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Something Understood

First broadcast from 19950903 to 20100314.

416 episodes

Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Description
Programme Catalogue - Details: Women	19950903		Producer: D. BENEDICTUS Next in series: SELF-AWARENESS Previous in series: DREAMS Broadcast history 03 Sep 1995 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1995-08-22.
Programme Catalogue - Details: Self	19950910		-AWARENESS Producer: D. BENEDICTUS Next in series: TX 17.9.95 Previous in series: WOMEN Broadcast history 10 Sep 1995 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1995-08-21.
Programme Catalogue - Details: Tx 17.9.95	19950917		Producer: UNIQUE BROADCASTING Next in series: 24 September 1995 Previous in series: SELF-AWARENESS Broadcast history 17 Sep 1995 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1995-09-15.
Programme Catalogue - Details: 24 September 1995	19950924		Producer: UNIQUE BROADCASTING Next in series: OLD AGE Previous in series: TX 17.9.95 Broadcast history 24 Sep 1995 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1995-09-14.
Programme Catalogue - Details: Bleak Midwinter	19960107		Producer: B. MCAINSH Next in series: THE SEA Previous in series: FRIENDSHIP Broadcast history 07 Jan 1996 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1996-01-05.
Programme Catalogue - Details: The Sea	19960114		Producer: B. MCAINSH Next in series: UNITY Previous in series: BLEAK MIDWINTER Broadcast history 14 Jan 1996 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1996-01-09.
Programme Catalogue - Details: Unity	19960121		Producer: B. MCAINSH Next in series: SELF SACRIFICE Previous in series: THE SEA Broadcast history 21 Jan 1996 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1996-01-19.
Programme Catalogue - Details: Self Sacrifice	19960128		Producer: B. MCAINSH Next in series: TX 4.2.96 Previous in series: UNITY Broadcast history 28 Jan 1996 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1996-01-05.
Programme Catalogue - Details: Tx 4.2.96	19960204		Producer: J. JEFFES Next in series: ANGER Previous in series: SELF SACRIFICE Broadcast history 04 Feb 1996 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1996-01-20.
Programme Catalogue - Details: Anger	19960211		Producer: J. JEFFES Next in series: POVERTY AND WEALTH Previous in series: TX 4.2.96 Broadcast history 11 Feb 1996 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1996-01-23.
Programme Catalogue - Details: Poverty And Wealth	19960218		Producer: J. JEFFES Next in series: MALE AND FEMALE Previous in series: ANGER Broadcast history 18 Feb 1996 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1996-02-16.
Male And Female	19960225		Producer: J. JEFFES Next in series: BEAUTY Previous in series: POVERTY AND WEALTH Broadcast history 25 Feb 1996 06:10-06:55 (RADIO 4) Recorded on 1996-01-23.
	19970622		Are manners outmoded? Do children suffer if they are not taught good manners and acceptable etiquette? Peter Hobday quizzes columnist Drusilla Beyfus
	19970706		Touch is the most undervalued of all our senses, yet it is arguably the most important and useful as we orient ourselves in the world. Peter Hobday explores the nature of touch with the help of Peter White, the BBC's disability affairs correspondent.
	19970727		Denis Tuohy looks at how we derive strength from the simple comforts of life, from food and friendship to music and faith.
	19970810		Mark Tully celebrates 50 years of Indian independence and tries to identify the true spirit of India. Why does India exert such a powerful hold on her visitors, and what, despite her problems, does she still have to teach the West?
Work, Rest And Play	19970824		For the Bank Holiday weekend, Mark Tully's theme is `Work, Rest and Play'. Drawing on archive recordings from the 20s, 30s and 40s, he looks at the changing face of work and leisure.
	19991121		A special edition of the programme to mark the 10th anniversary of the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child. The UN's special representative for children and armed conflict, Ugandan Olara Otunnu, chooses words and music spanning cultures and continents, including Andrew Motion's visit to Anne Frank's Huis, and an early performance by Yehudi Menuhin
The Psychology Of Outrage	20020623		Mark Tully considers the psychology of outrage. What makes a scandal, and what do our reactions to scandal say about us?
	20020630
Buddha	20020707		Mark Tully goes in search of the Buddha - who is he and what is his legacy to the modern world?
Chasing The Warm Rainbow	20020714		`Chasing the Warm Rainbow'. Fergal Keane reflects on the effect of alcohol on creativity and the human spirit.
True Blue	20020721		`True Blue'. Fergal Keane draws on examples by Sylvia Plath, A E Housman and D H Lawrence to consider the meaning of the word `blue'.
The Migrant	20020728		`The Migrant's Tale'. Mike Wooldridge considers the forces and impulses which lead people to migrate. Are humans naturally nomadic or do we only uproot when forced to do so?
The Outsider	20020804		`The Outsider'. Mark Tully explores the power of detachment and the pain of exclusion of the outsider.
Small Is Beautiful	20020811		Mark Tully explores the virtues of focusing on the smaller things in life and discovers that size really does matter.
Golden Apples Of The Sun	20020818		Mark Tully investigates why the simple apple has acquired such powerful connotations of health and wholeness, sin and corruption, beauty and aspiration.
In The Memory Of Love	20020825		`In the Memory of Love'. Fergal Keane explores romantic memories evoked by the music of Prokofiev and Dvorak and the literature of F Scott Fitzgerald and Thornton Wilder.
	20020901
	20020902
Seeing Stars	20020908		`Seeing Stars'. What do we think about when we look at the sky on a clear night? Mark Tully contemplates creation and infinity with astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell.
New Neighbours	20020915		`New Neighbours'. Mike Wooldridge discusses the religious implications of migration with Prof Diana Eck, director of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University.
An Unexamined Life	20020922		`An Unexamined Life'. Mark Tully considers Plato's assertion that `the life which is not examined is not worth living'.
Only Connect	20020929		`Only Connect'. Sheena McDonald considers how language and music can help us connect with each other. She talks to Marshal Rosenberg, who teaches non-verbal communication.
The Fisherman's Dream	20021006		Fergal Keane examines the concept of fishing a a quest for both physical and spiritual sustenance.
Can't Get No Satisfaction	20021201		At a time when all indicators suggest that we have never had it so good, Mark Tully asks why there appears to be a growing sense of dissatisfaction.
Another Brick In The Wall	20021208		Joan Bakewell explores the symbolism of the wall, a barrier which encloses, protects and segregates but sometimes crumbles and falls.
The Trouble We've Seen	20021215		Fergal Keane examines the literature and music of suffering and asks whether the experience offers the opportunity for a deeper spiritual life.
The Gift Of Vulnerability	20021222		Mark Tully considers the nature of vulnerability and discovers it to be a precious asset, possible even essential to our fulfilment as human beings.
Maps And Charts	20021229		Mark Tully looks at the maps and charts - real, metaphorical and spiritual - which we can use to navigate our way through the future.
Clowns, Jesters And Fools	20030105		Mark Tully celebrates the role of clowns and jesters and considers their purpose and significance.
In Praise Of Cities	20030112		Fergal Keane explores the unique value of the city, from the bright lights to the murky backstreets, as a place where people and ideas fuse and progress.
Snakes And Ladders	20030126	20030201	Mark Tully uncovers the Indian origins of the popular board game, and finds that its educational role in spiritual matters has been lost on its journey west.
Let The Healing Fountain Start	20030202	20030208	Mark Tully examines the symbolism of fountains and journalist Saeed Naqvi explains their significance in Islam.
Ghosts	20030209	20030215	Mark Tully considers the phenomenon of those who come back to haunt us in spiritual form.
	20030216	20030222	Crime writer and lawyer Frances Fyfield considers why some paintings affect her profoundly while others leave her stone cold.
Degree Of Remoteness	20030223	20030301	Indian-born Birmingham poet Roshan Doug explores his own journey to define his cultural identity through poetry, prose and music.
This Too Will Pass	20030302	20030308	Mark Tully considers the old tale of a king who sought a phrase which would be true and appropriate in all circumstances.
The Religious Requirement	20030309	20030315	Mark Tully considers a recent remark by the Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks, that ""The great religions are more than spirituality".
The Religious Requirement	20030310
		20030316	Whitbread prize winning poet Professor Douglas Dunn wonders why we remember some poems and dramatic moments rather than others.
The Emotions Of Conflict	20030323		Joan Bakewell presents a special edition of the spiritual anthology programme looking at the range of emotions we feel at times of Conflict. As the politicians debate, and the military prepares, how do we feel? And how important is spirituality in such circumstances? This week's programme will focus on the work of poets, musicians and writers who have been moved by conflict. It will also include a new poem by the Asian Poet Laureate, Roshan Doug.
Wrestling And Resting		20030330	In Something Understood this week, Mark Tully explores the age old tension between contemplation and action in the spiritual life. In conversation with Philip Roderick, founder of the 'Quiet Garden Trust', and of 'Contemplatives in Action', he asks if the differences between the two approaches are as clear as at first appears. Doesn't contemplation often involve struggle, and action require reflection? [Rptd tonight, 11.30pm] " / "Wrestling And Resting: In Something Understood this week, Mark Tully explores the age old tension between contemplation and action in the spiritual life. In conversation with Philip Roderick, founder of the 'Quiet Garden Trust', and of 'Contemplatives in Action', he asks if the differences between the two approaches are as clear as at first appears. Doesn't contemplation often involve struggle, and action require reflection? [Rpt of today, 6.05am]
A Poet's Inspiration:	20030406		Asian Poet Laureate Roshan Doug looks at how poets find their inspiration and explores the many connections between inspiration and religious belief.
		20030413	Mark Tully explores the tension between contemplation and action in the spiritual life. He talks to Philip Roderick of the Quiet Garden Trust and of Contemplatives In Action.
To Forgive Divine	20030420		In Something Understood for Easter Day, Mark Tully's theme is the power of Forgiveness to release and redeem. Resisting trite exhortations to forgive and forget, he considers the difficulties and complexities of forgiveness: the struggles and the setbacks on the way to the freedom forgiveness can bring.
Aphorisms Of Love		20030427	Mark Tully talks to an old friend and Indiaphile, Lance Dane, about his lavish new version of the ancient Hindu text, the Kama Sutra. Together they explore the deep relationship between the sensual and the sacred: a relationship that has been gloriously celebrated in many Eastern religious traditions and almost completely denied in most strands of Christianity.
Deeds Not Dared		20030504	Mark Tully draws on a line from poet Elizabeth Jennings, to begin his exploration of our fear of giving up our securities. In Ghosts, Jennings wrote: "The deeds we dared not act they flaunt." Why do we allow such fear, such lack of daring, to stop us living life more fully and moving forward into a more creative future?
Music Making		20030511	Mark Tully considers the power of music-making to transform chaos and pain in the lives of individuals and communities. In conversation with Professor of Applied Music, Dr June Boyce-Tillman, he hears how making music can help people realise their true potential and enrich their spiritual lives.
Silent Witness		20030518	Composer and choral director Antony Pitts listens out for the silent moments in music, poetry and life.
That Is Knowledge	20030525		Mark Tully explores the nature of Knowledge. Is it true, as stated in the Bhagavad Gita, that 'The raft of knowledge ferries the worst sinner to safety'?
His Ancient Tenderness		20030601	Mark Tully explores the meaning of tenderness as a rarely considered aspect of the nature of God. In a newly discovered poem by Siegfried Sassoon, the war poet writes of the prayer of the wounded on the battle field, to know 'a little of His ancient tenderness'. How does God show his tenderness, and how is divine tenderness reflected in human life and relationships?
The Heart Of The Hunter	20030608		Mark Tully examines the culture of the hunter, in ancient times, in myth and legend, and in modern days.
Must The Show Go On?	20030615		West End diva, Maria Friedman talks about fallibility and hope, offering examples of music, prose and poetry showing the resilience of the human spirit.
