Free Thinking

Buchi Emecheta explored child slavery, motherhood, female independence and freedom through education in over 20 books. Born in 1944 in an Ibusa village, she lost her father aged eight, travelled to London and made a career as a writer whilst bringing up five children on her own, working by day and studying at night for a degree. Shahidha Bari talks to her son Sylvester Onwordi, to New Generation Thinker Louisa Egbunike, to publisher Margaret Busby and magazine editor Kadija George. We also hear from other writers and publishers taking part in a day long series of discussions and performances at the Centre of African Studies at SOAS, University of London, on Saturday 3rd February. They include Alastair Niven - former Director of the Africa Centre, Dr Marie Linton Umeh, writer Irenosen Okojie, Professor Akachi Ezeigbo and poet Grace Nichols.

Buchi Emecheta's career took off when she turned her columns for the New Statesman about black British life into a novel In The Ditch which was published in 1972. It depicted a single black mother struggling to cope in England against a background of squalor. Two years later Allison and Busby published her book Second-Class Citizen, which focused on issues of race, poverty and gender. Now, a year after her death, the Omenala Press is re-issuing editions of her work.

Producer: Robyn Read

Anne McElvoy looks at trade past and present as she discusses a book questioning economists' reliance on GDP with its author, David Pilling, and reports on debates from the world economic forum annual meeting at Davos with American reporter Rob Cox. She also looks at a new novel depicting a "mermaid" displayed as a visitor attraction by an 18th century London-based merchant, and is shown around an exhibition exploring the design and impact of ocean liners with one of its curators, Ghislaine Wood. .

Ocean Liners: Speed and Style runs at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from 3 February – 10 June 2018

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock - the debut novel from Imogen Hermes Gowar is out now.

Producer: Luke Mulhall

Writer Bea Campbell, artist Scottee, historian Emma Griffin, journalist Simon Jenkins & economist Guy Standing join Philip Dodd to consider the working class in culture.

The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class by Guy Standing is available now

Producer: Debbie Kilbride

Matthew Sweet discusses Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries with the writer Colm Toibin, the film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and the Swedish Cultural Attaché Ellen Wettmark.

Released in 1957 and inspired by Bergman's own memories of childhood holidays in a summerhouse in the north of Sweden, Wild Strawberries tells the story of elderly professor Isak Borg, who travels from his home in Stockholm to receive an honorary doctorate. On the way, he's visited by childhood memories. The film stars veteran actor and director Victor Sjostrom, Bibi Andersson and Ingrid Thulin.

With additional contributions from the film historian Kevin Brownlow and Jan Holmberg from the Ingmar Bergman Foundation, which administers Bergman's archives.

The BFI in London is running a season of Ingmar Bergman films until March 1st 2018 as part of the global celebrations of the centenary of world-renowned Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (1918 – 2007).

A Matter of Life and Death: the Films of Ingmar Bergman has been republished with a new introduction by Geoff Andrew of the BFI.

Wild Strawberries is being screened on 26 Feb, Newlyn Filmhouse; 8 March, Borderlines Film Festival; 11 March, Chapter Arts Centre.

This programme was originally recorded in December 2015.

Producer: Laura Thomas

From Ecuador to the Scottish borders: Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough meets Maren Meinhardt and Graham Robb who explore the land on their doorsteps and also follow in the footsteps of others from Humboldt the naturalist and explorer to the forgotten territory of the Debatable Land. They'll be joined by novelist Natasha Pulley whose fascination with Victorian exploration and empire building is reflected in her latest novel The Bedlam Stacks which took her to Peru.

Another Burns night and Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough discusses the new radical ways in which Scotlands artists and writers are approaching and getting inspired by the man who almost invented the term National Bard. Burns Unbroke is a festival designed to showcase how Robert Burns speaks to Scotland's creators today and two of the featured artists are David Mach, sculptor, installation artist and poet, and Kevin Williamson of Neu! Reekie! Williamson has been exploring how Robert Burns might have performed his own poetry while David Mach reflects on why he's still in two minds about a poet who was also a tax collector who still speaks powerfully to a Scottish present.

