Discover 11,128,835 listings and 279,890 playable programmes from the BBC
15 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Sally Bayley traces the art of diary writing from Samuel Pepys to today's culture of blogging. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Peter Aspden thinks the powerful influence of Greece, both ancient and modern, on European sensibilites makes the current economic crisis full of emotionally charged symbolism. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Adam Gopnik reflects on the reason for our obsession with long-form television series and sees a link to the current brevity of all our other forms of discourse. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Will Self reflects on the various reasons for his inability to sleep soundly any more. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
A weekly reflection on a topical issue. Will Self sees a love of habit as a shield against the unexpected in life. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Will Self reflects on the significance of names, including his own. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Will Self says people cannot pretend that looks do not matter or that everyone is beautiful. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Roger Scruton argues that the law on freedom of speech ought to protect those who express heretical views and not be used to close down debate. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Roger Scruton says people must feel free to express opinions and make jokes that others may find offensive - censoring them only leads to a loss of reasoned argument. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Roger Scruton deplores the tyranny of banal and ubiquitous pop music. He feels that young people, above all, need help to instead appreciate the great music of our civilisation. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Sarah Dunant sees a new crisis in the Catholic Church as a result of unchanged policy over divorce, homosexuality, celibacy and the role of women. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Sarah Dunant welcomes Canada's plans to fully legalise marijuana and sees the benefits of a booming cannabis products industry in the American states where it's already legal. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Sarah Dunant reflects on the nature of protest against the threat of terrorism and the threat of climate change and their coming together in the city of Paris. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Howard Jacobson reflects on his lifelong passion for buying second-hand books and the meaning of literature in the digital age. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Howard Jacobson would sooner see Radio 4's Thought for the Day more, not less, religious and argues that humanists and the religious can meet in high calibre sermonising. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Howard Jacobson does not feel complimented when someone describes him as 'wise'. He would sooner have understanding, akin to that of Shakespeare. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Tom Shakespeare is concerned by the growth in cosmetic surgery and the pressure more and more women and girls in particular feel to conform to a face and body type. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
After hearing a former political prisoner and a holocaust survivor tell their stories, Tom Shakespeare concludes that personal experience is the most powerful form of expertise. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Adam Gopnik argues that the results of America's primary in New Hampshire say far less about shifts in political opinion than the pundits and commentators claim. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Adam Gopnik says the secret of happiness lies in unexpected pleasures, like finding yoghurt is vanilla when you expect it to be plain. Show more
