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Words and Music Episodes

  1. American Ideas of Independence

    Ideas of freedom expressed by Willa Cather, Solomon Northup, Walt Whitman, Louise Erdrich

  2. Twelve Days of Christmas

    We celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas with music, readings, gold rings and pear trees.

  3. Jane Austen's world

    Featuring music listened to and played by Jane Austen, from adaptations and in her novels.

  4. Joy and Sorrow

    Olivia Chaney, Xhosa Cole, Patrick Baladi and Charlotte Martin in front of an audience.

  5. Small Towns

    Jemma Redgrave and Sushil Chudasama read from EF Benson, Kiran Desai, Paul Murray

  6. Little Furry Creatures: Mice, Rats and Squirrels

    From Douglas Adams to Beatrix Potter, ballet to the back yard: mice, rats and squirrels.

  7. Travel: on land, over water, in the air

    Songs for sailors, the Kronos quartet Cycling Through Muddy Streets, Johnny Cash's travels

  8. Sleep and Dreams

    Readings and music about our night-time thoughts and slumbers marking the clock change.

  9. Fire

    Specially curated music and readings inspired by fire, flames and infernos.

  10. Nobel Prizes

    Highlighting the work of Nobel Prize for Literature Laureates.

  11. Rising high

    From church spires and skyscrapers to soaring sopranos-today's episode hits the high notes

  12. Genius, Polymaths and Prodigies

    The exceptional talents of Mozart, Einstein, Da Vinci, Gertrude Stein and Ada Lovelace.

  13. The Coastal Path

    A trip following the Charles III coast path around England in poems, prose and music.

  14. Creating Music

    Musicians' diaries, passages from novels and poems showcase the making of music

  15. Miniatures

    Exploring the small from dolls houses to netsuke figures, piano miniatures to haiku.

  16. Virginia Woolf

    Celebrating Virginia Woolf as we mark the centenary of the publication 'Mrs Dalloway'.

  17. Bradford

    Vinette Robinson and Enzo Cilenti with readings and music evoking the 2025 City of Culture

  18. Coffee and Tea

    Ariyon Bakare and Philippa Dunne with readings alongside music about coffee and tea.

  19. A Swiss journey

    Peter Wight and Ellie Piercy bring us readings evoking Swish hotels, lakes and mountains

  20. Art Deco

    Jessica Raine and Giles Terera with readings alongside music from the roaring twenties.

  21. The Wild

    Toby Jones and Indra Ov茅 with readings alongside music taking us into the wilderness.

  22. Hares and Rabbits

    Welcome in spring with music and readings inspired by rabbits, hares, kits and cottontails

  23. 1920s Ireland

    A celebration of 1920s Ireland in music and readings by Olwen Fou茅r茅 and Ardal O'Hanlon

  24. Selfless Love

    From Tinkerbell saving Peter Pan, to soldiers on the battlefields, and Jesus on the cross

  25. Hotels, Hostelries and Town Halls

    From Hotel du Lac to the Chelsea Hotel, Mermaid Tavern to the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

  26. A Day at the Races

    Start your engines with Beethoven, Bizet and Ben-Hur down at the races.

  27. Playing Cards

    Kings, Queens, Jokers, Aces: with music and readers Sophie Thompson and James Cartwright

  28. The Return

    Music on the theme of returning with readings by Clare Perkins and Jonathan Keeble

  29. In Conversation

    Musical and poetic conversations, read by Gemma Whelan and Clarke Peters.

  30. A European Journey

    Readings by Juliet Stevenson and Parth Thakarer and music evoking mountains to city mopeds

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