The Seventh Commandment	20030622		Joan Bakewell considers the consequences of adultery, contrasting passion and excitement with pain and confusion.
Nordic Light	20030629		Mark Tully celebrates the light of high summer and reflects on one of the most joyous festivals of the Nordic church year.
Days Of Empire:	20030706		In the first of two programmes recorded at the British Empire And Commonwealth Museum in Bristol, Mark Tully explores the concept of Empire with Gareth Griffiths.
Days Of Empire	20030713		Mark Tully continues his exploration of the meaning and legacy of Empire. On location at the new British Empire And Commonwealth Museum in Bristol, he considers the story of Empire: a story which continues to stir the mood, and conscience, of contemporary Britain.
Where Water Comes Together With Other Water	20030720		Fergal Keane looks at the meeting of water - the journey from the physical to the spiritual. Water is tangible and essential for human life, but it also has a mystical quality that inspires poets and nurtures the human spirit.
Love Like A Gypsy	20030727		Mike Wooldridge explores the history and culture of Europe's gypsy peoples and asks why, down through so many generations, they have been romanticised and demonised.
A Cloud Of Unknowing	20030803		Mark Tully considers the way clouds affect our lives - from mirrors of mood to harbingers of life itself.
Lost For Words	20030810		Mark Tully explores the importance of speech, in the light of claims that our unique verbal skills may be in danger of disappearing. Is it true that long hours in front of television and computer screens are robbing the next generation of humanity's 'most precious evolutionary attribute' - language?
Celtic Benediction	20030817		Mark Tully considers the latest developments in our understanding of Celtic spirituality. What is the reality beneath popular and romantic perceptions of this tradition, and what is its gift to our third millennium world?
Many A Secret Place	20030824		Penelope Lively considers the concept of public and private secrecy.
Scent And Sensibility	20030831		Fergal Keane considers the human sense of smell and its power to evoke memories.
Twilight Time	20030907		Mark Tully considers how the fading light of day influences our thoughts and mood. Including a conversation with Indian artist Anjolie Ela Menon
The Sacred Heart: Mark	20030914		Tully considers the enduring symbolism of the heart in literature, art, music and faith.
Weaving Dreams	20030921		Mark Tully considers the colourful history, symbolism and fantasy woven into the threads of carpets and tapestries.
	20030928		Mark Tully explores the notion of attention. Why do most of the world's faiths emphasise the need to live attentively, and why do so many people find this so difficult today?
Paradise Sought	20031005		Fergal Keane reflects upon visions of paradise, from the sacred gardens of Christian and Islamic tradition and the mythical 'land of eternal youth' in Celtic mythology to the tropical paradise described in Paul Theroux's writings and the brutal reality of failed attempts to create paradise on earth as examined by Michael Ignatieff. With music from the South Pacific, Joni Mitchell, Haydn and Faur�.
Pet Theories	20031012		Walking his labrador in a Delhi park, Mark Tully considers what we can learn from the the behaviour of domestic animals - and what they can learn from us.
Goodness And Belief	20031019		Mark Tully considers whether there is any relationship between goodness and belief. Does religious faith make people 'better' human beings and what, if any, are the differences between 'good' Believers and good Humanists?
Voice, Story And Consciousness	20031026		Mark Tully talks to writer David Lodge about the source of our best insights into the nature of human consciousness. Is it in the explorations of science, philosophy, psychology, theology - or is it in literature?
I Have A Dream	20031102		"A man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" So wrote Robert Browning, but how true is this? Is ambition essential for true fulfillment in life, or is it in fact a flaw in the human condition? The Asian poet and academic Roshan Doug explores the positive and negative aspects of ambition.
The Nature Of Invention	20031109		Mark Tully explores the roots of invention, in necessity or elsewhere, and its relationship with creativity.
Tempest Tossed	20031116		Julian of Norwich reminds us: 'He did not say, 'You shall not be tempest tossed'. Mark Tully considers the ways we cope with the storms in our lives - spiritual, emotional and physical.
The Hardest Word	20031123		Fergal Keane considers the act of saying sorry. Bishop Tutu suggests there can be 'no redemption without repentance', but does an apology require penitence?
The Insistent Moon	20031130		Novelist Margaret Drabble considers the enduring mysteries of the moon - its role in the earth's survival and its haunting powers of inspiration.
Chance Of A Lifetime	20031207		Have we control over our destiny or is our life's journey due to coincidence, error or happy accident? Michelene Wander reflects on the effects of chance.
A Pearl Of Great Price	20031214		Joan Bakewell considers gemstones and jewels and analyses the beauty, value and enduring symbolic power of diamonds, pearls and rubies.
On This Rock	20031221		Mark Tully considers the importance of firm foundations - for buildings, for faith, for life.
Candles And Curses:	20031228		For the last Sunday of 2003, Mark Tully reflects on the saying ""better to light a candle than to curse the darkness"", in conversation with Terry Waite.
This I Have Learned	20040104		Mark Tully explores the old saying that with age comes wisdom. What does experience teach us about love, life and faith?
In Praise Of Shadows	20040111		Retired radio producer Piers Plowright uses Tanizakis eloquent and perverse essay on the Japanese sense of beauty to celebrate the magic of shadows.
Look Back Upon Anger	20040118		From tantrums to righteous fury, Fergal Keane reflects on the different manifestations of anger, and considers its negative and positive aspects.
The Solace Of Routine	20040125		Mark Tully considers the effect of routine on our lives.
Unclean! Unclean!	20040201		Today is the Feast of Candlemas, which once celebrated the Purification of Mary. Mark Tully explores the notion of uncleanliness from a range of perspectives.
Futurechurch	20040208		Mark Tully asks what the future holds for the Church as more and more of its members question its central doctrines and structures.
Nothing Sacred	20040215		Mark Tully explores the ideals and limitations of Secularism. What was the fatal flaw in Nehru's insistence on a secular constitution for an independent India?
The Philistines.	20040222		The sculptor Alexander Stoddart will never win a Turner Prize. His work cannot be summed up in a witty one liner. Official contemporary artists scoff at his busts of people like the queen. By analysing the characteristics of the philistine, Alexander gets closer to the indefinable mystery that is art.
Looking Back Upon Anger	20040229		From tantrums to righteous fury, Fergal Keane reflects on the different manifestations of anger and considers its negative and positive aspects.
	20040307		Famine BBC World Affairs Correspondent Mike Wooldridge reflects on what he calls 'the Spirit of famine'. As he looks back over more than twenty years of reporting disastrous famines, and back, further, to historical accounts, he encounters in every place the spirit of both despair and desolation, and of dignity, resourcefulness and revival.
Kindred Spirits	20040314		Mark Tully celebrates the role of Kindred Spirits, those rare and special people in our lives with whom we have a very particular connection: a connection that is more than friendship, and subtly different from love. [Rpt of today 6.05am] Kindred Spirits Mark Tully celebrates the role of Kindred Spirits, those rare and special people in our lives with whom we have a very particular connection: a connection that is more than friendship, and subtly different from love. Kindred Spirits Mark Tully celebrates the role of Kindred Spirits, those rare and special people in our lives with whom we have a very particular connection: a connection that is more than friendship, and subtly different from love. [Rpt of today 6.05am] Kindred Spirits Mark Tully celebrates the role of Kindred Spirits, those rare and special people in our lives with whom we have a very particular connection: a connection that is more than friendship, and subtly different from love. [Rptd today 11.30pm]
Lives Reinvented:	20040321		Mark Tully explores how individuals, and sometimes whole communities, rewrite their own pasts. Why do they do this, and how convincing are their reinventions?
	20040328		Forgiveness Crime writer Alexander McCall Smith has had much to do with forgiveness. As a lawyer he has been involved in cases where he thinks victims might have been better off forgiving than seeking recourse from the law. As someone who has lived in Africa he has seen their way of doing things which is often to find a harmonious solution which all parties can live with rather than pursing rights. And as a detective writer he explores the complexities of forgiveness through his 'Number 1 Detective agency' and the forgiving woman at the heart of it, Mma Ramotswe. Here he reflects on the complexities of forgiveness in his fiction and in real life. [Rpt of today 6.05am] Forgiveness Crime writer Alexander McCall Smith has had much to do with forgiveness. As a lawyer he has been involved in cases where he thinks victims might have been better off forgiving than seeking recourse from the law. As someone who has lived in Africa he has seen their way of doing things which is often to find a harmonious solution which all parties can live with rather than pursing rights. And as a detective writer he explores the complexities of forgiveness through his 'Number 1 Detective agency' and the forgiving woman at the heart of it, Mma Ramotswe. Here he reflects on the complexities of forgiveness in his fiction and in real life. [Rptd tonight, 11.30pm]
Infinity	20040404		Mark Tully explores some of the meanings of infinity. Why was Blaise Pascal terrified of infinity, and how do mathematicians and theologians address the Infinite?
The Power Of Three	20040411		Mark Tully explores our enduring fascination with three-fold patterns and structures. How far does the Christian Doctrine of the Trinity reflect a much more ancient understanding of "The Power of Three" in both nature and religion?
	20040418		Bone Of My Bones: Mark Tully considers the sacred and symbolic meanings we give to bones and the historical and forensic information they yield. [Rptd tonight, 11.30pm]
	20040425		The Promised One In Something Understood this week Mark Tully considers the archetypal figure of 'The Promised One'. Such figures appear in many faith traditions but also in myth, story and real life. The saviour, the rescuer, the leader or guru - why do we continue to dream of the one who will transform our lives and fortunes? [Rpt of today 6.05am] The Promised One In Something Understood this week Mark Tully considers the archetypal figure of 'The Promised One'. Such figures appear in many faith traditions but also in myth, story and real life. The saviour, the rescuer, the leader or guru - why do we continue to dream of the one who will transform our lives and fortunes? [Rptd tonight 11.30pm]
We Are Stardust	20040502		In Something Understood this week Mark Tully explores the relationship between image and identity, and integrity. Is our external image - the face and character we present to the world - a superficial construction, or an authentic expression of our deeper, internal identity?
Not Guilty?	20040509		Michelene Wander explores the thought and the deed of guilt through its theological and legal definition, and considers its effect on the human condition.
We Are Stardust	20040516		In Something Understood this week, Mark Tully explores our developing knowledge of the essential elements of life. Once thought to consist of air, earth, fire and water, life is now understood to be made up of myriad forms and particles, and to have originated, in the words of the 1960s anthem, in Stardust.
	20040523		Image and Identity: Mark Tully explores the relationship between image and integrity. Is our external image a superficial construction, or an authentic expression of identity? [Rptd tonight, 11.30pm]
	20040530		The Good Seed on the Land: Michelene Wandor talks to writer, farmer and sculptor Meir Weiss. [Rptd tonight, 11.30pm] The Good Seed on the Land: Michelene Wandor talks to writer, farmer and sculptor Meir Weiss. [Rpt of today 6.05am]
	20040606		Mary Contini juggles a directorship at Edinburgh food emporium Valvona and Crolla with being a mother. How and why? [Rptd tonight 11.30pm]
Crises And Opportunities	20040613		Mike Wooldridge considers what it means to confront the onset of disability and the limitations and deteriorations of old age. What struggles do we have - mentally, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually - to turn health crises into opportunities for creativity, renewal and service?
To Feel Another's Woe	20040620		Mark Tully explores the nature of empathy. How far can we enter into the subjective experience of others? Do we really feel the pain of those we love? What evolutionary purpose might empathy serve? And is it true, as Harper Lee wrote in To Kill a Mockingbird, that you never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it?
Telling Stories	20040627		In Something Understood this week Mark Tully explores the way in which telling stories gives meaning to our lives and experiences. Why does the theologian John Drane suggest that story is central to the contemporary quest for meaning and that no more radical activity exists?
