Andrey Kurkov is Ukraine’s most celebrated novelist. When Russia invaded Ukraine he turned his writing to journalism and memoir, but his latest book is a work of fiction set amid the chaos of the Russian Revolution. The Silver Bone (translated by Boris Dralyuk) is the first in a trilogy of historical mysteries in which the recently orphaned detective investigates his first case while Bolsheviks, Cossacks, and white Army Guards all vie to take control of Kyiv.
The journalist and writer Peter Pomerantsev retells the daring story of the WWII propogandist Sefton Delmer who managed to infiltrate German airwaves and skilfully question Nazi doctrine. How to Win an Information War reveals the extent of the complexity of spin and indoctrination used in the past, alongside the role of propaganda today in Putin’s Russia.
The information war is heading into a new era with the development of generative AI which makes it simple to produce fake text, audio and videos. The news editor at MIT Technology Review Charlotte Jee says the pace of change is extraordinary, and regulation is lagging behind, as deepfakes are becoming more difficult to distinguish from actual human content.
Producer: Katy Hickman
City living
Power to the people
Music and poetry
The war between science and religion
Crossing borders and belonging
Time passing: ageing, memory and nostalgia
Mysterious Plants
Weighty issues
Arts: changing the world?
Global influences
Opium trade to synthetic opiates
Made out of glass
War crimes justice
Climate resolutions
A century of Labour
AI, states and corporations
Small states: global impact and survival
Playing games
Space – the human story
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It is Free
Global News Podcast
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
The Infinite Monkey Cage
You’re Dead to Me
Elis James and John Robins