Simon Schama's Portraits of Britain. Syrian calligraphy artist Mouneer Al Shaarani. Barry Jones' Top Shelf. Debra Jopson's novel Oliver of the Levant.

Lyric Opera's version of Pygmalion twists the tale of a statue who comes to life; Helen Simonson's new novel The Summer Before the War; Franco American writer Alba Arikha reflects on France's literary past; and Shakespeare monologues on RN.

Why is Whistler's Mother so iconic? The Rambling Boys & the music of the Easter Rising. Panorama and The Scarifier. Masterpiece: Li Cunxin.

Katie Noonan's With Love and Fury. Brook Andrew at Art Basel Hong Kong . Final Chapters: How Famous Authors Died. Artist Tyza Stewart challenges ideas of gender.

African Book Club: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

A big new retrospective of the work of artist Jan Senbergs at the NGV, train music in The Vinyl Frontier, how acclaimed street artist Anthony Lister ended up in court in Brisbane, and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in the Book-to-film segment.

Why is Whistler's Mother so iconic? Andrew O'Hagan on what words can do. Masterpiece: Li Cunxin. Reading Europe - David Wagner.

Tom Roberts and his place in Australian art history.

Dr Nick Enfield gives us a new field guide to the human conversation machine; A Cultural History of Zombies; the Fiftieth National Folk Festival and Patrick Gale's Masterpiece.

Historian Fearghal McGarry, music of the Easter Rising with the Rambling Boys, comedian John Clarke's family connection to the history of the Rising through a painting, and how the Easter Rising has been remembered in literature.