Start the Week

BBC Radio 4

4.7 (157)
Society & Culture
Updated Biweekly

Weekly discussion programme, setting the cultural agenda every Monday

2d ago

Inheritance – from stories to genetics

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
Oct 5

Jon Ronson: men unravelling

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
Sep 28

Contains Strong Language Festival in Salford

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
Sep 21

Carlo Rovelli: complexity and value

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
Sep 14

Living with uncertainty

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
Sep 7

Gordon Brown: The Future Starts with Us

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
Jun 22

Life Online: Power, Risk and Resistance

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.
Jun 15

Working-Class Lives: Identity and Political Fractures

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

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Andrew Marr

Host

4.7

out of 5

157 Ratings

Great discussion

12/24/2017

SquareBiz539

Great arts round table discussion show, especially when hosted by Andrew Marr or Tom Sutcliffe.
Fascinating

11/02/2017

Johnshyama

Wonderful discussion and real experts! What can be better?
Much Better with Andrew Marr

03/31/2013

kensinsd

My thoughts and prayers are with Andrew Marr and his family as he recovers. It might have been better if they had let this show go on hiatus during his illness, as the guest moderators, great as they may be in their fields of expertise, cannot direct and guide the discussions with the expertise that Andrew Marr could.
Egbert Souse

03/19/2012

EgbertSouse

I, too, learned of this outstanding program from an endorsement by Stephen Metcalf of Slate's Culture Gabfest, and it's now one of my three must-listen shows each week. Civil, engaging, stimulating conversation with a host adept at his work.