Four Thought

Jelena Sofronijevic tells a story of Serbia, Yugoslavia - and Telford.

In this talk Jelena explores questions of diasporic identity through her family's connection with Yugoslavia, a country which no longer exists. On a visit to Serbia, she discovers that her upbringing in Telford had been more traditionally ‘Serbian’ than that of her Belgrade and Novi Sad relatives. And she finds herself, despite being born after Yugoslavia ceased to exist, drawn to its blended nationalism; her lived experiences traversing harsh borders. And she likens Yugoslavia, a country born of republics, to her home town of Telford, itself a collection of small, independent towns.

Producers: Giles Edwards and Peter Snowdon.

Claire Lynch describes how she navigated motherhood.

When Claire arrived at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit shortly after the birth of her daughters, the nurse on duty looked alarmed, then flustered, and finally realised, in Claire's words, 'that I have not risen, Lazarus-like, from an epidural, but might just be another kind of mother all together.' This is how Claire begins her beautiful meditation on what it means to be a mother - reflecting on her experiences trying to get pregnant, of what she has experienced of motherhood, and what she has not.

Producers: Giles Edwards and Peter Snowdon

Sam Gallivan examines the similarities between surgery and sculpture.

Sam is an orthopaedic surgeon, and in this talk takes us into the operating theatre to experience how it sounds, and how it feels. And it's the sense of feeling - of drilling into a bone or cutting through a ligament - where she finds unexpected similarities between surgery and sculpture. What, she asks, can each learn from the other? And how might this sense of surgery as a craft challenge the dominant way of seeing the medical world? After all, she reasons, 'to accept surgery as a craft is to accept that there are unexpected ways of knowing in medicine that we might not be able to pin down in numbers or statistics.'

Producers: Giles Edwards and Peter Snowdon.

Lois Pryce argues that bicycles need to be reclaimed as simply a mundane means of transport - and cycling needs to be uncool again.

As a passionate advocate of two-wheeled transport, whether it's powered by an engine or her own legs, Lois is tired of disapproving looks. And she thinks that in the case of bicycles, it's partly because cycling has turned into an identity. She wants to revert to the time it was just a way of getting around.

Producer: Peter Snowdon.

Reggie Nelson believes in the importance for young people of finding a mentor and tells the extraordinary story of how he found his own.

Caoilinn Hughes discovers the power of embracing uncertainty instead of always fearing it. In her work as a writer and in life, she commends a little more leaping into the unknown.

Presenter: Olly Mann

Carl Honoré believes we're all missing out by stereotyping older people as "over the hill". He argues for recognition of the positive sides of ageing, and thinks everyone would benefit from more inter-generational mixing. "Spending time with people of different ages makes us happier – and less ageist. After all, nothing shoots down stereotypes more than getting to know the people being stereotyped."

Presenter: Olly Mann

www.carlhonore.info

Mahamed Hashi draws on his experience as a teacher, youth worker, councillor and victim of a stabbing and shooting to speak out against racist stereotyping. He explains why he thinks community outreach is a two way process: meeting people's needs but also listening to what they have to say, especially young people. Positive engagement with the police and representative bodies is the way, he believes, to change racist culture and a discriminatory status quo.

Mahamed Hashi: Twitter @drnbyp and Instagram @hashiwho

Nwando Ebizie describes the world she senses: one of glowing lines and shapes; whizzing, fizzing dots; and auras around people, trees and stars. Nwando's experiences with a condition called 'Visual Snow' have been an important impetus to her work as an artist. Other people's reactions, when Nwando describes them, have been another. In her art, and in this beautiful talk, Nwando tries to bring others into her world, a world which she describes as a denial of absolutes, and one in which everyone understands that their own sensory experiences are unique.

Presenter: Olly Mann

Sammy Wright asks why we put such weight on exam results.

Sammy is a deputy headteacher of a large secondary school. He spends his days teaching students knowledge which will uplift and enrich them; he demands rigour and high standards; and he wants to help his students succeed in their exams. But why, he asks in this talk, do we elide success in exams with some moral quality? And why do we put such weight on the exam results? In this powerful talk, Sammy suggests that much of it has to do with a certain set of expectations from those in charge.

Presenter: Olly Mann.