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What do we inherit from the past and what happens when old stories are told in new ways? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, Naomi Alderman is joined by three guests exploring the traces the past leaves behind, in memory, mythology and our DNA. The writer Gillian Slovo discusses her new novel Inheritance, in which her protagonist returns home to South Africa after an unexpected legacy uncovers long-buried family secrets. Moving between London and a country still dealing with the horror of apartheid, the novel explores memory, forgiveness and the burdens passed from one generation to the next. The classicist Edith Hall talks about her book Medea: A Life, which reimagines one of mythology's most notorious women. By treating Medea as a historical subject rather than simply a villain, Hall offers a fresh perspective on an ancient story that continues to resonate today. And Pontus Skoglund, geneticist and leader of the Ancient Genomics Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute, explains how ancient DNA is transforming our understanding of human evolution, migration and disease. His research, and the Institute's exhibition We Go Way Back (until July 2027), reveal how genetic evidence can uncover forgotten lives and rewrite histories we thought we knew. Producer: Katy Hickman Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez

From crumbling buildings to collapsing certainties, are we living through an age of unravelling? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, Tom Sutcliffe is joined by three guests reflecting on the changing cultural forces that shape our sense of self and what happens when those foundations start to fall apart. Jon Ronson discusses The Castle: Adventures in a World of Unravelling Men, an investigation into the lives of men searching for belonging amid confusion about masculinity, purpose and identity. What begins as a mystery becomes a wider portrait of a changing world and those struggling to find their place within it. Michael Landy's exhibition Future Ruins (at Sir John Soane's Museum,14 October 2026 – 17 January 2027) imagines celebrated buildings, political monuments and personal landmarks reduced to decay. It’s a quarter of a century since Landy’s celebrated art work, Breakdown, in which he systematically destroyed all his possessions. And Roisín Kiberd discusses The Most Normal Woman: Essays on Appearances, exploring the endless pursuit of normality and perfection, and the pressure to conform. Through personal experience and cultural criticism, she examines how standards of beauty are created, enforced and resisted. Producer: Katy Hickman Assistant Producer: Debbie Kilbride

In front of an audience at the Contains Strong Language Festival in Salford Tom Sutcliffe is joined by three guests to celebrate poetry ancient and new and to explore the latest innovations in hearing the spoken word. The Poet Laureate Simon Armitage discusses his new verse translation of the ancient epic poem Gilgamesh, a timeless adventure story of power, love and loss. The poet and academic Jade Cuttle celebrates found objects - from Mesopotamian tablets to mudlarking treasure troves. Professor Trevor Cox from the University of Salford’s world-renowned Acoustics Innovation Institute explains the latest science behind hearing, listening and making yourself heard. Producer: Katy Hickman Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez

What can we really know about the world around us and our place within it? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, Adam Rutherford is joined by three guests who explore the values that shape our lives and the things that still matter even when they cannot easily be counted, explained or priced. The theoretical physicist and internationally acclaimed writer Carlo Rovelli discusses his new book On the Equality of All Things: Physics and Philosophy (translated by Simon Carnell). Drawing on modern physics and philosophical inquiry, he explores the relationships between minds and matter, ideas and objects, and asks us to reconsider how we understand the world and our place within it. The poet and writer Lavinia Greenlaw has drawn on science in her work. She talks about On Difficulty (and Poetry), her exploration of why difficult experiences, ideas and works of art can be so rewarding. She argues that resistance and complexity are not obstacles to understanding but can open up new ways of seeing and thinking. And the award-winning playwright James Graham discusses The Standard of Living, his new play about the economist John Maynard Keynes. Set amid economic crisis and social change, it asks what makes a good life and whether art, love and human connection might matter more than wealth and power. Producer: Katy Hickman Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez

