Start the Week

Julia Boyd, author and historian of Wigmore Hall; John‑Paul Stonard, art historian of Nazi cultural policy; Katja Hoyer, Anglo‑German historian of Weimar. They discuss Weimar’s cultural life and local diaries, the Nazis’ 1937 ‘degenerate art’ spectacle and its impact, and Wigmore Hall as a refuge for exiled musicians and wartime programming.

Laurie Anderson, multimedia artist and musician known for experimental performance, explores The Republic of Love, AI collaborations and retellings of Amelia Earhart. Nina Allan, novelist and critic, unpacks J.G. Ballard’s flooded, drained and car-obsessed landscapes. Joy Sleeman, art historian, reveals Nancy Holt’s land art from Sun Tunnels to buried poems that reshape perception and place.

Professor Mark Miodownik, materials scientist who studies plastics and self-repairing materials. Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, pharmaceutical nanoscientist pioneering drug-delivery nanoparticles. Kit Chapman, science writer exploring chemistry’s global history. They discuss alchemy’s roots and the rise of modern chemistry. They explore nanomedicine, plastics versus biodegradables, PFAS risks, and self-healing materials for a sustainable future.

Mary Beard, classicist known for public-facing work on ancient Rome and Greece. Greg Doran, theatre director who tracks Shakespeare’s First Folios. Dr Sophia Adams, British Museum curator of Iron Age finds. They examine how everyday objects, burned hoards and well-used books reveal past lives, power, ritual and the emotional pull of material traces. Short, vivid stories and surprising artifacts bring history tactile and immediate.

John Kampfner, journalist who documents daring policy experiments; Natasha Walter, writer exploring feminism and climate; Nicholas Niarchos, reporter on critical mineral supply chains. They debate the costs of green tech, brutal realities of artisanal mining and ownership models. They discuss how climate and extractivism shape gendered harms, and survey pragmatic national solutions from housing to care.

Sarah Forsyth, Curator of mammals at ZSL responsible for breeding and reintroduction work. Elsa Richardson, cultural historian researching zoo archives and public displays. They explore strange mating systems and genetic rescue stories. They trace zoos from Victorian spectacle to modern conservation, archival revelations, breeding practices and the ethical shifts shaping how we care for and study animals.

Isabel Berwick, Financial Times journalist on the future of work; Jane Holgate, Professor of Work and long-time trade union organiser; David Torrance, constitutional historian of the 1926 General Strike. They trace how the 1926 strike unfolded, government and media responses, union strategies and aftermath. Then they jump to modern labour: the gig economy, AI, remote work, legal fights and changing employer-employee power.

Laura Tisdall, historian of modern Britain exploring youth under Cold War anxieties. David Szalay, Booker-winning novelist probing adolescence, desire and class. Penny Woolcock, filmmaker whose memoir maps rebellion in a British settler enclave in Argentina. They discuss intense teenage feeling, hidden histories and how formative risks, violence and culture shape identities across time.

Fay Bound-Alberti, cultural historian of the face, traces facehood, physiognomy and selfies. Mary Costello, novelist focused on interiority and memory, explores narrative, dreams and individuation. Michael Pollan, science writer on psychedelics and plant life, surveys theories of consciousness, plant sentience and brain‑body debates. They discuss memory, art, recognition and how selves are seen and told.

Julian Sancton, writer who traced the lost galleon San José; Samanth Subramanian, journalist exposing the world of undersea telecoms; Joan Passy, coastal humanities scholar mixing folklore and literature. They explore shipwreck hunts and archival mysteries. They reveal the hidden web of fiber cables and geopolitical risks. They trace coastal myths, maritime gothic and how seas shape culture.