Exploring Our Own Amazement	20040704		In Something Understood this week Mark Tully talks to poetry publisher Michael Schmidt about the relationship - both explicit and implicit - between poetry and spirituality. Is there a link between our growing appetite for poetry and the wide-spread, well-documented exploration of all facets and dimensions of spiritual experience?
	20040711		Composer Nigel Osborne has witnessed the power of music to transform lives in his work with children caught up in wars.
Drawing The Sting	20040718		Rosemary Hartill considers those moments of choice when it's possible to alter the course of difficult situations or encounters by a shift in mental attitude. Drawing on personal experience and professional insights from her work in both journalism and conflict resolution, she looks for those behaviours, attitudes and techniques which can bring creative outcomes to tense, even dangerous, situations.
The Good Father	20040725		Poet Roshan Doug remembers his father and considers the role fathers play in our lives.
By Their Fruits	20040801		On the ancient festival of Lughnasadh, or Lammas, Mark Tully asks how we distinguish between true and false, healthy and unhealthy spiritualities. [Rpt of today 6.05am]
Those Who Can, Teach	20040808		Turning George Bernard Shaw's infamous adage on its head, Mark Tully reflects on what it takes to be a good teacher.
	20040815	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtonight11.30pm	Behind Bars In Something Understood this week Mike Woodridge explores the experience of imprisonment. From actual, physical incarceration to mental and emotional imprisonment, what does it feel like to be imprisoned: what hurts, what helps, what crushes and what gives hope?
Light Of The World	20040822		Fergal Keane explores the effect of light on the human condition.
Sacred Beads	20040829		In Something Understood this week, Mark Tully considers the use and symbolism of sacred beads. From worry beads to Rosaries, from Hindu and Buddhist Malas to Jewish Tefillin and Muslim Tasbih, why, across the world's religions, has the use of sacred beads been such a powerful and enduring rite?
Shields	20040905		Mark Tully considers the ways we protect ourselves - from misfortune, from other religions, from God.
	20040912	Rptdtonight11.30pm	Towering Babel In Something Understood this week Mark Tully explores the meaning, or meaninglessness, of jargon, clich� and babble. How do words become emptied of meaning and how do new expressions arise. Is it still true, as Eric Bentley wrote in the early 1950's that instead of language we have jargon, instead of principles, slogans, and instead of genuine ideas, bright Ideas?
Believing Otherwise	20040919		Mark Tully explores the nature of Heresy, in the light of the Church of England's recent, very close, decision not to re-introduce heresy trials for wayward clergy. Who are the heretics and what motivates them, and why do so many feel compelled to control and persecute those who, in the words of Hans Küng, 'believe otherwise' than themselves?
	20040926	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtonight11.30pm	Remembrance of Love Fergal Keane explores through music and literature the memories we all carry within us of love.
In Conversation	20041003		Mark Tully considers the arguably vital importance of conversation - of talking with each other in a way which is significantly different from discussion or debate. What conditions are required for true conversation to take place, and what transformations are possible when it does?
Achilles Heel	20041010		Mark Tully considers the ways in which we acknowledge and deal with the flaws and weaknesses of our own character.
Will To Life	20041017		In Something Understood this week, Mark Tully explores the 'will to life' that is so powerful throughout the created order. Socrates said that anyone who thinks deeply will instinctively 'go for life', but this drive is dramatically evident throughout nature; where does it come from and what does it tell us of the meaning and purpose of creation?
	20041024		The writer and broadcaster Michelene Wandor gets to grips with the practical and spiritual aspects of Doing It Yourself. [Rptd tonight, 11.30pm] The writer and broadcaster Michelene Wandor gets to grips with the practical and spiritual aspects of Doing It Yourself. [Rpt of today 6.05am]
One Starfish	20041031	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtonight,11.30pm	Mark Tully celebrates the impact of tiny acts of compassion taken in the face of overwhelming odds. He explores the theme of a popular fable being circulated in various forms on the Internet. It tells the story of a young boy saving starfish stranded on a beach after a storm. He saves as many as he can, though thousands more will perish. In answer to his companion who asks 'Why bother?' the boy replies: 'It made a difference to that one! One Starfish
	20041107	Rptdtonight,11.30pm	Desert Places The desert is a metaphor for despair, depression, emptiness. But it is also seen as spiritual place, where one can be closer to God. Mark Tully explores those remote places that can be just around the corner, or even inside ourselves.
The Chain Of Memory	20041114		In Something Understood for Remembrance Day in the 60th Anniversary year of the D-Day Landings, Mark Tully considers the importance of the transmission of memories from one generation to the next. What else is lost when memories are lost?
For What We Give Thanks	20041121		In the week of the American Thanksgiving festival, Fergal Keane explores the rituals and meaning of gratitude.
	20041128		Fergal Keane considers the tortured path that can lead people to a place of self-loathing and asks whether this might on occasion be a creative force.
	20041205		Poet Professor Douglas Dunn teaches creative writing at St Andrew's University. He wonders if imagination can be taught, and wishes he could get to his own shed at the bottom of his overgrown garden to write. [Rptd tonight, 11.30pm]
Building Soul	20041212		BBC World Affairs Correspondent Mike Wooldridge considers the spirituality of architecture and how a building acquires a sense of soul.
A Room Of One's Own	20041219		Mark Tully considers the importance of having one's own personal space - physical, mental and spiritual.
This Twilight Gap	20041226		Mark Tully considers the limbo-like days between Christmas and New Year and suggests that they offer a special opportunity for reflection and reorientation.
Discernment	20050102		Rosemary Hartill considers how we can make the best decisions about our lives, actions and relationships.
New Leaves	20050109		The festive season is over and it's time to take stock and perhaps re-evaluate our course through life. Fergal Keane explores the concept of turning over a new leaf.
Delete! Delete!	20050116		Mark Tully asks whether anything is ever truly deleted from the universe. Is the difficulty of deleting incriminating evidence from a computer hard-drive a metaphor for the nature of creation?
Spoiled For Choice	20050123		Mark Tully explores the subject of choice. Whatever the politicians might say, is the freedom to choose as much a burden as a boon?
Guardian Angels	20050130		Is there someone out there, seen or unseen, watching over us, protecting us? The idea is popular in both Islamic and Christian tradition. Mark Tully investigates.
After The Wave	20050206		Six weeks on from the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean, Mike Wooldridge reflects on the questions we should be asking in the wake of such disasters.
A Chain Of Voices	20050213		Storyteller Hugh Lupton believes when he tells a story, the person who told it to him is standing behind him like a ghost.
	20050220		Take My Advice: Mark Tully reflects on the nature of advice - the needs and desires of those who seek it, and the wisdom and motives of those who give it. [Rptd today 11.30pm] Take my Advice: Mark Tully reflects on the nature of advice - the needs and desires of those who seek it, and the wisdom and motives of those who give it. [Rpt of today 6.05am]
Atonement	20050227		Mark Tully considers new thinking on the doctrine of the Atonement. As increasing numbers of people, both inside and outside the church, are repelled by the sense of violent retribution underlying traditional understandings of the death of Christ on the Cross, does the work of philosopher Ren� Girard offer a credible alternative?
The Hubris Of Science	20050306		Mark Tully explores the tensions, problems and situations that arise when the boundaries of scientific knowledge are pushed beyond existing moral, ethical and religious frameworks for deciding what is right and wrong, legitimate or unacceptable.
Glimpses In The Garden	20050313	20050320, Rptoftoday6.05am	As a young art therapist Joyce Laing noticed the intensity of paintings by her TB patients eerily prefigured their bouts of illness. This led to a lifelong interest in art by people with mental health problems, with Joyce connecting the visions of William Blake to the surrealists and finally to a tiny woven offering she found beneath a holly bush in the grounds of a mental asylum. On the Road Again: Fergal Keane considers the compulsion some people have to travel and wonders if the importance lies in the journey or the goal at the end of the road. [Rpt of Sun 6.05am]
	20050320	Rptdtoday11.30pm	On the Road Again Fergal Keane considers the compulsion some people have to travel, and wonders if it's the journey that's important or if there has to be a goal at the end of the road.
As One Who Serves	20050327		Mark Tully considers images of service and servanthood. Jesus described himself as coming as one who serves and this is a constant theme in many of the world?s major faiths. But are all attempts to understand ourselves as servants doomed to end in either pride or self-pity?
Encountering The Desert	20050403		BBC World Affairs Correspondent Mike Wooldridge considers how an encounter with the desert impacts on the human spirit.
A Hundred Years A Forest:	20050410		Writer and story teller, Vayu Naidu, reflects on spring, fertility and the natural cycles of our changing bodies.
A Very Special Relationship	20050417		Michelene Wandor draws on her own experience to consider the role of grandparents. A Very Special Relationship: Michelene Wandor draws on her own experience to consider the role of grandparents. [Rpt of today 6.05am] A Very Special Relationship: Michelene Wandor draws on her own experience to consider the role of grandparents.[Rptd today 11.30pm]
Twins	20050424		Mark Tully explores the special features and fascinations of the Twin relationship. From Castor and Pollux, to Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and even Jesus and Thomas, what does twinship symbolise and embody?
The Illusion Of Progress	20050501		In conversation with Professor John Gray, Mark Tully considers the argument that belief in human progress is a secular myth and a dangerous illusion.
	20050508		Mark Tully explores what the French philosopher Jacques Derrida called the return of the religious. In conversation with Alister McGrath, author of The Twilight of Atheism, he considers the argument that science and secularism have not, after all, eliminated the sacred.
The Real Me	20050515		Guyanese-born teacher and musician Lionel McCalman, who has lived in London for 30 years, explores his identity.
Sweet Thought In Sadness	20050522	Rptoftoday6.05am	Mark Tully considers the melancholy benefits of sadness, an emotion that can be appropriate, healing and creative. He explores how sadness can be meaningful rather than meaningless, and how it can deepen and heighten joy.
Whether Morphine Or Idealism	20050529		Mark Tully considers the nature of Idealism and Idealists: the positive, visionary and transforming potential of idealism, and the often naïve, obsessive character of many idealists.
	20050605	Rptdtoday11.30pm	BBC World Affairs Correspondent Mike Wooldridge explores the meaning of solidarity. From the current fashion for coloured wrist bands, to the grass-roots activism which led to the collapse of Soviet Bloc communism, what circumstances give rise to such powerful expressions of human solidarity?
Why Do We Sing?	20050612	Rptoftoday6.05am	Professor Arnold Maran was a leading surgeon who specialized in the voice. He operated on some of the world's leading opera and pop singers. But why should we be able to sing in the first place? And how did we get from squeaks, grunts and barks to being able to sing so beautifully?
	20050619		Mark Tully considers newly emerging ways of understanding and envisioning God. As many of the old images and metaphors for God cease to carry convincing meaning, what new images are arising from the experience of individuals and the explorations of theologians?
More Than The Sum	20050626		BBC World Affairs Correspondent Mike Wooldridge considers the last piece in the creative jigsaw puzzle: what happens when the response of the viewer, reader or listener makes a work of art more than the sum of its parts.
The Spirit Of Africa	20050703		In a week of unprecedented attention on Africa, Mark Tully explores the idea that the answers to Africa's problems increasingly lie with the continent's spirituality rather than with politics.
Careless Words	20050710		Rosemary Hartill considers the complex relationship between openness and confidentiality. Careless words can indeed cost lives, or at the very least deeply hurt and cause a sense of betrayal. But secrecy can be manipulative and repressive. How do we get the balance right in our private and public lives?
No Place Like Home?	20050717		As we all now seem to move houses several times in our lives, author Michael Morpurgo wonders where home exactly is. Is it just an idea that has ceased to have any meaning?
