Four Thought

Artist Zarah Hussain recalls her father's love of gardening and growing roses as a link to his native Pakistan. She reflects on the rose as a symbol of British national identity while also having foreign origins and universal appeal.

Karen Chapple discusses gentrification and how to keep our cities diverse.

As she explains while telling two stories about finding a place to live, she has often found herself asking 'Am I a gentrifier?'. A professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, Karen argues that in the past we had to fit our own story with the story of the neighbourhood we wanted to move into; now data can offer a much richer picture of where we live.

Producer: Giles Edwards.

Michael Merrick challenges how we think about social mobility.

Sharing his own story, Michael makes the case that social mobility often involves pressure on individuals to move away - both physically and metaphorically - from the family and community which nourished them. He argues that the graduate professions thus take on a particular character, making those professions uncomfortable places to be for people arriving in them from working class backgrounds. And he suggests that this division, which often makes itself felt in education, is unwise. "In a contest between home and academic flourishing," he says, "some choose home; not because of ignorance, but because of a refusal to shed heritage as participation fee."

Producer: Giles Edwards.

Dalia Elmelige tells the story of her life as a Muslim in America after 9/11.

'I didn't get to celebrate my little brother's first birthday', begins Dalia, as she describes her life as a Muslim in post-9/11 America. From playground bullying to work at the Carter Presidential Center on countering ISIS propaganda, in many ways her life has been defined by the aftermath of 9/11. In this moving talk, introduced by Olly Mann, Dalia shares some reflections on isolation and identity.

Producer: Giles Edwards.

Geoff Colman discusses truth and reality in acting.

As Head of Acting at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, Geoff has an unparalleled view of the shifting worlds of acting and drama. But in recent years he has been asked to coach artists across the performing arts, in fields where acting - in particular acting for the camera - would never previously have been a concern. In this Four Thought, Geoff tells the story of how he fell in love with the theatre of acting, and how technology is forcing a new relationship with reality, and truth.

Producer: Giles Edwards.

Dan Mayfield, founder of the School of Noise, explains why he believes everyone is capable of making music, and why the right kind of music education is so important to encourage young people's creativity.

"I believe... there is musicality in all of us, because I think of music as nothing more nor less than organised sound, and it shouldn't be something to be afraid of."

Recorded in front of a live audience at the WOMAD world music and arts festival in Wiltshire.

Presenter: Helen Zaltzman

Producer: Richard Knight.

Comedian Nick Revell explains why he manages to be optimistic - despite all the evidence.

"These days it's perhaps easier than ever to get pessimistic at the state of the world; I've had periods when I would wake up in the morning, check the news and ask myself if it's even worth moisturising. But I have a very positive attitude to life now. So let me take you on my journey of discovery."

Recorded in front of a live audience at the WOMAD world music and arts festival in Wiltshire.

Presenter: Helen Zaltzman

Producer: Richard Knight.

Natalie Maddix, founder of the House Gospel Choir, explains why she believes in the power of singing together. She gets the audience at WOMAD to join in to prove her point.

"Singing really has this healing property. There is a truth inside of us that maybe we're not ready to face and sometimes it's not until we sing together that we even become aware of our feelings."

Recorded in front of a live audience at the WOMAD world music and arts festival in Wiltshire.

Producer: Richard Knight.

Syrian qanun virtuoso Maya Youssef explains why - to her - music is "the opposite of death" in this powerful and poignant talk.

"I played a concert in a refugee centre in Aalborg, Denmark," she says, "and afterwards a ten-year old child approached me and said, 'Your music brought back the memory of beautiful days in Syria and the smell of lemon and jasmine.' Another woman added, 'I haven't felt happy like this for a long time'. I felt joy and grief at the same time hearing this."

Recorded in front of a live audience at the WOMAD world music and arts festival in Wiltshire.

Producer: Richard Knight.

Ivo Gormley tells the story of his bright idea to combine getting fit with doing good in the community, at a time of growing social isolation.

Presenter: Helen Zaltzman