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Alastair Sooke reassesses the origins and relevance of primitivism in art history. Read more
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The Primitivism of Primitivism
Alastair Sooke reassesses the origins and relevance of primitivism in art history.
The Art of a Day
Why do writers and audiences keep coming back to one-day artworks like Joyce's Ulysses?
A Chinese Odyssey: Artists, Poets and Exiles in Interwar London
Paul French explores a unique moment in British-Chinese solidarity between 1937 to 1945.
Nixon in China
Exploring John Adams' opera on the 50th anniversary of President Nixon's visit to China.
Marian Anderson - Of Thee We Sing
The life and legacy of pioneering contralto Marian Anderson presented by Linton Stephens.
Florence Price’s Chicago and the Black Female Fellowship
How a unique Chicago musical sisterhood helped the music of Florence Price to thrive.
Forbidden Fruit
Why the forbidden fruit is not an apple.
Krishnamurti in England
Paul Purgas reflects on the legacy of spiritual teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti.
I Arrive without Leaving - The Story of Women Surrealist Poets
Alexandra Reza on the early women surrealist poets and writers who shaped the movement.
The Ancient Algorithm
Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough delves into the history of runes, the ancient alphabet.
Here Be Mermaids
Why are mermaids an ideal tool for describing things that our society does not understand?
Dylan and the Ferry
Dafydd Mills Daniel investigates the story behind an iconic image of Bob Dylan.
Afterwords: Muriel Spark
Reflections on the work of Muriel Spark, through archive of the author and new interviews.
Afterwords: Chinua Achebe
The work of Chinua Achebe, in his own words, and in the words of those who knew him.
Afterwords: Thich Nhat Hanh
A radio portrait of Vietnamese Buddhist monk and author Thich Nhat Hanh.
City solutions
Professor Des Fitzgerald explores new thinking on the health impact of city life.
Classical Commonwealth, Part 2
Errollyn Wallen unravels more stories of classical music across the British Commonwealth.
Yellowstone - The Art of America
How art played a crucial role in creating the world's first national park.
Frank Johnson, Queen Victoria and the Black Brass Band
Uchenna Ngwe tracks down the remarkable story of an African American musical pioneer.
An Unconventional Teacher
Ralph Vaughan Williams's legacy as a teacher of women composers.
Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On
Simon Heffer explores what lies behind the Sixth Symphony by Vaughan Williams.
The Sonic Century: A New Art
A kaleidoscopic montage exploring the life and work of radio pioneer Lance Sieveking.
Chasing the Dream
Dr Hetta Howes examines the creative power of a disturbed night's sleep.
The Microphone
Alan Dein explores the world-changing cultural history of an overlooked object.
The Most Contrary Region
Paul Muldoon on how the arts influenced a century of broadcasting at the BBC in Belfast.
Briggflatts - A Northern Poetic Odyssey
Rory Stewart in search of Basil Bunting’s neglected masterpiece about love, loss and time.
Deeds and Words
Dr Diarmuid Hester explores the radical life of suffrage theatre pioneer Edith Craig.
Shostakovich and the Battle for Babi Yar
The story of Shostakovich's Symphony No 13 and the trailblazing poem which inspired it.
What Walls Hold
Charles Dickens’s life was shaped by an extraordinary house. Docudrama with Alex Jennings.
O Sole Mio
On the streets of Naples, Joanna Robertson celebrates the city's unique musical tradition.
Unlocking Anne
Clare Pollard pieces together the life and work of forgotten 16th-century poet Anne Lock.