How do we navigate a world where simple answers are often the most seductive and the least reliable? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, Naomi Alderman is joined by three guests who explore how we search for certainty, why we are drawn to stories and what we can learn from doubt. Drawing on philosophy, medicine and fiction, they ask how we can live with uncertainty rather than trying to escape it. Dr Xand van Tulleken - who hosts the Radio 4 podcast What's Up Docs? with his brother, discusses his book Make Me Well: A Quest to Understand the Confusing World of Wellness. As health advice becomes increasingly entangled with supplements, wearable technology and personalised testing, he investigates the promises of the booming wellness industry and asks how consumers can distinguish evidence from marketing. The philosopher Lani Watson is the author of Q: The Hidden Power of Questions in a World That Wants Answers. She argues that modern life places too much value on certainty and solutions, and not enough on curiosity and inquiry. Drawing on philosophy, psychology and neuroscience, she makes the case for questioning as one of our most important human skills. Daniel Mason is a psychiatrist as well as an award-winning novelist. His new novel Country People was picked out as one to read this summer. It follows a family who move to rural Vermont, where eccentric neighbours, local folklore and a mysterious legend blur the boundaries between fantasy and fact. With warmth, humour and an eye for the absurd, Mason explores why people cling to stories, misconceptions and beliefs, and how imagination, playfulness and community help us make sense of an uncertain world. Producer: Katy Hickman Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez

How did we arrive at an age of global instability, conflict and political distrust, and can democracy renew itself? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, Tom Sutcliffe is joined by three guests to examine the pressures facing the international order and the ideas that might help sustain it. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown discusses his new book The Future Starts With Us, which argues that the erosion of civic life and the fracturing of the rules-based international system are deeply connected. Drawing on global research and decades of political experience, he makes the case for renewed civic engagement as the foundation for a more equitable and sustainable future. Political scientist Francis Fukuyama became one of the most influential thinkers of the post-Cold War era after the publication of ‘The End of History and the Last Man’ in 1992. In his new memoir, In the Realm of the Last Man, he reflects on the events and ideas that shaped that argument, his subsequent break with neoconservatism after the Iraq War, and his reassessment of the strengths and vulnerabilities of liberal democracy in today’s multipolar world. Bronwen Maddox, Director and Chief Executive of Chatham House, brings her perspective on a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. From the war in Ukraine and European security to debates about democracy, power and America's constitutional future as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, she assesses the challenges facing the West and the international order. Producer: Katy Hickman Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez

How has life online reshaped society in real life? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, Tom Sutcliffe is joined by 3 guests who are investigating the digital sphere, and in some cases resisting its ubiquity. The filmmaker Baroness Beeban Kidron exposes how digital platforms exploit and divide in her book, Users: How Big Tech Took Control and How to Fight Back. She argues for more political and civic action to counter their unchecked influence. The business journalist Katherine Dunn explores how GPS shapes so many aspects of everyday life, from dating and supermarket shopping to global trade and navigation. In Little Blue Dot she also reveals the hidden fragility of this technology. The Indian novelist Meena Kandasamy talks about Fieldwork as a Sex Object, a fierce exploration of online misogyny, deepfakes and digital mob violence, where the internet’s political and cultural conflicts spill into the real world with devastating consequences. Producer: Katy Hickman Start the Week returns after our summer break on Monday 7th September.

What has happened to working-class identity in Britain? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, Adam Rutherford explores the political fractures within families and communities. Nicola Wilding discusses These Wild English: A Family, a Class, a Country on Fire, tracing three generations of her family and the pull of belonging, nationalism and far-right politics amid economic decline. Natasha Carthew draws on her personal experience of growing up poor in Cornwall in her latest work. Rough Edges brings to light the inequalities shaping coastal communities, where austerity, second homes and seasonal work deepen divisions and marginalisation. The poet Daljit Nagra reflects on his upbringing in a predominantly white working-class town for his latest collection, Yiewsley, exploring race, migration and the cultural shifts that have reshaped Britain from the post-war years to the present. Producer: Katy Hickman

