Arts & Ideas

Why have humans evolved to speak so many incomprehensible languages? Why do we work against our own survival by going to war with one another? Evolutionary Biologist Mark Pagel explores how humanity will evolve in the future and if we are likely to become a world with one state and one language. This event was recorded as part of Radio 3’s Free Thinking Festival at The Sage Gateshead on Sunday 4th...

Sue-Ann Harding, one of Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers, gives a talk in which she ponders the differences between an expat and an immigrant. She draws on television portrayals of migrants and personal experience to explore and challenge the ideas we have about migration. Recorded at Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival at The Sage, Gateshead on Saturday 3 November 2012.

What does it mean to belong? Multiculturalism, integration and social division are increasingly part of the political debate. But what impact does immigration have on everyone's sense of national identity? To debate, Philip Dodd is joined by David Goodhart, director of Demos think-tank, Migration Watch Vice Chairman Alp Mehmet, Professor Jean Grugel of Sheffield University, and Sunder Katwala, dir...

Joshua Nall, one of Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers, gives a talk on the Victorian obsession with the planet Mars at the Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival. With the recent success of NASA's Curiosity lander, Mars is firmly back on the agenda. But where did our fascination with the red planet start? Recorded at The Sage Gateshead on Saturday 3 November 2012.

As Scotland heads towards a referendum on independence, Vicky Featherstone discusses the role of a modern day national theatre in shaping and capturing national identity and history. Recorded at Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival at The Sage Gateshead on Sunday 4 November 2012.

Nandini Das, one of Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers, gives a talk on the 16th Century craze for crime pamphlets; a phenomenon which revealed a new secret world to readers and which became the first best-selling sensation of the popular press. Recorded at Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival at The Sage, Gateshead on Saturday 3 November 2012.

Does World History still mean Western History, or do we need a radical new understanding of the past? To discuss, Rana Mitter is joined by historian Antony Beevor, broadcaster Andrew Marr and India expert Maria Misra. This event was recorded as part of Radio 3’s Free Thinking Festival at The Sage Gateshead on Saturday 3rd November.

Amos Oz, one of Israel's most influential thinkers, gives a talk on the Middle East and the prospect of future co-existence between Israel and Palestine. The event is chaired by Night Waves presenter Philip Dodd and recorded as part of Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival 2012 on Saturday 3 November 2012 at The Sage Gateshead.

Timothy Secret, one of Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers , gives a talk during Free Thinking 2012 exploring how we react when looked at by animals. Our world changes when we're on display. But how do we react when an animal, rather than a human, looks at us? Is there a difference, and what does this say about our relationship with animals? Recorded on Saturday 3 November 2012 at The Sage Gateshead...

Emma Griffin, one of Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers, gives a talk on what makes a good mother, recorded at the Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival 2012. Historian Emma Griffin of the University of East Anglia turns to the poor of Victorian Britain to ask what made a good mother then in families struggling to keep body and soul together. She finds that our own values and ideas about motherhood may no...

An audience with Lee Hall, writer of Billy Elliot and The Pitmen Painters, recorded at The Sage Gateshead as part of the Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival. From a working-class background, much of Hall's work explores the complexities of what class means in the UK. At the festival Lee Hall discusses class and art, his own life, writing and ideas. The event is chaired by Night Waves presenter Philip D...

Jonathan Healey, one of Radio 3’s New Generation Thinkers, gives a talk questioning the value of lessons learnt from history and applied to our own world today. Recorded at Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival at The Sage Gateshead on Sunday 4th November 2012.

Theologian Mona Siddiqui and historian Tom Holland join Radio 3’s Free Thinking Festival to explore what differentiates Islam from Christianity, and the impact that this has on the world today, from their different historical origins to their alternate versions of God. Presented by Samira Ahmed and recorded on Sunday 4th November 2012 at The Sage Gateshead.

Adriana Sinclair, one of Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers, gives a talk on the control ex-colonies increasingly exert over their former colonial powers. Recorded at Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival at The Sage, Gateshead, on Sunday 4th November 2012.

Is Social Mobility Overrated? Anne McElvoy chairs a debate from the Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival, tackling this pertinent topic which raises issues of class, wealth and education. To discuss, she is joined by Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee, Oxford historian Lawrence Goldman, management consultant Jamie Whyte, and Director of SCHOOLS NorthEast Beccy Earnshaw. Recorded on Saturday 3 November 201...

Charlotte Blease, one of Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers, gives a talk that questions the relationship between doctors and patients. Recorded at Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival at The Sage, Gateshead on Saturday 3 November 2012.

On the eve of the US election, Michael Ignatieff gives a talk at Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival on Enemies in Politics, revealing what he believes needs to be done to restore faith in politics. Presented by Matthew Sweet and recorded on Saturday 3 November 2012 at The Sage, Gateshead.

Mary Robinson delivers the opening lecture of the BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival 2012, arguing that women leaders are better placed than men to sort out the crises of the 21st Century. Presented by Matthew Sweet and recorded on Friday 2 November 2012 in front of a live audience at The Sage, Gateshead.

Updated corrected audio: Rana Mitter chairs a debate about the Luddites to mark their 200th anniversary. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival 2011.

Landscape architect Charles Jencks calls for a new cosmic art, in a talk entitled Reclaiming the Universe. Jencks argues that understanding the universe is too important to be left to scientists and theologians, and wants us to connect to pre-historic ideas about the cosmos, present in monuments such as Stonehenge.

Neuro-scientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore gives a talk on changes in the teenage brain. Teenagers often act on impulse, are lazy, emotional and get into trouble with the police and parents. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London and a leading expert on teenage brains. Using recent research about the radical changes taking place in the adolescent brain...

Psychotherapist Susie Orbach challenges the obsession with personal change. Susie is Britain's most high-profile pyschotherapist, whose book Fat is a Feminist Issue revolutionised the way we understand our bodies. She co-founded The Women's Therapy Centre, has been a consultant for The World Bank and NHS, and is an advocate for body diversity and emotional literacy.

How will our world change as traditional energy supplies shrink and climate change forces us to use less fossil fuels? Should we return to a locally-focused pre-modern lifestyle where travel is a luxury for the few, will conflict over declining resources destabilise the globe, or will science save the day?

Economist Aditya Chakrabortty examines the impact of economic change on society. Over the past 30 years governments of every political hue have promised that great prizes will follow economic change, whilst parts of society have been effectively written off. So argues Aditya Chakrabortty, economics leader writer at The Guardian. He believes even the newly fashionable zeal for a manufacturing reviv...

Philip Dodd chairs a debate on the obsession with change, at the BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival 2011. Panel includes the film-maker Molly Dineen and the Rev Dr Giles Fraser.