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
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
Uncertainty
Anne McElvoy and guests discuss the issue of uncertainty from scientific discovery and the space race to the shifting geopolitical landscape and how it can act as a catalyst for creativity. She's join...
7 Mar 202556min
A pinch of salt
Free Thinking looks at today's world with "a pinch of salt" tonight. From stories in the bible to desalination plants, preserving food to salt taxes: how does salt help us think about the past and pre...
28 Feb 202556min
Malcolm X, life changes and flexible thinking
Matthew Sweet and guests discuss changing course in life, flexible thinking and keeping an open mind with writer and curator Ekow Eshun, philosopher Sophie Grace Chappell, journalist Stephen Bush, aut...
21 Feb 202535min
All we need is love
From classical thinking to the romcom films in cinema today: Why do we yearn to find our "other half" but struggle with the reality of long term relationships? To discuss Rana Mitter is joined by: Dr ...
14 Feb 202556min
Repetition
Matthew Sweet with art critic TJ Clark, who has written about the importance of repeated viewing for appreciating a work of art; philosopher and film historian Lucy Bolton, who's seen a re-issue of Ch...
7 Feb 202556min
Decision Making
Matthew Sweet and guests talk about about the tools and processes of decision making today and through history. Justine Greening is a former Secretary of State for Education who is now working on soci...
31 Jan 202550min
