Arts & Ideas

• Isolation

  As Radio 4 marks the 5th anniversary of the first COVID lockdown, Free Thinking investigates one of the defining experiences of that period for many people: isolation. It's a word that entered the English language in the 18th century, and arguably its emergence as a concept marked a change in the way people saw their relationships with other people and the wider community, towards a more individualistic society. And yet there's a long history of religious mystics seeking solitude. From Robinson Crusoe to the crew of the International Space Station, via monasticism and Romanticism, Matthew Sweet investigates the histories of isolation and solitude.With: Mark Vernon, psychotherapist with a deep interest in the role of solitude in the Western spiritual tradition. His book Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination will be published in June. Lucy Powell, Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Oxford Kathleen Burk, Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary History at University College London, who will talk about isolationism as an aspect of the American political psyche Jim Hoare, diplomat who opened the first British embassy in North Korea in the 1990s. Catherine Coldstream, writer and former Carmelite nun, her memoir is Cloistered: My Years As A NunProducer: Luke Mulhall

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• Evidence

  Matthew Sweet and his guests discuss our shifting relationship with evidence from the law, to science, academic study and the paranormal. He's joined by Uncanny TV presenter Danny Robins, the former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption and author of The Challenges of Democracy and the Rule of Law, Dr Sarah Dillon from the faculty of English at the University of Cambridge. Dr Jonathan Egid philosopher at SOAS in London and Dr Anthony Milligan a philosopher at Kings College London.Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

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• Uncertainty

  Anne McElvoy and guests discuss the issue of uncertainty from scientific discovery and the space race to the shifting geopolitical landscape and how it can act as a catalyst for creativity. She's joined by the entrepreneur and author of Embracing Uncertainty, Margaret Heffernan, journalist and economist Liam Halligan, Astrophysicist Chris Lintott who also presents The Sky at Night, historian Timothy Garton Ash and Professor Victoria Donovan and author of Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East.Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

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• A pinch of salt

  Free Thinking looks at today's world with "a pinch of salt" tonight. From stories in the bible to desalination plants, preserving food to salt taxes: how does salt help us think about the past and present? We use phrases like "being worth your salt" or "dropping salt" meaning to spread rumours. With food writer Bee Wilson, materials scientist Mark Miodownik, the novelist and writer on folklore Zoe Gilbert and artist David Soin Tappeser. Plus, especially salty guest Baga Chipz. Matthew Sweet hosts.David Soin Tappeser, along with Himali Singh Soin, is one half of Hylozoic/Desires, whose exhibition Salt Cosmologies is at Somerset House in London until the 27th April.Producer: Luke Mulhall

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• Malcolm X, life changes and flexible thinking

  Matthew Sweet and guests discuss changing course in life, flexible thinking and keeping an open mind with writer and curator Ekow Eshun, philosopher Sophie Grace Chappell, journalist Stephen Bush, author Timandra Harkness & philosopher Richard BettProducer: Lisa Jenkinson

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