The Love Of Good Alone	20050724		Mark Tully asks whether human beings are driven blindly by selfish genes or evolving to strive for goodness. He talks to Professor Keith Ward about what makes humans distinctive amongst all other animals. Is it, as Ward claims, that we can choose to act for the love of good alone?
The Marks Of Integrity	20050731		Rosemary Hartill considers the meaning and importance of integrity in public and private life. Is integrity an absolute or a relative term?
	20050807	Rptdtoday11.30pm	Mark Tully considers the dignity that can be revealed in suffering, most recently witnessed in Pope John Paul II's last weeks. Mark Tully considers the dignity that can be revealed in suffering, most recently witnessed in Pope John Paul II's last weeks. [Rpt of today 6.05am]
Hearing And Listening	20050814		Mark Tully considers the distinction between hearing and listening and realises that the way we respond to things often matters more than the thing itself.
Not Just A Load Of Rubbish	20050821		How do we decide what to keep and what to throw away? How important is it to hang on to objects no longer in use just because they hold memories? Michelene Wandor explores how our clutter can define our history and who we are.
	20050828	Rptdtoday11.30pm	The Happiest Days of your Life: As a new academic year begins, Roshan Doug reflects on the lasting influence of school life. The Happiest Days of your Life: As a new academic year begins, Roshan Doug reflects on the lasting influence of school life. [Rpt of today 6.05am]
Turmoil And Tranquillity	20050904		Mark Tully considers the most fertile conditions for creativity in the arts, in nature and in the spiritual life.
	20050911		Weeping and Tears: 'Jesus wept' is the shortest verse in the Bible. Mark Tully considers what happens when we cry: bitter tears, crocodile tears, tears of joy. [Rptd today 11.30pm]
Bitterness And Balm	20050918		Mark Tully contemplates the corrosive effects of bitterness on a life, and those things which offer balm for that pain and open up a future and a hope beyond the bitterness.
	20050925	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	Kabbalah Mark Tully explores the ancient, but also very contemporary, mystical Jewish Kabbalah tradition. He consults Z'ev Ben Shimon Halevi, a renowned authority on the mysteries of Kabbalah, to explore its origins, principles and contemporary appeal.
Elegy For New Orleans	20051002		As the full significance of the tragedy that has befallen New Orleans finds expression, Fergal Keane considers what the city has represented culturally and spiritually. With extracts from some of the city's writers, including John Kennedy O'Toole, Kate Chopin and Richard Ford and music by some of New Orleans' finest sons - among them, Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino, Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Wynton Marsalis.
The Healing Hand	20051009		What's in a handshake? Mark Tully considers the potent symbolism of hands and hand gestures, pondering their capacity to both hurt and heal.
	20051016		Fergal Keane considers what the idea of 'village life' has come to mean in an age where it's no longer defined just by geography and rural associations, but by a sense of community, personal and spiritual identity. With readings from the works of Edward Thomas, Patrick Kavanagh and Gillian Darley, and music by George Butterworth, Kate Rusby and Baaba Maal.
The Way Of All The Earth:	20051023		JM Barrie's Peter Pan called it an awfully big adventure but we're not all so sanguine about our eventual demise. Rabbi Julia Neuberger considers how we might think about establishing a good death, and what it means spiritually to be able to look back on one's life and reflect.
The Barbarians	20051030		Mark Tully draws on CP Cavafy's famous poem Waiting for the Barbarians. He asks if Cavafy was right to suggest that every culture and community needs a sense of the Barbarian outside the gate in order to give meaning to its sense of identity and civilisation.
	20051106		Mike Wooldridge reflects on the rich imagery of footprints. How does something as mundane as a footprint come to carry such a weight of mystery and romance?
	20051113		In conversation with retired Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar from the Indian Army, Mark Tully considers the borderline between fear and cowardice.
	20051120		Mark Tully explores the experience of meditation and use of mantras. What are the techniques and benefits of meditation, and why is there an enduring suspicion of the practice?
	20051127		BBC World Affairs Correspondence Mike Wooldridge considers the miracle of human survival in extraordinary circumstances. What conditions and traits ensure that some people survive where others, in the same circumstances, succumb?
	20051204		Mark Tully talks to writer David Tacey about how best to read the spiritual signs of our times. Where are the genuinely prophetic voices to be heard, and what are they saying?
The Power Of Song	20051211		At school, Mark Tully was told that he couldn't sing and would not be able to join the school choir. Many others before and since have been told the same thing. What have they missed out on? To find out, Mark talks to Joan Taylor of the Can't Song Choir at Morley College, London.
Working Out Salvation	20051218		Mark Tully considers different understandings of Salvation. All the worlds religions have, at their heart, teachings on salvation, but how are some of the traditional answers to the question: "What are we saved from?" now being challenged?
All The Mornings Of The World	20051225		Fergal Keane examines the spirit and joy of Christmas morning.
Be The Change!	20060101		Mark Tully considers Mahatma Gandhi's instruction: 'You must be the change you wish to see in the world'. What sort of change should we aspire to, how do we go about it, and what sort of difference can we make?
One Day At A Time	20060108		Mark Tully considers the importance of appreciating the present moment, and of achieving a small goal each day.
Speaking Of Praise	20060115		In Something Understood this week Mark Tully's theme is Praise. Why is praise important, in both the spiritual and the secular realms? What is its function and its benefits, and what damage is done when praise is withheld or inflated?
	20060122		Mark Tully explores the relationship between spirit and form.
The Theft Of Time	20060129		Mark Tully considers the strange distortions of time to which modern technologies give rise. Why do so many inventions designed to give us more time actually deprive us of time: time to stand and stare, time to reflect, time to create, time to be?
Spirit	20060205		Puppeteer Susan Beattie produced a theatre show based on her fascination with ordinary people's spirituality, which had the unexpected effect of shaking her belief in God.
	20060212		Mike Wooldridge considers the idea that history is made in The Secret Lives of Individuals. Is it true that individuals, acting out of private motivations, beliefs and convictions, affect the course of history more profoundly than governments, armies and public campaigns?
Charged With Meaning	20060219		Mark Tully considers the perennial human quest for meaning, and explores the difference between meaning and explanation.
	20060226	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	For the beginning of Lent, Mark Tully explores the meaning of feasting and fasting, and the relationship between them in the spiritual life. In all cultures and all religions to feast is to celebrate and to fast is to purify, bringing mind and body into balance. Why do these ancient traditions retain their relevance and appeal in a changing world?
After You're Gone	20060305		Every one of us will at some time feel the pain of losing a loved one. But is there any 'best' way to deal with this experience of loss? Fergal Keane hosts.
Old Souls	20060312		Mark Tully considers the nature and role of Old Souls. Originally an Eastern concept, Old Souls are frequent figures in New Age and contemporary esoteric traditions.
A Fault Confessed	20060319		Mark Tully explores the theme of confession in spiritual and secular life. The practice of formal confession to a priest has declined dramatically in recent years, but some people still find relief and healing in the act of confession. Has confession, now with a new emphasis on reconciliation, shaken off its reputation for fostering guilt and neurosis and become an effective form of therapy?
Mind The Gap	20060326		Sarah Joseph is editor of the Muslim lifestyle magazine Emel. Once a fervent Roman Catholic, she converted to Islam in different times, before the 1989 fatwa was proclaimed against Salman Rushdie. What can be done to bridge the widening gap between religions and their believers?
	20060402		Mike Wooldridge considers his life-long fascination with border places, from the parochial to the exotic, from the romantic to the treacherous. In his work as an International Affairs Correspondent, he is constantly crossing borders and finds them to be places of risk, challenge and danger - but also allure, aspiration and sanctuary.
Seven Words	20060409		Mark Tully follows in the footsteps of generations of writers, composers and theologians who have found fascination and inspiration in the 'Seven Last Words' spoken by Christ from the Cross. He talks to Canon Edmund Newell of St Paul's Cathedral about a contemporary exploration of these sayings, one that has captivated congregations here and in North America, particularly in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
	20060416		For Easter Day, Mark Tully considers whether the concept of 'enthusiasm' should be rehabilitated. Literally meaning 'God-possessed', it was enthusiasm that carried the early disciples forward after Easter; and it is passionate enthusiasm that drives most artistic, social and scientific achievement. Yet enthusiasm is a quality that has always given rise to ambivalence, cynicism and suspicion, with many spiritual writers wanting to distinguish enthusiasm from genuine inspiration.
The Other Great Leveller	20060423		Mental illness is no respecter of education, class or creed and can have a devastating effect on the lives of people with mental health problems and their loved ones. But sometimes sufferers have a strong sense of spirituality and creativity. Rabbi Julia Neuberger considers how spirituality can provide a new sense of meaning for people with mental health problems.
Deadlier Than The Male:	20060430		Writer and broadcaster Shazia Khan considers the allure and power of female beauty and explores the place of modesty in religion.
Care Not Cure	20060507		Mark Tully explores the intimate relationship between 'care' and 'cure' that lies at the heart of the hospice movement. He talks to Harmala Gupta, one of the founders of Delhi's first home-based palliative care service, and discovers that even when the medical prognosis is bleak, with compassionate, sensitive care many patients experience profound levels of healing in their inner lives and in their relationships.
A Perfect Pleasure:	20060514		Mark Tully explores the double-edged nature of pleasure. Is pleasure, as Epicurus suggested, the beginning and the end of living happily? [Rpt of today 6.05am] A Perfect Pleasure: Mark Tully explores the double-edged nature of pleasure. Is pleasure, as Epicurus suggested, the beginning and the end of living happily? [Rptd today 11.30pm]
Called To Account	20060521		Mark Tully considers the impact of globalisation on our attitudes and responses to the disadvantaged within and beyond our own communities. Is it true, as has been claimed, that in the wake of the Make Poverty History campaign we are, more than ever before, being called to account?
Into The Unknown	20060528		Mark Tully considers the French medical scientist Claude Bernard's claim that we 'can learn nothing except by going from the known to the unknown'. For some, perhaps, this might be a statement of the obvious, but the thought is deeply challenging given our hankering for the security of the known and the familiar. Is it true that we can only learn by giving up the tried and tested?
	20060604		Mark Tully considers mysticism for a new millennium. The theologian Karl Rahner said that the Christian of the future, if he exists at all, will be a mystic. What did he mean? Is mysticism today the same or different than in the past, and is the contemporary pre-occupation with mysticism a cause, or an effect, of the so-called spirituality revolution?
Hard Wired For Belief	20060611		Mark Tully explores the growing conviction among some scientists that human beings are hard-wired to believe in - what Professor Robert Winston has called - The Divine Idea. Despite firm predictions to the contrary and all that science, consumerism and political ideologies have thrown at it, Faith has not withered away.
Divine Comedy	20060618		God, it's generally presumed, is no laughing matter. Writer and performer Judith French considers the link between God and comedy. [Rptd today 11.30pm] Divine Comedy: God, it's generally presumed, is no laughing matter. Writer and performer Judith French considers the link between God and comedy. [Rpt of today 6.05am]
Fantasy And Imagination	20060625		Mark Tully explores the difference between fantasy and imagination. Is it true, as the Dominican Timothy Radcliffe has written recently, that while imagination creates signs that speak of the future and bring it nearer, fantasy is a form of despair that flees from reality rather than seeking to reshape it?
Unbending Belief	20060702		Mike Wooldridge asks what drives fundamentalism and rigid religious orthodoxy and what is the essential connection between unbending belief and behaviour. Do fundamentalists in all traditions have more in common with each other than they do with liberals and reformers in their own communities?
Love With Strings	20060709		Mark Tully explores the nature of conditional - as opposed to unconditional - love, and the damaging effects such love can have for individuals and communities, in families, intimate relationships, and in the Church. He talks to former priest and family therapist Jeremy Young, who argues that the Church is deeply damaged by its gospel of conditional love.
