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• The theme of The 21st Century Family explored by Professor Tanya Byron, Baroness Julia Neuberger and Professor Lisa Jardine
• Interview with David Miliband
• Talks by William Orbit, Dan Cruickshank and Ken Livingstone

David Miliband, Professor Lisa Jardine, Baroness Julia Neuberger, Lionel Shriver and Dan Cruickshank are among the contributors joining Professor Tanya Byron and Ken Livingstone at this year's ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3 Free Thinking festival.

Based for the first time at The Sage Gateshead, the main theme of the weekend is The 21st Century Family and the programme offers thought-provoking debate and discussion around this controversial subject.

Additional events focus on topics related to the North East, history and culture.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Newcastle joins with Radio 3 for the festival which launches on 23 October and showcases Free Thinking with news and interviews in the weeks leading up to the weekend.

Free Thinking is recorded for broadcast on Radio 3 on air and online at bbc.co.uk/radio3.

Professor Tanya Byron, best known for her TV shows about parenting, opens the festival with her vision of the challenges ahead for the family.

The immense value of inter-generational relationships is the focus of Baroness Neuberger's talk and ethical dilemmas posed by advances in the science of fertility and embryology are explored by Professor Lisa Jardine, Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

A panel of guests explore what the future holds for men and Gwen Adshead, Consultant Forensic Psychotherapist at Broadmoor Hospital, offers an unsettling perspective on women and their ability to "do evil".

Foreign Secretary David Miliband, MP for South Shields since June 2001, is interviewed about his philosophical outlook and personal values.

Key cultural figures from the North East of England are featured across the weekend.

British playwright and screenwriter Peter Flannery, born in Jarrow, was author of the TV drama serial Our Friends In The North, and appears on Radio 3's The Verb with host Ian MacMillan and guests.

Mike Brearley, one of England's greatest cricket captains, lectured in Philosophy at Newcastle University and now, as President of the Institute of Psychoanalysis in London, offers his thoughts on successful leadership.

And former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone joins an audience at The Sage Gateshead to talk about what he feels cities on the banks of the Tyne and Wear could learn from London.

Additional events focus on the world of music and culture: award-winning music producer William Orbit reflects on the world of sound; a panel of contributors argue over whether sport or art has the greater importance; and Dan Cruickshank presents a talk examining contemporary attitudes to the restoration of historic buildings.

Continuing the festival's family theme, Free Thinking's literature events include contributions from acclaimed writers Lionel Shriver and Sarah Hall who join members of New Writing North's book clubs to talk about their novels.

Actress Gina McKee, born in County Durham, features in a special North East edition of Radio 3's Sony award-winning programme Words And Music, as she joins local musicians to celebrate impressions of family life as captured in poetry, prose and music.

Putting audiences at the heart of the festival, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Newcastle and Radio 3 invite listeners to join them in selecting a historical figure for Free Thinker Of The North East – writer, inventor, scientist or artist.

The result will be announced close to the launch of the festival and the individual will be profiled in Radio 3's The Essay alongside other key figures from the region.

Free Thinking has inspired much collaboration with local groups from the North East.

The Free Thinking drama has become a key feature of the festival and this year takes place at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Free Thinking's writers-in-residence, Newcastle-based Fiona Evans and Karen Laws, explore where the distinction between personal and public responsibility might fall in the family. The writers also join with ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Drama working with local groups to create new writing around this subject.

Café Culture North East debating group tackle Hugh Pym, the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's Chief Economics Correspondent, on his thoughts and conclusions about the recession.

Their members also take to the microphone offering their own solutions to the problems of our world today and Free Thinking's Young Ranters presents the views of the younger generation from the North East as they expand upon themes close to their hearts.

For full details of the Free Thinking programme visit bbc.co.uk/freethinking.

Notes to Editors

The first ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3 Free Thinking festival was held in Liverpool in November 2006.

Contributors over the years have included Brian Eno, Ian Paisley, Susan Blackmore, Phil Redmond, AS Byatt, Mike Figgis, Mark Ravenhill, Alan Bleasdale, John Gray and Albie Sachs.

Tickets for all events are free. To book please call The Sage Gateshead on 0191 443 4661.

Radio 3 Publicity