In this episode of The Big Question, we discuss the history of the simple material that changed the world. What is the history of paper? Arts and Culture writer Maán Jalal tells us about Mark Kurlansky’s latest microhistory Paper: Paging Through History which documents the two-thousand-year journey of a material that we take for granted.

If you’re a lover of crime and thriller novels then you’re in luck! This week, our Book of the Week segment takes a look at the most compelling crime and thriller novels from writers appearing at the 2018 #DubaiLitFest. We review The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz, Need You Dead by Peter James, A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena, and Love Like Blood by Mark Billingham.

We celebrate The Tiger Who Came to Tea author Judith Kerr in this week’s literary soundtrack. Can you guess what we played yet?

Burns Night 101 and Harry Potter as you’ve never heard it before, courtesy of Head of Programming at the Emirates Literature Foundation and proud Scotswoman Gillian Henney.

What happens when Iron Man has to fight baddies in Ireland? Our young reviewer Owen Henderson finds out and chats to Unicorn Girl (children’s author Rachel Hamilton) about The Iron Gauntlet by EionColfer. The studio is then left in fits of giggles when Owen moves onto his highlights from Andy Riley’s King Flashypants and the Evil Emperor. FOO HOO HOO!

We gleefully strand bestselling author Anthony Horowitz on a desert island much in the manner of the Bond and Alex Rider villains he writes so well…except we’ve left him with three books to keep him company, so we’re not quite as bad as Scaramanga. Plus - the Ocean’s Eleven of the Book World? Unicorn Girl (Rachel Hamilton) and Radio Girl (Annabelle Corton) speculate

International journalist, author, and public speaker Riz Khan joins us during Literary Spotlight for a special feature on three authors writing aboutdifferent facets of India. From Shashi Tharoor’sInglorious Empire, to the troubled past and present of the Kohinoor Diamond in Kohinoor by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand, to the culinary legacy of Madhur Jaffrey, Riz leaves no anecdote left unturned.

In a sea of self-help books and get-happy-quick guides, is there a book out there for the realists searching for inner peace? Gillian Henney and Chris Bradleyjoin us for a look at three rather different books on the subject, one by the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, one by an engineer and Chief Business Officer at Google’s [X], and one by the fifth grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.

A Somali advertising installer sets out to experience the products he places on Dubai billboards. That’s the gist of Siren, the first feature film from Akela Films, the Dubai-based production company set up by Neel Kumar who is back this week with an answer to our first big question: who is the Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner headlining Siren? Neel is appearing on a panel on culture and identity in film at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.