Arts and Ideas

Throughout this week, Night Waves examines some of the major cultural forces shaping the 21st century. Anne McElvoy and guests discuss mega-cities, sustainability and the ethics of living together.

Throughout this week, Night Waves examines some of the major cultural forces shaping the 21st century. Anne McElvoy asks to what extent are science and medicine shaping our lives and what breakthroughs are shaping the future?

Throughout this week, Night Waves examines some of the major cultural forces shaping the 21st century. Philip Dodd and guests look at greed in its many forms, accompanied Peter Marinker reading Falstaff, Faustus and others.

Throughout this week, Night Waves examines some of the major cultural forces shaping the 21st century. Matthew Sweet and guests attempt to define the zeitgeist via the cultural artefacts and moments of 2011.

In a special edition of the podcast, we mark the passing of both Christopher Hitchens and Vaclav Havel, with interviews, reviews and analysis from the Night Waves archives.

Matthew Sweet entertains guests from Ghana, Italy, India and Egypt to discuss Saladin, a new book by Anne-Marie Eddé, the legacy of the Crusades, Nanni Moretti's latest film We have a Pope and Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian recipient of the Nobel Prize.

As Europe struggles to manage the current financial crisis we are seeing un-elected technocrats replace populist leaders and ratings agencies seemingly wielding increasing power. Philip Dodd and guests discuss whether the pursuit of economic stability is downgrading democracy.

Updated corrected audio: Rana Mitter chairs a debate about the Luddites to mark their 200th anniversary. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival 2011.

Landscape architect Charles Jencks calls for a new cosmic art, in a talk entitled Reclaiming the Universe. Jencks argues that understanding the universe is too important to be left to scientists and theologians, and wants us to connect to pre-historic ideas about the cosmos, present in monuments such as Stonehenge.

Neuro-scientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore gives a talk on changes in the teenage brain. Teenagers often act on impulse, are lazy, emotional and get into trouble with the police and parents. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London and a leading expert on teenage brains. Using recent research about the radical changes taking place in the adolescent brain, she argues it's time to rethink our attitudes towards youth and the place of teenagers in society.