How have we made discoveries about the world around us and how has our understanding changed when we got it wrong? Adam Rutherford hosts Radio 4's discussion programme which starts the week, asking about the the nature of scientific discovery, understanding and changing our mind. Andrea Wulf's latest book is The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and his Search for Humanity. She has reassessed the botanist and ethnologist who accompanied Captain Cook's second voyage, taking him from Antarctica to the tropical islands of the South Pacific. During this time, Forster studied diverse people, culture and nature and returned a confirmed opponent of empire, racism and slavery: he was celebrated in his lifetime, but has since been largely forgotten by history. The geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden argues that the latest research complicates our ideas about blame, punishment and moral responsibility. In her new book Original Sin: The Genetics of Wrongdoing, the Problem of Blame and the Future of Forgiveness, she looks at the area where human behaviour meets inherited biology. She thinks we must look again at questions of wrong doing and free will, reassessing old ideas of guilt and accountability. We are all hormonal all of the time, because to be hormonal is to be human says Saira Hameed, a leading endocrinologist. Hormones are the often misunderstood signalling system that makes our bodies function which she explain in her new book, Signals: The Inside Story of Our Hormones, separating medical breakthroughs from the obsessions of wellness influencers. Producer: Ruth Watts

What are the biggest problems facing the economy - and how might we set about dealing with them - from inequality to inflation, domestic growth to geopolitics? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, setting the cultural agenda every Monday, Tom Sutcliffe leads a conversation exploring what the solutions might look like. Jeremy Hunt’s new book Can We Be Rich Again?: The Surprising Potential of Britain's Economy makes the case for optimism. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer outlines current problems – low growth, high public debt and taxes, stagnant living standards and divided politics, but he argues Britain still has a lot going for it - the tech sector, financial services and respected institutions. He says if the British economy is to grow again, politicians need to get better at delivering their plans. Mariana Mazzucato believes we need to rethink the way we manage economics with government and business working together to promote human flourishing. For her, the problems are deepening inequality, the climate crisis and declining public trust. She is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College, London where she is the Founding Director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Her new book The Common Good Economy: A New Compass sets out how the economy could be designed to serve people and the planet better. And, how has the way that we think and talk about the global economy and national problems changed in recent years? Patrick Foulis is contributing editor at the Financial Times, a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution and author of a forthcoming book on globalisation. Producer: Ruth Watts

In front of an audience at the Hay Festival, Tom Sutcliffe hosts Radio 4's discussion programme which starts the week, bringing together three thinkers who each, in different ways, examine the stories societies tell about themselves, and how those stories become enduring myths. Historian Antony Beevor investigates the life of Rasputin, a figure who has long hovered between fact and legend. His new work asks how a barely literate peasant from Siberia, the so-called ‘mad monk’, managed to bewitch the Romanovs, and how the wild stories that swirled around him, inexorably led to the Tsar’s downfall. Philosopher Susan Neiman turns to the moral narratives that underpin contemporary political life. Her work asks whether universal values can still guide societies when myths of division are so compelling. Classicist, broadcaster and performer Natalie Haynes brings the ancient world into sharp modern focus. Her retellings of Greek myths restore voice and agency to characters, particularly women, who have been sidelined or simplified by centuries of interpretation. Her latest novel, No Friend to This House, puts the abandoned Medea centre stage. Producer: Katy Hickman

What is the future of farming and rural life? Adam Rutherford hosts Radio 4's discussion programme which starts the week, asking about the future of food production and the communities that support it. Minette Batters was the first female president of the National Farmers’ Union. Born and raised on the family farm that she took over running, she became a committed advocate for the UK farming industry. UK agriculture has faced challenges from Brexit, Covid as well as international conflict and energy crises. Her new book, Harvest, part memoir and manifesto, makes a case for how and why we must rally to support British farming and rural life. Dave Goulson is Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex. Modern, intensive farming systems producing pesticide-laced foods at scale, he says, are bad for us and bad for the planet. He believes that it is time to change the way we produce food today, making the case for sustainable agriculture. In Eat the Planet Well he argues that consumers can lead this change, even where governments fail to act. Melissa Harrison has written columns, nature diaries, a series of novels and non fiction books including All Among the Barley, Rain and At Hawthorn Time, and a book for children. Her latest novel, The Given World, is a portrait of rural society, village life and the English countryside which explores a way of life, exploring social tension and the rhythms of the natural world. Producer: Ruth Watts Assistant Producer: Emily Channon