Metamorphosis	20060716		Mark Tully explores our enduring fascination with the idea of metamorphosis, from ancient myth to contemporary science fiction. Educationalist Rudolf Steiner spoke of Goethe's discovery of metamorphosis as one of the most important of the scientific age, adding that its importance was still not understood. Why did he ascribe it such prominence and power?
Compassion	20060723		Fergal Keane considers the idea of compassion as found in the roots of the great religions, and as experienced in the modern world.
The Pleasure Of Work	20060730		Mark Tully considers the pleasures of working, whether it be digging the garden or writing a script.
Sleepless Nights	20060806		When you wake unexpectedly in the night and the mind starts to churn, why do life's little problems and irritations seem much worse than they really are? In conversation with writer and journalist Virginia Ironside, Mark Tully contemplates the perspective of the sleepless.
Doubting Thomas	20060813		In conversation with Canon John Shepherd, Mark Tully considers the doubt in people's faith, from Thomas to Jesus himself.
God's Darling	20060820		Rosemary Hartill explores the mysterious, playful, creative and cosmic figure of Sophia - Wisdom - in some of her many guises - Greek, Jewish and Christian. How does Sophia combine the practical wisdom of women with the ability to guide and counsel with universal wisdom and mystical insight?
Expanding God	20060827		Mike Wooldridge explores how our expanding knowledge of the cosmos challenges us to expand our vision of God. He talks to Prof Keith Ward, who believes that we must rethink much of our imagery of creation and of Heaven. There may be millions of years of evolution still to come, he suggests, and God's plan for intelligent life may hardly have begun.
Truth Lies Somewhere	20060903		Mark Tully tackles truth. Is there such a thing as absolute truth or is truth always relative?
Carried On The Wind	20060910		Storyteller Pamela Marre reflects on the invisible power of the wind, drawing on ancient tales which advise us not to fight it.
	20060917		Growing Old Wisely: As autumn approaches, Dr Tina Beattie considers the challenges and opportunities of ageing; especially in a culture that values youth and beauty. [Rpt of today 6.05am]
Sacrifices On The Altar Of Love	20060924		Writer Bel Mooney explores the sacrifices we are called on to make during our lives - for children, for partners and for God.
	20061001		Musician and broadcaster Tom Robinson makes a guest appearance to present a programme that considers the 'atmospherics' that accompany our lives. Starting from John Peel's stated preference for vinyl recordings, because 'vinyl, like life, has surface noise', Tom dives beneath the surface to a place on the brink of silence where meditation, recollection and prayer are more readily possible. With readings from James Agee, Mother Teresa and Max Reich; poetry by TS Eliot and Jorie Graham; and music by Brian Eno, Samuel Barber, Morton Feldman and Tom himself.
	20061008		Mark Tully considers how hope and transformation can come from loss and grief. [Rptd today 11.30pm] Mark Tully considers how hope and transformation can come from loss and grief. [Rpt of today 6.05am]
	20061015		Ocean Deep: Rabbi Julia Neuberger explores the spiritual and practical elements of the ever-changing sea. [Rptd today 11.30pm] Ocean Deep: Rabbi Julia Neuberger explores the spiritual and practical elements of the ever-changing sea. [Rpt of today 6.05am]
Fun Is Its Own Reason	20061022		Mark Tully contemplates the philosophy of enjoyment. Advertising and social life is now dominated by the notion of having fun, but is this always desirable?
Hope Against Hope	20061029		Although hope is one of the cardinal virtues, it can be hard to maintain in especially bleak circumstances. Geoffrey Smith explores hope in extremis with help from the poetry of Thomas Hardy and George Herbert, the writings of Primo Levi and Loren Eiseley, and music ranging from Schubert to Big Bill Broonzy.
If Not Together	20061105		Mark Tully talks to Abbot Christopher Jamison of Worth Abbey about the essential meaning and nature of community. Why was St Benedict so adamant that staying the course with other people is essential to the spiritual path, and what might this say to our transient and individualistic lives today?
Faithful Cities	20061112		Mike Wooldridge explores how the religious landscape of the world's cities has been transformed since the publication of Faith in the City 20 years ago, and how frequently initiatives inspired by religion offer hope amidst the stress, squalor and degradation of urban life.
Stages Of Faith.	20061119		Mark Tully considers how faith develops from infancy, through childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and maturity. Is the path linear, with set milestones and cul-de-sacs which some people never grow out of, or is the development a more fluid one influenced by personality and circumstance?
The Project Of Individuality	20061126		No one sees, feels or meets the world from the same place. The Irish poet and philosopher John O'Donohue considers individuality's possibilities.
Nothing The Same	20061203		Mike Wooldridge considers the ways in which lives are transformed. What are the inner conditions and external events, the circumstances and the relationships which ensure that some lives are transformed for ever?
Life's Feast	20061210		Judith French considers the pleasures of providing and sharing food and wine.
The Project Of Individuality	20061217		No one sees, feels or meets the world from the same place. Irish poet and philosopher, John O'Donohue considers the possibilities of individuality.
Who Do You Say That I Am	20061224		Mark Tully asks 'Who is Jesus for the 21st Century?' In conversation with Catholic theologian James Alison, he explores the enduring significance of traditional understandings of Jesus and the contribution of new interpretations.
I Got Rhythm	20061231		Piers Plowright explores his sense of the need for order, pattern and tradition in human lives. As one uncertain year ends and another begins, his search for stability takes in the work of poets WB Yeats and Philip Larkin and a community of Cistercian monks. The programme also features music from Bach, Bob Dylan and Havergal Brian, readings from DH Lawrence and Scott Fitzgerald, and an interview with veteran broadcaster and campaigner Studs Terkel.
	20070107	Rptdtoday11.30pm	Mark Tully talks to the Abbot of Worth, Father Christopher Jamison, about the hunger for sanctuary amid the challenges and business of modern life. What help do the ancient monastic orders have to offer, and how can that help be accessed?
To Part Without Regret	20070114		Mark Tully explores the meaning of detachment and weighs the positive and negative aspects of this spiritual principle. Encouraged across the whole range of faith traditions, detachment at its best is an act of spiritual freedom and openness to God, but what happens when detachment leads to coldness and an unwillingness to engage fully in relationship and action in the world?
	20070121	Rptdtoday11.30pm	Mark Tully talks to an old friend, policeman and poet Keki N Daruwalla, about gifts and conditions necessary to develop wide-ranging talents and interests, and why it's important both for the individual and for society to resist the lure of over-specialisation.
Possessions And Limitations	20070128		Tom Robinson reflects on the idea that 'possessions are our limitations', with reference to writings by Oscar Wilde, Mahatma Gandhi and the Persian poet Rumi, and music by Philip Glass, Maurice Greene and Lennon & McCartney.
	20070204	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	Mark Tully talks to Hindu scholar Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad about the strengths and weaknesses of India's historical approach to its religious and cultural pluralism. What can we learn from India's example of allowing space for many different religions and cultures to flourish?
In Such A Hurry	20070211		Rosemary Hartill wonders why we all seem to be in a perpetual hurry; why we seem to believe being busy is a virtue and why at least one writer believes almost all the wrongs he's ever made were due to hurry.
	20070218		Just before the start of Lent, Mark Tully asks 'are human beings basically good, or basically bad'? Taoism and Hinduism suggest we're basically good, but traditionally Christianity and Confucianism have said we're basically bad. As traditional Christian teaching on original sin is being increasingly challenged, where does the truth lie?
A Place Within	20070225		With Fergal Keane
Dust Yourself Off	20070304		Food writer Marguerite Patten, now in her nineties, looks back on a lifetime of love and loss. She reflects on her wartime experiences as a home economist, the deaths of her parents, her marriage of over five decades and her abiding passion for nature. Marguerite draws upon the writings of AE Housman, Victoria Hislop and RD Blackmore and music by Puccini, Ivor Gurney and the Japanese traditional melody Sakura (Cherry Blossom).
	20070311	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	Fruits of Failure Mark Tully considers our current obsession with success at all costs and suggests there can be a genuine value in experiences of failure. Is it true, as the columnist Jane Shilling has written, that a lack of modest failure is a grim preparation for life outside the walls of an educational institution?
Making Peace	20070318		Mike Wooldridge considers the growing role of international mediators in brokering peace between intractable parties in conflict. In a business which sees many failures and few successes, who are the people who bring sworn enemies to the negotiating table and what scruples must they swallow to do so?
Religion Good? Religion Bad?	20070325		Mark Tully enters the current debate about the nature of religion. Is religion dangerous - even a force for evil as Richard Dawkins has claimed - or would the human race be considerably worse off and devoid of hope for the future without faith?
Spools Of Time	20070401	Rptoftoday6.05am	The distinguished Canadian broadcaster Chris Brookes reflects on how memories are captured in the mundane objects we gather around ourselves and how the passing of the years can be traced, as a map of time, in the lines of a face we love.
	20070408	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	Enduring Life is sometimes described as an endurance test. Mark Tully considers the qualities that help people survive its tribulations.
Named And Shamed	20070415		Mark Tully explores the complex nature of shame. Why are we so obsessed with naming and shaming and why is the fear of shame so powerful that it can split families forever and even drive some to murder?
	20070422	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	Lost and Found Mark Tully considers the experience of losing and finding. From the lost sheep and coins of scripture to Marlene Dietrich's earring, lost for over 70 years and found in a Blackpool pleasure park, why do we mind losing things so much?
Enduring Love	20070429		How does the love between two people survive the disappointments, betrayals and routine of everyday life? With poetry, prose and music, Fergal Keane reflects on what makes a lasting relationship.
Future Perfect	20070506		Mark Tully considers how far it is possible for us to create the future. Many denounce the idea that we can forge our own destiny, but some contemporary theologians argue that it is not only possible but also our moral obligation.
Square Pegs	20070513		Mark Tully considers the lot of those who don't quite fit in.
Stolen Identity	20070520		Mark Tully considers the current concern over identity theft. Stolen identity has been a recurrent theme in myth, literature, film, history and even scripture, but now our long-term fascination with the idea has taken on a more sinister and personal dimension.
	20070527	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	Waiting in Emptiness Mark Tully asks why emptiness is regarded as such a high ideal in the spiritual teachings of most of the world's great faiths when it is normally associated with feelings of hopelessness and despair.
The Mystery Of Belief	20070603		Mike Wooldridge considers the nature of belief and asks whether it can be taught. Is belief a matter of the head or the heart, and what traits do secular and religious believers have in common?
Emerging From The Ruins	20070610		Mark Tully considers life after downfall, personal, emotional or financial. Including a conversation with Jonathan Aitken.
The Things We're Handed Down	20070617		On Father's Day, Fergal Keane considers how we can instil in our children a sense of values in a world of materialistic cynicism, in which we ourselves frequently fail to live up to the mark.
	20070624	Rptdoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	Sent to Spy Mark Tully explores the psychology of spying. From the dark days of Cold War espionage to the reality of CCTV cameras on every corner, how are we affected by constant surveillance?
The Greening Of God	20070701		Mike Wooldridge considers the complex relationship between cosmology, theology and climate change. He talks to author Judy Cannato about how the latest theological and scientific insights are changing the way we think about caring for the planet.
	20070708		Mark Tully considers the spiritual dimensions of exercise and sport.
	20070715	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	Little Angels Here Below Writer and performer Judith French considers the ways of children and angels.
	20070722	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	Good People, Be Civil Mark Tully asks if it is true, as the Chief Rabbi has recently argued, that we have lost the culture of civility. How can society survive without such virtues as courtesy, restraint and respect for others, and can those virtues be recovered once lost?
