Episodes

EpisodeTitleFirst
Broadcast
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01Modern Amnesia20180122Professor Francis O'Gorman examines some of the ordinary ways in which the modern, and particularly technological world makes forgetfulness part of our daily routine. All those endless PIN numbers, passwords and (not so) memorable names that we need to access our data... Francis asks whether in the daily amnesia that besets him might there be a tiny glimpse of another life? A life without demands?

Francis O'Gorman examines how the modern world makes forgetfulness a daily routine.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

02The Pleasure Of Forgetting20180123Author Rose Ruane's brilliant memory has always been part of her identity. Friends and family rely on her ability to recall names, places and pieces of trivia. She's an asset to any quiz team. But she's beginning to feel that an excellent memory is as much a curse as a blessing. Should forgetting be a skill to develop?

Rose Ruane asks can someone with the ability to remember everything ever learn to forget?

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

03The Missing Teenager20180124Writer Mark Illis explores why he has forgotten much of his teenage years and wonders if forgetting is a natural process, a part of growing up. Marred by ill health these were difficult years in his life, now lost in a grey fog. Has he actively chosen to forget? Or is his inner teenager still there, sulking behind a closed door?

Writer Mark Illis explores why he has forgotten much of his teenage years.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

04Forgetting Ourselves20180125Professor Francis O'Gorman wonders how much of what we think is remembering is actually forgetting. What exactly is our relationship with past time and fantasy? He explores the compound presence of forgetfulness masquerading as memory: from the revisiting of places, the re-reading of books, and the revisiting of people we once knew. Is our hold on the past more determined by what we do not remember, cannot remember, or do not want to remember than we easily admit?

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

05Pieces Of You, Pieces Of Me20180126Poet and playwright Amanda Dalton examines the role of material objects in our quest to preserve or conjure our past. Our uneasy relationship with forgetting means we often keep objects to recall loved ones and hold on to memories. She details the objects she retains of her father's: his cigarette lighter, old cream cardigan and his shoe cleaning kit, as her own symbols to ward off the forgetting.

Amanda Dalton explores the role of material objects in our quest to preserve our past.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.