Monday 09:00-09:45
Rpt: Mon 21:30-22:00
Setting the week's cultural agenda.
30 January 2006
It seems appropriate that BORIS JOHNSON, Oxford Classics scholar, Eurosceptic and now shadow education minister, should have brought his various duties and enthusiasms together to teach us about the Romans and why they were so successful at running a united empire of up to 100 million people, when, as he puts it, we in the European Union can't even agree on a plug for our toasters... The Dream of Rome is published by HarperCollins and there is also a 2-part series on BBC 2, starting on Sunday 29 January at 8.00pm.
The weather - it's a British obsession. Or is it? TOM FORT thinks looking up at the sky and speculating about what's going to happen next is part of the human condition. He discusses freak weather conditions, the forecast and whether weather influences our national identity. Under the Weather is published by Century.
Over thirty years ago, the scientist JAMES LOVELOCK developed the Gaia hypothesis - the idea that the earth has a self-regulating system which keeps the environment fit for life. In his latest book, The Revenge of Gaia , Lovelock says that our abuse of the environment is making that control mechanism work against us and that global warming is past the point of no return. He explains why this is our wake up call and why we should embrace nuclear power. The Revenge of Gaia is published by Allen Lane.
We've seen elections in the Palestinian Territories last week and Iraq earlier in the month - will greater engagement in the political process lead to a reduction in terrorism in the Middle East? What can we as individuals do about terrorism? SCILLA ELWORTHY , nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times, explores what civilians as well as governments can do. Making Terrorism History , co-authored by Scilla Elworthy and Gabrielle Rifkind, is published by Rider.
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