Failure
Arts & Ideas13 Jun 2025

Failure

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." The words of Samuel Beckett from a 1983 short story Worstward Ho inspire a Free Thinking conversation about failure chaired by Matthew Sweet. His guests are: Cath Bishop rowed for Britain in the Olympics, winning a silver medal and worked as a diplomat and business coach. She has written a book called The Long Win and co-hosts the Inside Out Culture Podcast with Colin Ellis which explores what can go wrong from business to sport, the Met police to the music industry. David Stevenson is Dean and Professor of Cultural Policy and Arts Management at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. He has researched the failure of arts organisations and co-authored with Leila Jancovich Failures in Cultural Participation Katarina Skoberne started an advertising agency, has worked as an interpreter in conflict zones and presented a TV show showcasing her experience in coaching. She now runs training in speech-making BeYourBestRemoteSelf. Dr Michelle Clement's research focuses on British government and public service reform. She's based at King's College, London. She has written a book The Art of Delivery: The Inside Story of How the Blair Government Transformed Britain’s Public Services Dr Joseph Anderton is an Associate Professor of Literature at Birmingham City University researching authors including Samuel Beckett and he is the author of Beckett's Creatures: Art of Failure after the Holocaust

Producer: Luke Mulhall

Episoder(2000)

WOLVES

WOLVES

Wolves were once hunted and persecuted to the point of near extinction but are now enjoying a come back across Europe, if not the UK. What can explain the way they've been targeted, and even demonised...

23 Mai 202556min

Political Visions

Political Visions

What is the role of vision in politics? Must politicians have a vision of what kind of society they’re working towards, ultimately? What kind of role does this vision play in the day-to-day practice o...

16 Mai 202556min

Peace

Peace

On the 8th May 1945, the Allies declared victory over Nazi Germany. How has war and the threat of war shaped society in the intervening years? Do 'war' and 'peace' mean the same things, 80 years on? M...

9 Mai 202556min

Community

Community

Post local elections and pre VE day anniversary events across the UK, Shahidha Bari explores ideas about community. Mike Savage, Professor of Sociology at the LSE, explains how social capital enables ...

2 Mai 202556min

Decadence

Decadence

Some people think we live in an age of decline. Matthew Sweet investigates, with guests including political journalist Tim Stanley, art critic Louisa Buck, Professor Jane Desmarais who is head of the ...

25 Apr 202556min

The Middle Classes

The Middle Classes

Matthew Sweet and guests discuss the impact of the shifting geo political and economic trends on the British class system with specialist guests. Muriel Zagha is a writer and critic and Author of Find...

28 Mar 202556min

Isolation

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 Eng...

21 Mar 202556min

Evidence

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 S...

14 Mar 202557min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden-usa
popradet
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
min-barneoppdragelse
grenselos
wolfgang-wee-uncut
synnve-og-vanessa
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
fladseth
frokostshowet-pa-p5
alt-fortalt
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
rss-dannet-uten-piano