	20070729	Rptdtoday11.30pm	Madeleine Bunting explores our complex and contradictory relationship with the wild.
Spirituality And Interfaith Dialogue	20070805		Mark Tully asks if spirituality would be a more effective starting point for interfaith dialogue than religion. He talks to the Hindu activist Swami Agnisvesh about his claim that only spirituality can liberate us from our religious ghettoes and dismantle the barriers between the faiths.
The Carer And The Cared For	20070812		Mark Tully considers the relationship between people who are gravely ill and the people who care for them.
Partition And Democracy	20070819		Mark Tully celebrates 60 years of Indian independence with an exploration of the special character of Indian democracy. He talks to government Minister Dr Ashwani Kumar about how democracy has flourished in India despite its birth in the bloodshed of Partition.
Expanding God	20070826		Mike Wooldridge explores how our expanding knowledge of the cosmos challenges us to expand our vision of God. He talks to Prof Keith Ward who believes that we must rethink much of our imagery of creation and of heaven. There may be millions of years of evolution still to come, he suggests, and God's plan for intelligent life may hardly have begun.
Truth Lies Somewhere	20070902		With Mark Tully. Can there be such a thing as absolute truth or is the concept always relative?
Carried On The Wind	20070909		Storyteller Pamela Marre reflects on the invisible power of the wind, drawing on ancient tales which advise us not to fight it, but instead to bend and remain unbroken.
Spiritual Emergency	20070916		Mark Tully explores the concept of Spiritual Emergency. The term was coined by Stanislav Grof to describe a spiritual awakening of extreme intensity. Why is the relationship between spiritual and mental health so complex, and how can people going through such an emergency best be helped?
Running Away	20070923		Mark Tully considers the human need to escape, whether from the modern world, from other people or even from ourselves. He asks if religion can provide an escape.
	20070930		Mark Tully considers claims by scientists and climate change campaigners that we could be on the brink of a Sixth Extinction. After five naturally occurring disasters in the life of the planet, do we now face a catastrophic and man-made sixth?
	20071007	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	The Dance of Life Felicity Finch reflects on childhood ballet lessons, adult salsa classes and observations of dance-like movement in everyday life through the writings of Isadora Duncan, Rudolph Laban, Gunter Grass and Gabrielle Roth. She talks to retired priest Colin MacLean, who considers dance a form of prayer and intends to devote the rest of his life to dancing.
	20071014		Mark Tully considers what theologian Paul Tillich called the 'lost dimension of depth' in contemporary life. What is lost when we're consumed by trivia, and how can this loss be recovered?
	20071021		Mark Tully considers why we all need second chances, why we should always be prepared to give them to others, and how one second opportunity can turn a whole life around.
	20071028	Rptdtoday11.30pm	Katy Radford considers how some people find the resources to survive trauma and escape being victims. She talks to her own mother Inge about living with the knowledge that she, unlike many of her immediate family, escaped the Nazis. Irish poet Paul Muldoon talks about the experiences of his country. With readings from works by Benjamin Zephaniah, Bruce Chatwin and Cathy Stanton and music including Over the Rainbow sung by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole.
In The Midst Of Life We Are In Debt	20071104		People have always generated wealth from others' need for money. Judith French reflects on usury.
Lest We Forget	20071111		On Remembrance Sunday, Mike Wooldridge considers what happens to our collective memory when we lose our first-hand witnesses. Dr James Smith, anti-genocide campaigner and founder of the Aegis Trust, explains why is it so important not only to remember but also to learn the lessons of such memories for the sake of generations to come.
	20071118	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	The New Freedom Mark Tully discovers how networking can empower all of us to bring about change in the world.
	20071125		Mark Tully explores the notion of a Cantus Firmus, the musical term translated by former Dean of Westminster Michael Mayne as the enduring melody of a life.
Better To Light A Candle	20071202		Rabbi Julia Neuberger explores the symbolism of candles at this time of year.
The Path Of The Convert	20071209		Guardian columnist Madeleine Bunting meets Yahya Birt, who converted to Islam as a student. What leads someone to convert to another faith? Why do some make the decision with joy and delight while others, like the famous Christian apologist CS Lewis, kick and struggle against it? Why are some converts so admired and others so hated?
Fear And Compassion	20071216		Mark Tully considers the idea that people rediscover their compassion when they stop being afraid. Why is fear at the heart of so much cruel and corrupt behaviour and how can it be overcome to release kindness, empathy and generosity?
Season Of Gifts	20071223		Fergal Keane looks beyond the material to the spiritual as he explores Christmas traditions of giving and receiving.
I Wish You Enough	20071230		Mark Tully considers blessings - what do we wish for other people and why? Is there any evidence to suggest that blessings attract the good things invoked or are they simply empty, superstitious and outdated verbal habits?
True North	20080106		Mark Tully explores the claim that the deepest craving in the human spirit is for knowledge of the right direction. Why does this longing run so deep, why is it so universal, and how can true orientation in life be found?
	20080113	Rptdtoday11.30pm	The Library of Secrets American writer and broadcaster Dmae Roberts reflects on the enduring allure of secret places, the things one might keep there and the tension that can exist between the secret and the private. With music by Philip Glass, Victoria Bergsman and Curtis Stigers and readings from works by Sylvia Plath, Lise See and Frances Hodgson Burnett.
	20080120	Rptoftoday6.05am, Rptdtoday11.30pm	The Good, the Bad and the Dirty Mark Tully meditates on the realities, ironies and contradictions of our relationship with dirt. Are our attitudes to dirt innate or culturally determined, and what is gained and what is lost when the battle against dirt is won?
Living Smart, Living Simple	20080127		Mark Tully is joined by environmental campaigner Jonathon Porritt to explore how we can live better but more simply. How can technology be harnessed for the good of the planet and not its destruction, and how can we develop new models of progress that will not only help save the planet but enhance the quality of our lives and make our global relationships fairer?
Reflections	20080203		Katy Radford considers how individuals and societies relate to their own reflections, from images that dance on the surface of a pool and the theatrical distortions of magicians to the significance of religious traditions such as the Jewish sitting shiva, when mirrors are covered during a period of mourning. Featuring extracts from the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, JK Rowling and Sylvia Plath and music by Denys Baptiste and Maurice Ravel.
Happy Talk	20080210		Mark Tully asks if happiness can be taught. Anthony Seldon, Master of Wellington College, is confident that it can, and in 2006 happiness and well-being psychology was added to the College curriculum. More recently, Education Secretary Ed Balls announced that such lessons will be introduced in all state secondary schools. So what secrets can teachers share to help students enjoy a happy and contented life?
Serpents And Doves	20080217		Mark Tully considers Jesus's instruction to his disciples to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves as they set out on their mission. How is it possible to combine pragmatism and guile with openness and transparency? Which historical figures could properly be described as both wise and innocent, and what are their particular achievements?
The World's Well	20080224		Mike Wooldridge explores the meaning of health and well-being in a world increasingly divided by economic inequality and increasingly united by accessible information. Has ancient wisdom about health been lost in our obsession with keeping pain and disease at bay?
Being Mum	20080302		On this Mothering Sunday, Fergal Keane considers some of the aspects of being a good mother.
Deeper Than Desire	20080309		Mark Tully considers the human experience of longing. Einstein wrote that feeling and longing are the motive forces behind all human endeavour and human creations, but what is longing? Where does it come from, how is it different from other human desires, and can it ever be satisfied?
Risk Assessment	20080316		Mike Wooldridge explores the implications of our increasingly risk-averse attitude to life, adventure, decision-making and bringing up children.
	20080323		In a special edition for Easter Day, Mark Tully talks to Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of Cape Town and Nobel Peace Laureate. He talks about about the experiences, practices and convictions which have underpinned his vision and given him the strength to work undeterred to bring that vision into being.
I Want To Be Left Alone	20080330		Mark Tully considers our need for privacy and how we balance this with our responsibilities to others.
	20080406		Adjoa Andoh considers how the act of befriending someone in need can change lives.
The Past Is A Foreign Country	20080413		Mark Tully considers how we look back on the past. Do we feel regret or joy about what is behind us? What do we have to do, both personally and institutionally, to move on to the future?
Roots And Wings	20080420		Mark Tully reflects on the most important gifts that parents can bestow upon their children. Is it true, as Holding Carter once said, that wise parents give their children just two gifts - roots and wings?
View From Above	20080427		Felicity Finch reflects on how the space above us and the heights we strive to reach can affect how we perceive our earthbound lives below. View from Above
To Change Or Not To Change	20080504		Mark Tully explores the difference between changing and adapting, and asks how we can strike a creative balance between staying true to our essential nature and adapting to new needs and circumstances.
One Foot In Front	20080511		Mark Tully considers the potentially subversive nature of walking. While walking may have immense and well-documented therapeutic benefits, it is also about protest and pilgrimage, the creation of landscapes and the shaping of civil society.
The Animal Inside	20080518		Poet Christie Dickason reflects on that magical world where humans lived as equals with animals, reflecting on our debt to animals and asking whether we acknowledge our shared past. Featuring poetry by David Grubb and Simon Armitage, Adam Douglas's study of the myth of the werewolf, and music by Taraf de Haidouks, Olivier Messiaen and Flanders and Swann.
Committees	20080525		Are committees good or bad for us? Mark Tully asks whether they are an efficient way of making decisions or an excuse for postponing or avoiding difficult problems.
The Chalice Of Being	20080601		Mark Tully explores former UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold's exhortation that each morning we must hold out the chalice of our being.
	20080608		Mike Wooldridge reflects on the intensity of the first hour or so after dawn: the hopes and fears, the opportunities and delights, the prayers and rituals of early morning across the globe.
Downsizing	20080615		How easy is it to make do with less? Mark Tully considers how we deal with enforced downsizing through financial necessity. Should we all consume less for the common good, as Gandhi did?
All The Rage	20080622		Mark Tully asks why are so many of us so angry all the time. Are the roots of anger spiritual or economic and how can it be reined in or even re-channelled for good?
The Second Coming	20080629		Writer and performer Judith French considers why almost every culture has a legend of a second coming, be it a Messiah, King Arthur or even a Superman.
Limbo	20080706		Mark Tully considers the state of limbo, where time can seem to stand still. How do we cope with situations where we are unable to move forward?
Francis, The Saint Whose Time Has Come	20080713		Mike Wooldridge visits the unique Franciscan community at Hilfield in Dorset. He talks to community leader Brother Samuel SSF about why Franciscan spirituality has such a particular relevance and appeal today. How might long-hidden aspects of the teaching and example of St Francis be a powerful model for inter-faith peace-making and collaboration for the survival of the planet?
Ageing Well	20080720		Mark Tully considers the wisdom that comes with age, and talks to Sr Pia Buxton CJ about the spirituality of ageing. How can we grow old gracefully and positively in our youth-obsessed and careless culture?
Nor Any Drop	20080727		Madeleine Bunting explores our relationship with water - practical, cultural, economic and spiritual. How will we adapt to mounting global anxiety about flood and drought, and how will our relationship with water change in the decades to come?
Ambition	20080803		Mark Tully asks how ambitious we should be and whether ambition can be detrimental to spiritual growth. In fields such as politics, can too much ambition be dangerous?
The Puritan Gift	20080810		Mark Tully talks to Will Hopper, one of the authors of The Puritan Gift. Where does the Puritan work ethic come from and why has it had such a major global impact, both culturally and economically?
Stacks Of Wisdom	20080817		Mark Tully celebrates libraries. From the famous to the obscure, libraries are dusty and mysterious, solemn and weighty, dull and boring, chaste and wickedly romantic. They have contained the collected wisdom of groups and nations, they have enabled the poor to climb out of their circumstances, the poet to survive penury, the revolutionary to plot and the theologian to speculate. But do they remain as important in the modern media age?
East/west	20080824		BBC Foreign Correspondent Jonathan Charles, who has spent the past two decades journeying to some of the most far-flung parts of the world, reflects on whether travel really does broaden the mind.
