally and Richard Flanagan.

Anne McElvoy talks to sculptor Anish Kapoor ahead of a new exhibition.

Rana Mitter talks to Diarmaid MacCulloch on his book The History of Christianity.

Philip Dodd talks to politician and academic Shirley Williams.

Presented by Rana Mitter. With Eva Hoffman on her new book about the concept of time.

Matthew Sweet presents. With director Stephen Daldry and Joseph P Kennedy in Hollywood.

Philip Dodd on one of the most momentous and dangerous ideas of recent times - revolution.

Rana Mitter talks to Hanif Kureishi as a stage version of his novel opens.

Presented by Anne McElvoy. With economist Amartya Sen and playwright Mark Ravenhill.

Philip Dodd discusses the politics, culture and morality of a possible age of austerity.

Presented by Matthew Sweet. With Antichrist reviewed and Harvey Klehr on the KGB in the US

Philip Dodd talks to political historian Timothy Garton Ash.

Isabel Hilton talks to Karen Armstrong about her defence of religion and the case for God.

Bidisha and novelist Arundhati Roy discuss the faultlines threatening India's democracy.

Matthew Sweet talks to writer Glen David Gold about his new novel Sunnyside.

Matthew Sweet presents an international edition of the arts and ideas magazine.

Anne McElvoy talks to artist Jeff Koons and sees the latest gangster blockbuster.

Isabel Hilton discusses French revolutionary Georges Danton. Plus Michael Goldfarb on 1969

With Philip Dodd. American writer Michael Goldfarb recalls the 1969 Woodstock festival.

Rana Mitter examines The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, the bible of modern feminism.

Bidisha asks what it means to be civilised and whether civilisation is an outdated concept

Matthew Sweet talks to Russell T Davies and discusses painter JW Waterhouse.

Philip Dodd and Ian McMillan on the difficulties and joys of translating foreign poetry.

Matthew Sweet talks to Olivia de Havilland about her one-time co-star Errol Flynn.

Philip Dodd talks to playwright David Edgar about the art of writing for the stage.

Bidisha discusses whether James Joyce's Ulysses could be a self-help guide in disguise.

Anne McElvoy debates a film about one of the most controversial massacres in World War Two

Rana Mitter on Helen Mirren's portrayal of Phedre and John Keane on democracy's future.

Isabel Hilton talks to author Julia Franck. Plus a review of Tate Modern's Futurism show.

Matthew Sweet talks to the new Children's Laureate and discusses the reign of Mary Tudor.

Philip Dodd presents a debate on Thomas Paine, plus South African judge Albie Sachs.

Philip Dodd talks to surfing enthusiast, professor Andy Martin, about his new book.

Anne McElvoy and guests explore the latest cultural issues.

Matthew Sweet presents news and discussion of the arts events of the week.

Bidisha discusses the influence of Polish directors on cultural life in Britain.

Bidisha talks to artist Tracey Emin about her drawings.

Rana Mitter and Claire Tomalin on diarist, gossip and horticulturalist John Evelyn.

Philip Dodd talks to Economist editor John Micklethwait about the revival of religion.

Philip Dodd and guests on the leading thinker of the 20th century, Sir Isaiah Berlin.

With Matthew Sweet. Including Caryl Phillips and the new Great North Museum.

Anne McElvoy talks to Pulitzer prize-winning former US Poet Laureate Rita Dove.

Phillip Dodd previews Radio 3's Sonnets Day, with poet Jo Shapcott.

Isabel Hilton looks at the cultural history of knots.

Matthew Sweet talks to Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman.

Matthew Sweet presents an extended conversation with novelist AS Byatt.

Bidisha reports on a speech by Prince Charles to the Royal Insitute of British Architects.

Rana Mitter reviews a new ENO production of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes.

Philip Dodd talks to Christopher Caldwell about his book on European immigration.

With Anne McElvoy. Including a review of a new production of Waiting for Godot.

Isabel Hilton and guests, including historian Richard Overy on Britain in the 1930s.

Matthew Sweet presents an edition of the programme dedicated to the world of boys.

Arts and cultural news and debate with Philip Dodd.

Rana Mitter and Tristram Hunt explore the life of the philosopher Friedrich Engels.

Bidisha visits a complete re-creation of an Elizabethan garden at Kenilworth Castle.

Matthew Sweet and historian Ronald Hutton on the history and reinvention of the Druids.

Matthew Sweet chairs a debate about the future of A levels.

Anne McElvoy meets controversial Iranian author and thinker Azar Nafisi.

Philip Dodd meets an Indian computer technology guru with a new vision for his nation.

Richard Reynolds, the 'guerilla gardener', on why planting flowers is a form of politics.

