Free Thinking

In a special edition Samira Ahmed examines the importance of Norse and Greek mythology to Wagner and how the tales of ancient heroism influenced his work and in particular the Ring Cycle, with novelist A.S. Byatt, philosopher Roger Scruton and lecturer in music and European history Mark Berry.

Philip Dodd talks to Playwright Howard Brenton discussing his new play, 55 days, focusing on Cromwell and Charles 1st. The life of traveller and writer Paddy Leigh Fermor often appears to have been one great adventure. Biographer Artemis Cooper is joined by acclaimed travel writer Colin Thubron to discuss who the great travel writer really was. Corin Throsby reviews Elena, the Russian film which won a special prize at the Cannes Film Festival this year. And Jo Nesbo, the Norwegian writer and economist, reflects on his novel The Bat, as the first of the Harry Hole detective novels is finally translated into English.

Malu Halasa, curator of the Culture in Defiance exhibition in Amsterdam, joins Matthew to discuss how the struggle for freedom in Syria has given birth to a whole new generation of artists. In the wake of the recent allegations about Jimmy Savile's abuse of young women and boys, Matthew Sweet asks criminologist David Wilson and priest Giles Fraser why institutions find it so difficult to respond to cases of abuse. And film critic David Thomson discusses his latest book The Big Screen: the Story of the Movies and What they Did to Us.

The friendship that developed between Wagner and Nietzsche is documented in a vast collection of letters and writings, reflecting one of the most resonant cultural and philosophical scenes of 19th century Europe. In a special edition Anne McElvoy with Nick Seddon, John Deathridge and Michael Tanner map this intellectual development which informed Wagner's work. With readings by Andrew Fallaize.

Philip Dodd discusses The End of Men: And the Rise of Women with author Hanna Rosin. He experiences the world of Hollywood Costume at the Victoria & Albert museum with the exhibition's curator Deborah Nadoolman Landis. Sally Weintraub answers; What is the contribution that psychoanalysis can make to possibly the most traumatic issue facing humanity and yet one which the vast majority of us simply ignore? And Kevin Jackson talks about his new book 'Constellation of Genius - 1922, Modernism, Year One' putting the accomplishments of Eliot and Joyce in the context of the world in which their works appeared.

Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Michael Chabon joins Matthew Sweet to discuss his new book Telegraph Avenue and to reflect on the joys and perils of nostalgia. Joanna van Heyningen, a judge for the RIBA Stirling Prize, explains why Stanton Williams’ Sainsbury Laboratory was granted this year's award. Novelist A.S. Byatt and Alexandra Harris, Lecturer in English at the University of Liverpool, argue for the Ash tree’s importance in our mythical and physical landscape. And Nicholas Roe discusses his new biography of celebrated romantic poet John Keats.

Sculptor Anish Kapoor joins Samira Ahmed to discuss his new exhibition at London's Lisson Gallery. As the Nobel Prize for literature is awarded to the Chinese author Mo Yan, Rana Mitter tells us about the writer’s work and what the prize will mean to China. Susannah Clapp offers a first night review of Samuel Beckett’s play, All That Fall. We explore disputes in the early Church about the role of women in Christianity, starting with the claim that Jesus was married. And we review a new exhibition on Frontline Medicine at the Imperial War Museum North.

Kofi Annan, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former UN Secretary General, is Philip Dodd’s guest in this edition of Night Waves. It’s a wide-ranging and personal conversation which touches on Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq and Syria, and also on the debt Kofi Annan owes to his father. He offers a sharp analysis of the challenges facing the UN in the future and of the frustrations and rewards of being Secretary General; as well, of course, as some of the sadness that comes with the job.

Matthew Sweet chairs an "International Review" edition of the programme, with critics from around the world coming together to discuss the latest global cultural events and arts issues.

Novelist and film director Paul Auster joins Anne McElvoy to discuss his new memoir, ‘Winter Solitude’. As the people of Catalonia go to the polls later this month, New Generation Thinker Adriana Sinclair, Spanish MP and pro-Catalan Independence party member Alfred Bosch, and Joseph Farrell from Strathclyde University discuss the urge towards independence. Jon Adams reviews Ruby Sparks, the new film written by and starring Zoe Kazan. And Anne talks to ceramic artist and writer Edmund de Waal about his new exhibition, A Thousand Hours.