	20080831		Mike Wooldridge explores some of the complex and ultimately unanswerable questions about the nature of human perception in conversation with Raymond Tallis, Professor of Medicine, philosopher, poet and novelist. To what extent do we all see things in the same way? Is it possible to see through another's eyes or to know what another person sees when we look at the same object, scene or action?
Resisting The Tug	20080907		Mark Tully talks to Simon Small about the importance of rediscovering the lost art of contemplation. How can we find the inner stillness so crucial to living life fully?
	20080914		A Sense of Home Poet Laureate Andrew Motion revisits Stisted, the village where he spent the first nineteen years of his life, and considers the complex feelings associated with a sense of home.
Harvest Festival	20080921		Mark Tully talks to Prof Michael Northcott about the broken relationship between food production and consumption. At this harvest-tide, why will so many of us feel only guilt amid the cornucopia of cheap industrial foods in our supermarkets? How can we recover our sense of food as an elemental collaboration between humanity and the Creator?
	20080928		Freely Given Mark Tully explores the notion of a gift culture. How does a gift culture differ from a commodity culture and what are the intrinsic benefits of such a way of living? And is it true, as Lewis Hyde argues in The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World, that art is always gift, not commodity?
	20081005		Tomorrow Classicist Llewellyn Morgan explores how different attitudes towards tomorrow reflect the way in which we deal with our fear of the unknown. With readings from Derek Mahon, Simonides and Graham Swift, and music by Vaughan Williams, Townes Van Zandt and Richard Strauss
	20081012		Family Ties Mark Tully reflects on how family relationships and responsibilities shift between the generations. From becoming a parent to losing your parents, how do we experience these changes and what helps ensure that we manage them well?
	20081019		Tradition and Reform Mark Tully considers how tensions between traditionalists and reformers are played out in all the main faith traditions. He talks to Rabbi Miriam Berger about a new, gender-inclusive, Jewish prayer book and hears how she hopes that the new prayers will allow people to reconsider their concept of God.
	20081026		Because of the Fire Jane Ray reflects on moments and chance encounters which can prove to be life changing, such as the fire at the Royal Marsden Hospital last year that brought together three of her own friends. With readings from Ezra Pound, Thomas Hardy and Carol Ann Duffy and music by Debussy, REM and Tandie Klaasen.
	20081102		Together Alone The Scottish poet Kenneth Steven reflects on how solitude refreshes the human spirit.
	20081109		That Hurts! Madeleine Bunting explores the complex experience and language of pain. She considers whether the experience of pain gives us a common language and means of connecting with others, or rather isolate us. And, if it is impossible to measure pain, either physical or emotional, how do we decide whose pain is most deserving of attention?
	20081116		Fullness of Life Mark Tully talks to Abbot Christopher Jamison of Worth Abbey about his new book on happiness. They discuss what wisdom the monastic tradition brings to the quest for happiness and fulfilment and what practical guidance it can offer.
Money Worries	20081123		Mark Tully explores the complexities of our relationship with money. He asks why we spend so much time worrying about money and why can it have such a corrosive effect on our relationships. As the financial mood changes, what does money mean for us beyond the practicalities of day-to-day living? Mark Tully explores the complexities of our relationship with money.
Perchance To Dream	20081130		The writer and broadcaster Irma Kurtz considers the complexity of dreams and dreaming.
Stories From Scraps		20081207	Mark Tully considers one of fast-growing social networking activity of scrap-booking. Mark Tully considers one of the fastest-growing social networking activities in the country - not the much-publicised online communities, but scrap-booking. As more people discover this powerful method of accessing memories, they are building them into life stories which can lead to a healing sense of meaning, identity and integration.
Remembering Merton	20081214		Dr Rowan Williams talks about the influential Trappist monk and activist Thomas Merton. The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams talks to Mike Wooldridge about the influential Trappist monk and activist Thomas Merton, who died 40 years ago. He discusses his fascination with this complex and passionate man, who combined a lifelong devotion to the Catholic Church with an increasing openness to the needs of the modern world and to the wisdom of the East.
Birth	20081221		Poet laureate Andrew Motion considers perceptions of birth. At the time of the year when we celebrate the most famous of all nativities, poet laureate Andrew Motion considers perceptions of birth.
At The End Of The Year	20081228		Mark Tully draws on the ancient prayer tradition of the Examen to look back on the year. At the End of the Year: Mark Tully draws on the ancient prayer tradition of the Examen, a night-time reflection on the events of the day in order to achieve understanding, forgiveness and to express gratitude. He looks back on the old year and looks forward to the new, guided by the wisdom of the Examen.
Is This The Way?	20090104		Mark Tully considers many people's new-found reliance on 'sat nav'. Mark Tully considers many people's new-found reliance on 'sat nav' and wonders what else we lose when we lose the ability to find our way through a landscape.
The Singing Manifesto	20090111		American radio producers The Kitchen Sisters on their distinctive approach to interviewees Recorded in San Francisco, American public radio producers The Kitchen Sisters, Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, talk about their distinctive approach to interviewees and why they always ask their guests to sing a favourite song. They explain how they have found that singing achieves an 'accelerated intimacy' that cuts to the heart of a person and results in 'composed radio'.
Not Cute Enough	20090118		Mark Tully considers our responses to beauty. Mark Tully considers our responses to beauty: what our attitudes reveal and to what extent such attitudes are culturally conditioned. Can conventional responses to beauty be overridden and how much is beauty really in the eye of the beholder?
The Science Test	20090125		Mark Tully considers the purpose and scope of science. Mark Tully considers the purpose and scope of science. What are the big questions that it can and cannot answer? If science can tell us 'what' and 'how', can it not tell us 'why'?
Running On Empty	20090201		Writer Blake Morrison considers the physical and spiritual isolation of the runner. Writer Blake Morrison considers the physical and spiritual isolation of the runner, with reference to fellow writers Haruki Murakami, Alan Sillitoe and Sharon Olds and music by guitarist Bert Jansch, French group Air and Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Violence Within	20090208		Mark Tully explores the relationship between inner and outer violence. Mark Tully explores the relationship between inner violence experienced as anger, repression and envy, and outer violence, expressed as cruelty, aggression and greed. If it is true that we are all, by nature, prone to violence, why are some people able to contain their violence and act peacefully in the world?
Mysticism And Resistance	20090215		Mark Tully considers the link between mysticism and resistance. Mark Tully considers the link between mysticism and resistance. He tests Thomas Merton's suggestion that the monk is essentially someone who takes up a critical attitude to the world, and the German theologian Dorothee Soelle's insistence that authentic mystical experience always leads to resistance to the world as it exists now.
The Road Taken	20090222		Mike Wooldridge explores what happens when we choose between different paths in life. Mike Wooldridge explores what happens when we have to choose between different paths in life. How are our lives shaped by such decisions, and how are we changed by what we say 'yes' to and what we turn away from? He talks to Hollywood composer Matthew Ferraro about the decisions that have shaped his life and which have helped to bring about his massive new work The Tension of Opposites.
Spring Forward	20090301		Fergal Keane looks forward to Spring, as a season and a metaphor for better times to come. Fergal Keane looks forward to Spring, both as a season and a metaphor for better times to come.
As You Have Lived	20090308		Mark Tully explores how the way we live our lives reveals our most powerful beliefs. Mark Tully explores how the way we choose to live our lives reveals our most powerful beliefs and motivations, whether we are conscious of them or not. What happens when our deepest beliefs and motivations prove to be at odds with those we profess?
Behaving Virtually	20090315		Mike Wooldridge considers the questions raised by the expansion of the digital world. Mike Wooldridge considers some of the questions raised by the expansion of the digital world. Is it possible to say what is real and what is virtual, or where the line between them lies? Are online communities and relationships 'real', does anonymity make us more or less our real selves in the digital world and is there any room for the spiritual in the virtual?
Mothering Sunday	20090322		Madeleine Bunting explores the delights, dilemmas and dangers of modern parenting.
Feast And Famine	20090329		Writer and broadcaster Irma Kurts reflects on the human obsession with food.
Hospitality	20090405		For Palm Sunday, Mark Tully explores the deeper spiritual meaning of hospitality, with Jean Vanier, founder of the L'Arche community for adults with learning disabilities. For Palm Sunday, Mark Tully explores the deeper spiritual meaning of hospitality.
This Is My Body	20090412		With guest Father Timothy Radcliffe, Mark Tully explores the physical, emotional, legal and spiritual meaning of Jesus' words at the Last Supper. Mark Tully explores the meaning of Jesus' words at the Last Supper.
Yearning To Be Heroes	20090419		Mark Tully asks if we all have it within us to be heroes. Mark Tully asks if we all have it within us to be heroes, and how the heroic can be awakened within us. Is it possible to train ourselves to act heroically in a once-in-a-lifetime moment of crisis and how are we shaped by the heroic archetypes of myth and legend?
The Currency Exchange	20090426		Radio producer Chris Brookes explores the nature of exchange in our day-to-day lives. As the global financial crisis bites deeper, Canadian radio producer Chris Brookes explores the nature of exchange in our day-to-day lives, comparing the value of two currencies that we deal in - money and kindness. Featuring extracts from Benjamin Zephaniah's What If and the Jewish Lamed-Vavniks.
Weaving	20090503		Mark Tully explores weaving as a metaphor for how we should live our life. Mark Tully explores weaving as a metaphor for how we should live our life, beginning in Gandhi's house. He believed that weaving was a necessary spiritual discipline and, perhaps surprisingly, many western poets and musicians echo this view. With poetry by William Blake, Henry Vaughan, Walt Whitman and DH Lawrence and music by saxophonist Jan Garbarek.
Entitlement	20090510		Mark Tully explores the complex relationship between entitlement and rights. Mark Tully explores the complex relationship between a sense of entitlement and the claiming of rights. What is the difference between entitlements and rights and why is a sense of entitlement so closely related to privilege?
If Only We Could Bottle It	20090517		Felicity Finch reflects on those moments when we feel more truly alive than seems possible Felicity Finch reflects on those indefinable moments when we feel more completely alive than seems possible. As an actress, it is something she strives to capture in performance, but in everyday existence these moments of oneness, where an individual is in harmony with surroundings and other people, tend to come spontaneously and unannounced. With readings from Federico Garcia Lorca and John Burnside and music by Chick Corea and Northumbrian pipers.
Homesickness	20090524		Mark Tully explores homesickness, a yearning more complex than nostalgia for homeland. Mark Tully explores homesickness, a yearning more complex than nostalgia for homeland. How true is it that all older people are homesick for the culture of their childhood? With Rabbi Lionel Blue.
Ordinary Time	20090531		Mark Tully celebrates what the novelist Marilynne Robinson has called 'the dear ordinary'. Mark Tully celebrates what award-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson has called 'the dear ordinary', and what GK Chesterton described as, 'the ecstasy of being ordinary'.
The Tree Of Life	20090607		Mike Wooldridge considers 'The Tree of Life' - one of the most enduring and universal symbols of life and connectedness - from Genesis to Darwin to DNA, in conversation with geneticist Professor Steve Jones. Mike Wooldridge considers 'The Tree of Life', in conversation with Professor Steve Jones
Charm	20090614		Mark Tully investigates the danger and usefulness of charm, with guest Tony Benn One such example was when film director Michael Korda was cornered by furious investors, wanting to know what had happened to their money. He would stare at their feet, riveted. 'What simply marvellous shoes,' he would remark - thus defusing the confrontation, and escaping unscathed. With music from Handel, Gluck and Gerard Souzay and readings from Milton, Plutarch and The Last King of Scotland.
