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Words and Music Episodes

  1. Animal Kingdom

    Actors Emily Bruni and Nicholas Farrell read poems on lambs, cats, pigs and a donkey

  2. The Black Sun

    Inspired by Robert Oppenheimer's work on the first atomic bomb and the fall-out from that.

  3. The Power of Music

    Readings by Clarke Peters and Maggie Service in the run up to 100 years of the 麻豆社 Singers

  4. Looking Back on Childhood

    Poets and writers reflect on their childhoods. Read by Rebecca Lacey and Abraham Popoola.

  5. Rest and Respite

    Poems of pause and peace, read by David Ajao and Florence Roberts.

  6. Crossed Wires

    Tales of telephones and miscommunication, read by Jonathan Keeble and Briony Rawle.

  7. Flights of Fancy

    Barbara Flynn and Hugo Speer with readings and music on imaginative and physical flight.

  8. Dickens's World

    Sam West reads the letters of Charles Dickens, marking the 150th anniversary of his death

  9. Only Connect

    Inspired by the words of EM Forster, we explore ways of connecting in music and literature

  10. Derek Jarman's Garden

    Tilda Swinton and Samuel Barnett with readings from and inspired by Derek Jarman's work.

  11. Gratitude

    Florence Nightingale to VE day, Clive James on critics to Audrey Hepburn's note of thanks.

  12. Easter

    From Easter flowers to Passover meals and midnight church services.

  13. Goddesses and Monsters

    An exploration of women, sacred and profane, from Medusa and Circe to the Madonna.

  14. Nordic Noir

    Lars Mikkelsen and Vera Vitali read from a dark seam of Nordic literature.

  15. Less Is More

    Jane Lapotaire and John Heffernan enter the world of the simple, the small and the lost.

  16. In Therapy

    Buffy Davis and Simon Tcherniak explore the therapeutic relationship in poetry and prose.

  17. Welcome To Heartbreak

    Zubin Varla and Katie West guide you through the operatic emotions of a broken heart.

  18. Commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz

    With readers Henry Goodman and Maria Friedman

  19. In Pursuit

    Is the chase sometimes better than the catch? Readings by Heather Craney and Clive Hayward

  20. Boredom, Restlessness, Killing Time

    An exploration of boredom, as spur to action or opportunity for contemplation.

  21. Drink and No Drink

    Taking inspiration from toasts, parties, hangovers and prohibition.

  22. Bah! Humbug!

    Dominic West and Ruth Bradley explore the challenging aspects of Christmas.

  23. Entering the World of Books

    Stephen Mangan & Helen Monks explore attitudes to reading in prose & poetry set to music.

  24. George Eliot's World

    Novels, letters and journals read by Fiona Shaw, Ellie Kendrick and Philip Bretherton.

  25. Secrets and Discoveries

    Hidden messages, secret loves and journeys of discovery in poetry, prose and music.

  26. Remembering Weimar 1919-1933

    Poems, prose, song and music inspired in and by the brilliant but doomed German republic.

  27. What Is Modern Art?

    From scoffing critics to celebrations of invention-prose, poetry and music inspired by art

  28. The Window

    Adjoa Andoh and John Rowe are the readers as we move from Messiaen to Mary Jean Chan

  29. Nights in the Gardens of Spain

    Actors Candela Gomez and Khalid Abdalla with readings, music and recordings from Granada.

  30. Truth

    'The truth is rarely pure and never simple.' Readings by Morfydd Clark and Neil Dudgeon.

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