Philip Dodd marks the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII with a reappraisal of the monarch.

Rana Mitter revisits the great debates of the 18th century about artistic originality.

Matthew Sweet discusses the 1974 play trilogy The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn.

At the end of Holy Week, Rana Mitter and guests examine Christianity in the Arab world.

Isabel Hilton re-assesses the reputation of economics in the wake of the credit crunch.

Philip Dodd on one of the most influential design movements of the modern age - Bauhaus.

Matthew Sweet hosts an international edition, with cultural critics from around the world.

Philip Dodd talks to philosopher Peter Singer about his plan to eradicate world poverty.

Bidisha talks to Oscar-winning Life Is Beautiful actor Roberto Benigni about Dante.

Celebrated author and columnist Will Self gives the opening lecture at Free Thinking 2008.

Anne McElvoy talks to choreographer, dancer, director and designer Wayne McGregor.

In an extended conversation, Philip Dodd talks to pioneering scientist James Lovelock.

Rana Mitter talks to celebrated Indian writer Amit Chaudhuri about his novel The Immortals

Matthew Sweet and art critic Lynda Nead review a documentary about the life of Mike Tyson.

Film director Mike Leigh joins Philip Dodd to discuss Francois Truffaut's Jules et Jim.

Matthew Sweet sees Dame Judi Dench in an all-star production of the play Madame de Sade.

Bidisha explores the story of magic books, from Ancient Egypt to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Rana Mitter talks to famous Marxist philosopher Slavoj Zizek.

Tony Benn gives a talk on the value of experience at Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival 2008 (R)

Anne McElvoy presents the arts and ideas programme.

Matthew Sweet discusses the new film about armed robber Charles Bronson.

Philip Dodd attempts to bridge the Anglo-French cultural gap over playwright Jean Racine.

Philip Dodd and David Cesarani discuss attacks on Britain by Zionist groups in the 1940s.

Artist Maggi Hambling discusses John Constable's lesser-known portraits.

Isabel Hilton explores the life of the Russian empress Catherine the Great.

Bidisha discusses Eonnagata, Sylvie Guillem's dance project about a 17th-century spy.

Philip Dodd presents an edition exploring the culture and politics of the atom bomb.

Anne McElvoy talks to Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza, who won the RIBA Royal Gold Medal.

Rana Mitter presents an extended conversation with celebrated Israeli writer Amos Oz.

Matthew Sweet visits the National Gallery's first Picasso exhibition.

Philip Dodd with a Night Waves Landmark dedicated to Harold Pinter's play The Homecoming.

Isabel Hilton and veteran US journalist Patrick Tyler on America's role in the Middle East

Matthew Sweet discusses Clint Eastwood's continuing significance in cinema.

Bidisha discusses the work of the great 17th-Century portraitist Van Dyck.

Rana Mitter asks who has been the most influential: Charles Darwin or Marx and Freud?

Anne McElvoy reassesses the legacy of Abraham Lincoln 200 years after his birth.

Matthew Sweet talks to playwright Richard Bean about his play England People Very Nice.

Matthew Sweet and guests discuss an exhibition about rank in British society.

Matthew Sweet explores the legacy of the fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie in 1989.

Bidisha talks to South Africa's novelist Andre Brink, and discusses the chastity movement.

Isabel Hilton hears how some African thinkers are now rejecting the idea of overseas aid.

Philip Dodd talks to American writer John Patrick Shanley about his film Doubt.

Matthew Sweet and guests discuss the Israeli film Waltz with Bashir.

Psychotherapist Susie Orbach talks about our growing obsession with body image.

Philip Dodd talks to Tariq Ramadan, one of Europe's leading Muslim thinkers.

Rana Mitter talks to Christopher Frayling, outgoing chair of Arts Council England.

Bidisha reviews Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise as Hitler's would-be assassin.

Isabel Hilton talks to Daniel Tammet about his memoir about life with Asperger's syndrome.

Philip Dodd examines a controversial new biography of pioneering sociologist Max Weber.

Bidisha speaks to celebrated British fashion designer Hussein Chalayan.

Prof Sean Spence discusses the ethics of using pharmacology to regulate human behaviour.

Matthew Sweet interviews Auschwitz survivor and human rights judge Thomas Buergenthal.

Philip Dodd talks to psychoanalyst Adam Phillips about the virtues of kindness.

Rana Mitter talks to psychologist Penelope Leach, author of the book Your Baby and Child.

Bill Drummond talks about the future of music and his campaign to end recorded works.

Philip Dodd discusses the enduring fascination with the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.

Bidisha talks to director Danny Boyle about his new film Slumdog Millionaire.

Mathew Sweet explores our changing attitudes to pleasure and our motives for seeking it.