The Essay

Five writers recall a night they spent somewhere out of the ordinary. Colin Thubron is the first to report back. Thirty years ago he was in a Chinese town, unknown to the rest of the world. His time here was haunted by memories of a merciless leader, whose bed he will sleep in for one night only. One night is enough though ... Producer Duncan Minshull.

In this series of essays, five writers talk about what black and white evokes for them. Beginning with something quite tangible, each piece unfolds to tell a story that is deeply personal and also far-reaching. Poet and writer Salena Godden talks about her relationship with her skin and a particular line from a Leonard Cohen song Produced in Bristol by Siobhan Maguire.

In this series of essays, five writers talk about what black and white evokes for them. Lindsay Johns looks to a black & white photo at his desk for inspiration. The picture of athletes Tommie Smith, John Carlos and Peter Norman on the Olympic podium in 1968 reveals ideas that are central to his writing. Lindsay is a writer, broadcaster and Head of Arts and Culture at Policy Exchange.

In this series of essays, five writers talk about what black and white evokes for them. Writer and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo remembers the lessons she learned from her father as a young girl growing up in Zhejiang province, eastern China. They have stayed with her through her adult life, guiding creative endeavours and personal development, shaping the way that she understands the world.

Five writers talk about what black and white evokes for them. Glyn Maxwell looks at the words on his page and thinks about whether we've all become too black and white, too binary in our digital lives. It's possible that we lost something valuable in the spectrum of grays afforded by analogue.

In this series of essays, five writers talk about what black and white evokes for them. Beginning with something quite tangible, each piece unfolds to tell a story that is deeply personal and also far-reaching. Broadcaster and GP Farrah Jarral talks about what it means to be fluent in something you don't understand. It all starts with the little sticker that decorated the covers of her teenage CD...

Heather Jones explores the deadly symbolism of the Howth Mauser

Nicholas Rankin explores the emergence of the deadly 'force reducer' that is the sniper

John Gallagher duels with the noisy story of guns 300 years ago

Brian DeLay reveals the life & arms deals of the most dangerous man you've never heard of

Catherine Fletcher unveils handguns' explosive Renaissance origin

Simon Heffer continues his highly-authored and deeply-informed exploration of British cinema by viewing five New Wave or so-called "Kitchen Sink" films of the late 1950s and 1960s. 5.Billy Liar Keith Waterhouse's novel about Billy Fisher was turned into a film, starring Tom Courtenay, in 1963. The story of Billy's real life in a semi somewhere in the West Riding, and his vividly imagined alternati...

Simon Heffer continues his highly-authored and deeply-informed exploration of British cinema by viewing five New Wave or so-called "Kitchen Sink" films of the late 1950s and 1960s. 4.This Sporting Life Simon Heffer examines the powerful film version of how David Storey's novel about Frank Machin, a talented rugby league player, hungry for success and love.

Simon Heffer continues his highly-authored and passionate exploration of British cinema by viewing five New Wave or so-called "Kitchen Sink" films of the late 1950s and 1960s. Having explored the stereotyping of working class characters in his previous series of Essays on British film, Simon Heffer turns his gaze upon the films written and directed by a new generation of grammar school-educated yo...

Simon Heffer continues his highly-authored and deeply-informed exploration of British cinema by viewing five New Wave or so-called "Kitchen Sink" films of the late 1950s and 1960s. Having explored the stereotyping of working class characters in his previous series of Essays on British film, Simon Heffer turns his gaze upon the films written and directed by a new generation of grammar school-educat...

Simon Heffer continues his highly-authored and deeply-informed exploration of British cinema by viewing five New Wave or so-called "Kitchen Sink" films of the late 1950s and 1960s. 1.Room at the Top Having explored the stereotyping of working class characters in his previous series of Essays on British film, Simon Heffer turns his gaze upon the films written and directed by a new generation of gra...

Poet Alyson Hallett is drawn to chalk landscapes and the large horse at Westbury in Wilts

Novelist Sarah Moss discusses basalt and dolerite, the fire rocks that underpin castles.

Writer Paul Evans traces a family line back through Shropshire's seams of coal.

Derbyshire poet and climber Helen Mort visits Stanage Edge, famed for its millstone grit.

Linda Cracknell reflects on the appeal of the quartz on Ben Lawers, her local Munro.

Breaking Free - the minds that changed music. In The Essay this week, personal reflections on the revolutionary music and ideas of the Second Viennese School as they searched for an antidote to all the certainties and expectations of the past, and cast music on a new path of dissonance and discovery, shocking audiences then and now. Bethany Bell is a BBC foreign correspondent and has lived in Vien...

Breaking Free - the minds that changed music. In The Essay this week, personal reflections on the revolutionary music and ideas of the Second Viennese School as they searched for an antidote to all the certainties and expectations of the past, and cast music on a new path of dissonance and discovery, shocking audiences then and now. Musician and broadcaster Tom McKinney recalls his "first contact"...

Breaking Free - the minds that changed music. In The Essay this week, personal reflections on the revolutionary music and ideas of the Second Viennese School as they searched for an antidote to all the certainties and expectations of the past, and cast music on a new path of dissonance and discovery, shocking audiences then and now. Tonight's essayist is Gillian Moore, Director of Music at Southba...

Breaking Free - the minds that changed music In The Essay this week, personal reflections on the revolutionary music and ideas of the Second Viennese School as they searched for an antidote to all the certainties and expectations of the past, and cast music on a new path of dissonance and discovery, shocking audiences then and now. Tonight's essayist is broadcaster and journalist Stephen Johnson w...