What can an art exhibition, a concert hall and Classical town tell us about twentieth century German history? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, setting the cultural agenda every Monday, Samira Ahmed leads a conversation exploring what inter-war Weimar, the Nazi's obsession with so-called 'degenerate art' and the programming of German music at the Wigmore Hall in London reveal about the course of German history and our responses to it. Katja Hoyer's last book, Beyond the Wall was a history of East Germany which concentrated on the consequences the Nazi rule and the Second World War. Now the Anglo-German Historian has turned her attention to Weimar, the town that gave its name to the ambitious republic whose failure paved the way to Nazism. Looking at the stories of a series of varied individuals, she asks how a nation that prided itself on its culture and civility enabled Nazism and why it haunts us to this day because we fear a repeat. Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe is BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week for a fortnight. Art historian John-Paul Stonard's new book is The Worst Exhibition in the World: Degenerate Art, 1937. The exhibition of Entartete Kunst ('degenerate art') was held in the Hofgarten arcade in Munich in the summer of 1937. Just a few weeks earlier, the same paintings and sculptures by modern German artists had been on display in some of the most prestigious museums in Germany. An extensive propaganda campaign of confiscation and defamation by the Nazis saw the condemnation of works by Jews, Bolsheviks and the enemies of the German Reich. It remains one of the most visited exhibitions ever - and it shaped views of modern art well into the second half of the twentieth century. Julia Boyd's There is Sweet Music Here: The World of Wigmore Hall tells the story of London's privately run music venue. During the Second World War it was possible for audiences to hear exiled German and Austrian Jewish musicians playing Beethoven among a wide range of recitals. Other concerts programmed included Entartete Musik (forbidden or so-called 'degenerate Music’), including the banned composer Gustav Mahler. Producer: Ruth Watts

What happens when art, fiction and biography take us to places that unsettle, reorient and transform our sense of the world? On Radio 4’s weekly discussion programme, Naomi Alderman moves from science fiction and land art to the landscape of the mind. Pioneering multimedia artist and musician Laurie Anderson discusses The Republic of Love, which she is performing at the Brighton Festival on 6th May. It’s an immersive multi-sensory experience, in which she reinterprets past pieces, including her 80s hit Big Science, to illuminate the political and emotional strangeness of the present moment. (Her new album, Let X=X is released on May 8, 2026) Writer Nina Allan reflects on co-authoring The Illuminated Man, the biography her late husband, the novelist Christopher Priest, had started about J. G. Ballard. She explores Ballard’s singular imagination, shaped by wartime internment in Shanghai, and his repeated motifs of flooded cities, drained swimming pools, and the violence seeping through gated communities seen in books including Empire of the Sun, Crash and The Drowned World. Art historian Joy Sleeman introduces the first major UK exhibition devoted to the American artist Nancy Holt, MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater, at the Goodwood Art Foundation (until November 2026). She reveals how Holt’s land art, from her 18 feet long concrete Sun Tunnels to a posthumous installation Hydra’s Head, invites viewers into cosmic and elemental landscapes where art and the environment meet. Producer: Katy Hickman Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez

What can chemistry reveal about what it means to be human? On Radio 4’s weekly conversation programme, Tom Sutcliffe leads a conversation that ranges from the molecules within us to the experimental pioneers who transformed our understanding of the material world. Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu discusses Chain Reaction, her vivid and deeply personal journey into the chemistry underpinning everything we touch, consume and inhabit. She brings to life the chemical bonds that hold our bodies together and the reactions that sustain all life, while recounting her own story, from childhood in post war Nigeria to a groundbreaking career designing treatments for blindness. Science historian Kit Chapman introduces The Age of Alchemy, tracing the long, global evolution of chemistry before it became a modern science. Travelling from ancient Sri Lankan steel forges to Egyptian alchemical texts and Chinese herbal laboratories, he reveals how early experimenters, merging mysticism, medicine and metallurgy, laid crucial foundations for scientific method and discovery. Professor Mark Miodownik set up the Institute for Making at University College London and is Royal Society Professor of Public Engagement with Science. He is a leading materials scientist who has led work on plastic waste and biodegradable plastics. He discusses the latest research on the chemical composition of the things we are making, and the things we throw away. Producer: Ruth Watts