With half a million Poles now living in Britain, writers Eva Hoffman and Asia Bakalayar discuss the proliferation of contemporary art and literature being created by Polish artists. Show more

A discussion in which Robert Crawford and Fiona Stafford explore the links between the writing of Scots romantics such as Walter Scott and Robert Burns and the music of Beethoven. Show more

To mark the 50th anniversary of her death and the publication of her novel The Bell Jar, writers Lavinia Greenlaw and Sally Bayley reflect on the achievement of Sylvia Plath. Show more

Celebration of the life and legacy of dancer Rudolf Nureyev, with former director of the Royal Ballet Monica Mason, who partnered him in Hamlet, and his biographer, Julie Kavanagh. Show more

Actor Samuel West and writer Alexandra Harris explore the relationship between Benjamin Britten's music and the poetry and novels which inspired it. Show more

Film composer Debbie Wiseman and critic David Benedict join Matthew Sweet to discuss the ways in which movie-makers have created mood with music. Show more

Writers Philip Hoare and Jamila Gavin join Rana Mitter to explore themes of good and evil, justice and the law in Herman Melville's book Billy Budd, the basis for Britten's opera. Show more

Matthew Sweet talks to composers Anna Meredith and Miguel Mera about the challenges of composing music to conjure up the sound of space on film. Show more

Poets Andrew Motion and Paul Farley celebrate the life and work of Louis MacNeice, one of the most popular and influential of the 'thirties poets', who died 50 years ago. Show more

Ian McMillan, Don Paterson and Judith Palmer introduce the winning entries in this year's Proms Poetry Competition - and welcome some of the winners on stage to read their poems. Show more

Mahler in Words: conductor Kenneth Woods chooses a selection of readings about Mahler, busts some popular myths and introduces rare audio of someone who worked with him. Show more

What makes Falstaff so irresistible to writers and composers? Timothy West and Desmond Barrit discuss one of Shakespeare's greatest characters. Show more

In a special event, John le Carré celebrates the 50th anniversary of his ground-breaking Cold War espionage novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Show more

Writers Simon Heffer and Andrew O'Hagan discuss the halcyon days of light music at the BBC and beyond with Matthew Sweet. Show more

Designer Peter Mumford and Dr John Snelson of the Royal Opera House discuss the challenges of staging works by Wagner, which can call for dragons, fire and underwater singing. Show more

Rana Mitter introduces an anthology of unexpected readings from the letters and autobiography of English composer Michael Tippett. With guests Ivan Hewett and Oliver Soden. Show more