Arts & Ideas

By BBC Radio 4

Leading thinkers discuss the ideas shaping our lives – looking back at the news and making links between past and present. Broadcast as Free Thinking, Fridays at 9pm on BBC Radio 4. Presented by Matthew Sweet, Shahidha Bari and Anne McElvoy.

Recent Episodes

Women, language & experience

6 Mar 2026

Authority

27 Feb 2026

Crime and punishment medieval to modern

20 Feb 2026

Working Class Creativity

13 Feb 2026

Is Might Right?

6 Feb 2026

Labour, work and productivity

30 Jan 2026

Double Lives

23 Jan 2026

Victorian Values

16 Jan 2026

Innovation

9 Jan 2026

Travel

2 Jan 2026

Idleness

12 Dec 2025

Influencing History

5 Dec 2025

Marriage

28 Nov 2025

Rocks

21 Nov 2025

Revenge and reconciliation

14 Nov 2025

The end of civilisations and societies

7 Nov 2025

Rational and Irrational decision making

24 Oct 2025

Traditions, roots and local pride

17 Oct 2025

The status of Science

10 Oct 2025

The Good Life

3 Oct 2025

Finding my tribe

26 Sep 2025

Friendship

11 Jul 2025

Censorship, editing and self-censorship

4 Jul 2025

Christian faith, politics and culture

27 Jun 2025

Language

20 Jun 2025

Failure

13 Jun 2025

Podcasting difficult histories

6 Jun 2025

Common Sense

4 Jun 2025

Power: A User's Guide