Graham Robb's book The Debatable Land is out in February.

Burns Unbroke CONTEMPORARY ARTS INSPIRED BY ROBERT BURNS 25 JANUARY - 10 MARCH 2018 @ SUMMERHALL, EDINBURGH

Kevin Williamson Independent Minds: New Poetry from HMP Kilmarnock;

Producer: Jacqueline Smith

Craig Brown, Afua Hirsch, Robert Jobson, A. N. Wilson and New Generation Thinker Joe Moshenska discuss the monarchy as the Royal Academy and the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace stage exhibitions exploring the painting collections of Charles I and II. How has patronage changed and, in this year of another Royal Wedding, what impact are depictions in TV dramas such as The Crown and biographies including Craig Brown's Ma'am Darling having on our view of royalty? Philip Dodd presents.

Charles I King and Collector runs at the Royal Academy, London from January 27th until April 15th

Charles II: Art & Power is running at the Queen's Gallery Buckingham Palace until May 13th

Ma'am Darling 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Brown is out now

BRIT(ish) by Afua Hirsch is out this week

Dr Joe Moshenska is the author of A Stain in the Blood: The Remarkable Voyage of Sir Kenelm Digby

A. N. Wilson's Victoria: A Life is available now

Diana: Closely Guarded Secret by Robert Jobson is out now

Radio 3's Early Music Show on Sun 11th Feb at 1400.

Producer: Debbie Kilbride

Matthew Sweet is joined by critics Ryan Gilbey and Ellen E Jones to look at the films nominated for this year's Academy Awards and the tradition of films with a campaigning message. Film historian Vanda Krefft charts the complicated life of William Fox, the man who founded the Fox Film Corporation. Comedian Lucy Porter and author Steve Massa celebrate the women of the silent era who starred alongside the likes of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.

The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox is by Vanda Krefft.

Slapstick Divas: The Women of Silent Comedy is by Steve Massa.

Producer: Craig Templeton Smith

Fiona Sampson, Daisy Hay, Christopher Frayling and David H. Guston join Matthew Sweet to discuss Mary Shelley's story in film, fiction and the view of AI scientists now.

In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein by the poet and writer Fiona Sampson is out now.

Christopher Frayling has published Frankenstein: The First Two Hundred Years

Dr Daisy Hay is Senior Lecturer, English Literature and Archival Studies at the University of Exeter and a BBC Radio 3 and AHRC New Generation Thinker who will be publishing later this year a book on The Making of Frankenstein.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Annotated for scientists, engineers and creators of all kinds edited by David H. Guston, Ed Finn and Jason Scott Robert

Late Junction tonight is looking at music and AI, asking can we create a digital version of the ideal Late Junction collaborator using computer code alone?

The Radio 3 Sunday feature Select, Edit, Paste presented by Clemency Burton-Hill has been exploring new technologies and the arts.

Producer: Zahid Warley

Leïla Slimani, President Macron's champion of French culture and language, is interviewed by presenter Shahidha Bari about her new role and her novel Lullaby which won the 2016 Prix Goncourt

Lullaby by Leïla Slimani is now published in English in a translation by Sam Taylor.

Producer: Torquil MacLeod.

A car race around Australia is fictionalised in Peter Carey's latest novel. He talks to Rana Mitter about depicting race and racing. Josephine Quinn questions whether the Phoenicians existed as she looks at the way ancient texts and artworks helped construct an identity for the ancient civilization on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, stretching through what is now Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel. Classicist and novelist Natalie Haynes discusses Ovid's tales and Rana Mitter speaks to this year's TS Eliot Prize winner Ocean Vuong.

Peter Carey's latest novel is called A Long Way Home.

Josephine Quinn has published In Search of the Phoenicians.

Natalie Haynes most recent novel is called The Children of Jocasta. Radio 3's The Essay this week consists of five retellings of Ovid.

Ocean Vuong's Night Sky with Exit Wounds is out now.

Producer: Debbie Kilbride