Episodes
| Episode | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 20081124 | Kamila Shamsie asks if a writer must travel in order to unleash their imagination. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. |
| 02 | 20081125 | Benjamin Markovits considers the freedom of the immigrant in Britain. Half-German, half-American, part-Christian, part-Jewish, Ben has never felt fully rooted in a single culture or completely implicated in the society around him. To many, this might sound like the crisis of modern immigration: a failure to integrate. But for Ben the writer, there is freedom in being rootless in a new place - a freedom which is far from the isolation it is often associated with. Benjamin Markovits considers the freedom of the immigrant in Britain today. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. |
| 03 | 20081126 | Ukrainian novelist Andrei Kourkov reflects on the meaning of freedom in his home country. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. |
| 04 | 20081127 | Richard Rai O'Neill reflects on the Romany philosophy of freedom - both the ideal and the reality. Born into a large Romany family in 1962, Richard's grandmother taught him that a Romany life was about freedom in order to enjoy health and love. He also explores a more pragmatic aspect to Romany philosophy that says that in a tough financial period, it's time to move on to a different place as a new place brings new luck. Richard Rai O'Neill reflects on the Romany philosophy of freedom. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. |
| 05 | 20081128 | Writer and journalist Michael Goldfarb tells the story how he was taught by the dissident writers of Russia under Glasnost and his translator in Iraq during the American invasion what 'perfect freedom' can really mean. Are the novelists, playwrights and screenwriters who adapt their work to make a living in western countries really as free as the writers who toil in secrecy, never expecting their work to be published? Michael's visits to Moscow and Northern Iraq and his experience in New York forced him to revise his understanding of what being free really means. Writer Michael Goldfarb on why 'perfect freedom' is to be found in unexpected places. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. |