The much-anticipated musical Hamilton has opened in London. It tells the story of Alexander Hamilton; one of the Founding Fathers of The United States with intentionally colour-conscious casting of non-white actors as the Founding Fathers. It has been a phenomenon on Broadway and across the US; how will it play with British audiences?
Irish film Sanctuary has a cast made up almost exclusively of actors with learning difficulties. It lightly tells the story of a trip to the cinema where the best laid plans go awry. And even though it includes hugging and learning, does it tread the difficult line avoiding sentimentality or patronising the cast and the issues raised?
In Louise Erdrich's newest novel Future Home Of The Living God, evolution is running backwards and all around the central character society is crumbling. She's a 26 year old fighting for her life in an oppressive post-cataclysm America, pregnant (maybe by an angel)
And we review 3 of the BBC's TV Christmas specials: Father Brown, Upstart Crow and Not Going Out - what is the attraction of these yearly yuletide delights?

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Sarah Churchwell, Dreda Say Mitchell and David Benedict. The producer is Oliver Jones. Show less