"I have come to think of the virus as that monster from the ancient Norse legend of Beowulf, Grendel," writes Michael Morpurgo. "He's out there now, threatening my home, my village, my family and friends".

Michael talks about what it feels like to be hunkered down in his little cottage in Devon - waiting for coronavirus to pass.

Recorded by Hamish Marshall from Radio Devon.

Produced by Adele Armstrong.

"There is nothing some of us enjoy more," writes Adam Gopnik, "than finding analogies to our own paltry and predictable lives in scenes from famous gangster movies."

As his children move away from home and he becomes an "empty nester", Adam finds himself, too, doing just that.

Producer: Adele Armstrong

"There are some things that one just has to put up with," writes Tom Shakespeare. "Sometimes over-thinking is the worst response."

Tom reflects on how we can best respond to difficult situations.

Producer: Adele Armstrong

To recline....or not to recline your aeroplane seat?

Adam Gopnik ponders the question of “recline-gate” in the aftermath of the recent American Airlines incident that went viral.

Producer: Adele Armstrong

"I am holding history in my hands," writes Sarah Dunant. "The date on the letter is February 1490...the place, the city of Mantua in Italy".

As she delves through the Mantuan State Archive, Sarah reflects on the task of understanding and writing history.

Producer: Adele Armstrong

"We have been here before, many times" writes Sarah Dunant as she charts some key moments in history when the world has been gripped by fear over the spread of disease.

From Columbus and the outbreak of syphilis in 1495, to cholera at Mecca in the 1860s ....and Wuhan today.

She ponders what insights this present crisis might bring.

Producer: Adele Armstrong

From the “pernicious fife-footlers polluting the sooty Victorian cities” to the “fiendish electronic cacophony” of today, Will Self bemoans the ever-increasing difficulty of finding a bit of peace and quiet.

He wonders why we tolerate this growing noise pollution, even though we know that high levels of ambient noise cause stress, insomnia and even, if persistent, poor mental health.

Producer: Adele Armstrong

"Of all the men I never wanted to grow old into", writes Howard Jacobson, "this is the man I wanted to grow into least: the prepared-for-all-eventualities shopper".

Howard describes his hours of neatly folding plastic bags on his hands and knees on his living room floor...in order to let him shop responsibly.

Gone is his old profligacy. "The wild", he says, "have become the watchful".

Producer: Adele Armstrong

"All racism is a species not only of unreason... but of unreason enthusiastically embraced", writes Howard Jacobson.

Howard discusses why anti-Semitism should trouble us all, regardless of our background.

Producer: Adele Armstrong

Following the death of the philosopher, author and self-professed Wagner fan, Sir Roger Scruton, this is one of our favourite talks he did for the series.

As Wagner’s Ring – that huge and controversial cycle of operas - went on tour around the UK, Roger talked about why The Ring is absolutely a story for our time.

"I have loved The Ring and learned from it for over 50 years and for me, it is quite simply the truth about our world - but the truth expressed by means of music of unquestionable authority and supreme melodic and harmonic power".

The talk was first broadcast in 2016.

Producer: Adele Armstrong