A Good Judge	20090621		Mark Tully explores how we judge another person's character. It has been estimated that up to a third of our judgments about other people's characters are wrong, yet many of us pride ourselves on being 'good judges' of character. On what clues do we base our assessments, why are we so often mistaken and can we learn to read the clues more accurately?
Dark Sanctuary	20090628		Fergal Keane explores the physical and fairytale world created by the forest.
Buying And Selling	20090705		Mark Tully examines the relationship between buyer and seller. Mark Tully examines the troubled relationship between buyer and seller, talking to business guru Charles Handy. Featuring music by Henry Purcell and Memphis Minnie and commentary from Martin Amis and Montaigne.
Volunteer Vision	20090712		Mike Wooldridge celebrates the role of the volunteer with Glyn Roberts. Mike Wooldridge celebrates the role of the volunteer in the company of Glyn Roberts, whose own voluntary organisation has sent over two million reconditioned tools to help poor craftsmen and women in Africa and Asia to help themselves.
Genius	20090719		Mark Tully explores the nature of genius. Mark Tully explores the nature of genius. Are geniuses born or made, what sets them above the merely excellent, what conditions do they need to reach their full potential and what are they like to live with?
The Rescuers	20090726		Mark Tully explores the theme of rescue. Mark Tully explores the theme of rescue. A mainstay of myth and fairytale, adventure and romance, why is the longing for rescue so pervasive, and the need to rescue so powerful?
Cricket	20090802		Mark Tully celebrates cricket as a symbol of an ideal society. Mark Tully celebrates cricket as a symbol of an ideal society, with historian Ramanchandra Guha.
Miracles Of Thrift	20090809		Mark Tully wonders why habits of thrift have been lost in a generation. Mark Tully wonders why habits of thrift have been lost in a generation, and asks how they can be recovered - and even celebrated once again - in response to the needs of the day.
Follow My Leader	20090816		Mark Tully considers great leaders and the source of their power to galvanise the cynical. Mark Tully considers great leaders and the source of their power to galvanise the cynical and apathetic on local, national and global levels.
Laugh And The World Laughs With You	20090823		Irma Kurtz reflects on laughter and its importance to spiritual wellbeing. The ability to laugh can help us through the best and worst of times. Irma Kurtz reflects on laughter and its importance to spiritual wellbeing.
The Extraordinary Mary Ward	20090830		Mike Wooldridge on the life of Mary Ward, who helped to redefine religious life for women. Mike Wooldridge explores the life and legacy of an extraordinary Yorkshire woman, Mary Ward, who scandalised the Church authorities of the early 17th century by redefining religious life for women. She walked across the Alps several times to plead her cause in Rome, suffered imprisonment and ill-treatment, and, when she died, her few remaining companions had to bribe a vicar to bury her. But 400 years on, the Orders she founded are working throughout the world and vast congregations are gathering to celebrate her story.
The Vital Green	20090906		Mark Tully explores the many-shaded nature of Green. Mark Tully explores the many-shaded nature of Green, from green imagery in myth, literature, art and faith, to green's crucial biological function as 'the cornerstone of all life on Earth'. The readers are Adjoa Andoh, Janice Acquah, Frank Stirling and David Westhead.
Understanding Prayer	20090913		Mark Tully talks to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, about his personal understanding of prayer, once described by the poet George Herbert as 'something understood'. The readers are Frank Stirling and David Westhead. Mark Tully talks to the Archbishop of Canterbury about his understanding of prayer.
Reinventing Ritual	20090920		Mark Tully asks how our deep need for rituals and rites of passage is being expressed. Mark Tully asks how, in an increasingly secular age, our deep need for rituals and rites of passage is being expressed and nourished. How do new rituals develop and in response to what needs? The readers are Janice Acquah, Frank Stirling and David Westhead.
A Precious Commodity	20090927		Fergal Keane discovers that silence means much more than the mere absence of noise. Silence is something many of us crave in a world full of clamour, but, as Fergal Keane discovers, it means much more than the mere absence of noise. The readers are Ian Masters and Liza Sadovy. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
The Ascent	20091004		Writer Sarah Cuddon reflects on her fascination with mountains. Writer Sarah Cuddon has always been drawn to the mountains - in childhood, to her grandfather's house in the Pyrenees, and as an adult to peaks in more remote and dangerous locations including the Andes and Himalayas. She reflects on this fascination and how writers and climbers, from Wordsworth to Andrew Greig, Joe Simpson to Robert Macfarlane, have felt about 'the ascent'. With music by Clogs, Baka Beyond and Anton Bruckner.
The Power Of A Name	20091011		Mark Tully considers the power of a name to shape our sense of self. Mark Tully considers the power of a name to shape our sense of self, our wellbeing, our relationships and our path through life. The readers are Emily Raymond, Frank Stirling and David Westhead.
The Bullying Circle	20091018		Mark Tully considers bullying - the bully, the bullied and the bystanders. Mark Tully considers bullying - the bully, the bullied and the circle of bystanders and followers who make bullying possible. The readers are Emily Raymond, David Westhead, Frank Stirling and Jordan Scowen.
The Consolations Of Autumn	20091025		Hazhir Teimourian asks if youth, as with spring and summer, is not overrated. Writer and broadcaster Hazhir Teimourian asks if youth, as with spring and summer, is not overrated. In the company of sages and poets from the most ancient times to our own era, he draws parallels between the physical 'age of mists and mellow fruitfulness' and the contentment and serenity that can be the gift of old age in these days of greater affluence and better medicine. From Cicero in Rome 2,000 years ago, through Omar Khayyam in medieval Persia and Shakespeare in modern England, he reflects on both reminiscences of youth and the praise of 'the autumn of life'. A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
Building Bridges	20091101		Writer Christie Dickason considers the physical and metaphorical significance of bridges. Writer Christie Dickason considers the physical and metaphorical significance of bridges - connecting peoples, cultures and countries, but also underlining differences. She talks to violinist Ruth Waterman about the famous bridge of Mostar in Bosnia, and draws upon the poetry of Emily Dickinson and music by Bobbie Gentry and Mozart. A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
Words My Mother Taught Me	20091108		Pamela Marre looks at how ancient wisdom is passed down through families. Pamela Marre, a storyteller from a non-orthodox Jewish family, looks at how ancient wisdom is passed down through families - what we choose to remember, what we carry with us from the previous generation and what we create for the next. A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
Mirror Image	20091115		Mark Tully reflects on reflections - in mirrors, photographs, film and art. Mark Tully reflects on reflections - in mirrors, photographs, film and art. What particular insight do these different reflectors offer us? The readers are Emily Raymond, David Westhead and Frank Stirling. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
An Opinion Of Dignity	20091122		Mark Tully explores the meaning of dignity. Mark Tully explores the meaning of dignity. For some, dignity is an innate and noble quality of humanity, for others it is a meaningless notion, and for Dr Johnson it is a complicating factor in human relationships. The readers are Janice Acquah and Nicholas Boulton. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
A Mirror For The Soul	20091129		Mike Wooldridge considers the Sufi tradition - its history, beliefs and practices. Mike Wooldridge considers the Sufi tradition - its history, beliefs and practices and the mystical experience that lies at its very heart. The readers are Janice Acquah, Nicholas Boulton and Frank Stirling. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
Striving For Imperfection	20091206		Classicist Llewellyn Morgan considers the problem of aspiring towards perfection. : Classicist Llewellyn Morgan considers the problem of aspiring towards perfection, and how an acceptance, and even celebration, of our failings may be the better path to follow. With readings from Orhan Pamuk, Horace and WB Yeats and music from Jascha Heifetz, John Foulds and Alessandro Scarlatti. A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
The Blizzard's Dance	20091213		Mark Tully explores the lure - for some - of bitter cold and deep snow. Mark Tully explores the lure - for some - of bitter cold and deep snow. What is this primal yearning for what is described by one writer as 'the thrill of the north coming to visit and staying for a while'? The readers are Janice Acquah, Nicholas Boulton and Frank Stirling.
The Festive Spirit	20091220		Madeleine Bunting explores the traditional desire of communities to create festivals. Since time immemorial special occasions have been marked with a festival in which communities joined together in celebration. The journalist Madeleine Bunting explores this desire to create festivals. The readers are Liza Sadovy, James Goode and Frank Stirling. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
Born Lucky	20091227		Mark Tully explores how the circumstances of our birth affect the course of our lives. Mark Tully explores how the circumstances of our birth - year, era, parents, birth order, star sign, religion - shape our personalities and affect the course of our lives. The readers are Janice Acquah, Nicholas Boulton and Frank Stirling. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
Earth's Crammed With Heaven	20100103		Mark Tully considers where heaven is to be found, in conversation with Jonathan Stedall. Mark Tully considers where heaven is to be found, in conversation with his friend and veteran documentary maker Jonathan Stedall. The readers are William Gaminara, Emily Raymond and Frank Stirling. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
Wild Swimming	20100110		Sarah Cuddon reflects on what draws people into the open sea and the wild water of rivers. Writer Sarah Cuddon reflects on what draws people into the open sea and the wild water of rivers. She talks to Kate Rew, founder of the Outdoor Swimming Society, about the real experience and metaphorical significance of wild swimming, with reference to Byron, Mark Twain, Iris Murdoch and others writers 'hungry for water'. With music by Dvorak, Portico Quartet and Kathryn Williams. A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
Absolutely Honest	20100117		Mark Tully asks if honesty is always the best policy, and talks to philosopher AC Grayling Mark Tully asks if absolute honesty is always the best policy, and questions philosopher AC Grayling about his suggestion that dishonesty can sometimes even be virtuous. The readers are Emily Raymond and David Westhead. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
Wrestling And Resting	20100124		Mark Tully explores different approaches to the intractable issues in our lives. Mark Tully explores different approaches to the intractable issues in our lives. When is it better to wrestle with them head-on, and when is it better to seek a gentler resolution? The readers are Emily Raymond and William Gaminara. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
Signposts And Route Maps	20100131		Felicity Finch considers goal-orientated and extemporised lives. Life's not like a scene in a play where each character has his or her own motivation or journey. Life lacks the signposts provided by a script that knows where it's heading. Felicity Finch considers goal-orientated and extemporised lives, drawing on the words of acting teacher Utah Hagen, the writing of Dave Eggers and Milan Kundera, poetry by Joyce Sutphen and Philip Larkin and music by Liszt, Clara Schumann and Ornette Coleman. A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
The Pearl Of Great Price	20100207		Mark Tully considers the enduring symbolism and mystical properties of pearls. Mark Tully considers the enduring symbolism of pearls and the mystical properties with which they are endowed in myth and religious tradition. The readers are Janice Acquah, William Gaminara and Frank Stirling. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
Breathe Easy	20100214		The power of the breath as the source of our physical, mental and spiritual health. Mark Tully explores the power of the breath as the source of our physical, mental and spiritual health. The readers are Janice Acquah, Frank Stirling and David Westhead. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
The Sculptors Of Peace	20100221		Mike Wooldridge talks to the Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks. Mike Wooldridge talks to the Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, about the particular - and unprecedented - challenges that confront religion and society in the 21st century. The reader is David Holt. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
Drudgery Divine	20100228		Scholar and priest Teresa Morgan explores some of the many ways in which we see work.
The Judas Kiss	20100307		Mark Tully explores the conflict between loyalty and betrayal. Mark Tully explores the conflict between loyalty and betrayal. What circumstances force us to choose between loyalty and betrayal, and what determines our final choice? The readers are Janice Acquah, Frank Stirling and David Westhead. A Unique production for BBC Radio 4. class="blq-clearfix">
Pilgrim Or Tourist?	20100314		Satish Kumar explores the difference between a tourist and a pilgrim. When you travel what is your aim? Is it possible for the very act of travelling to be important in itself? Satish Kumar explores the difference between a tourist and a pilgrim, and asks whether pilgrimage can become a way of life rather than going to places. A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.