A Point of View Podcast
A weekly reflection on a topical issue.
Episodes to download
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Reflections on Monetary Union
Fri 18 Nov 2011
Mary Beard reflects on the very first monetary union, two and a half thousand years ago.
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On Age and Beauty
Fri 11 Nov 2011
Mary Beard takes a peek at Miss World 2011 and ponders the upsides of middle age.
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Mary Beard: On Tyrants
Fri 4 Nov 2011
Mary Beard on the uncanny similarities between Colonel Gaddafi and tyrants in ancient Rome
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The Arms Trade
Fri 28 Oct 2011
Will Self deplores the arms trade, Britain's role in it and the euphemisms around it.
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Class, race and social mobility
Fri 21 Oct 2011
Will Self reflects that racism is rarely a sole cause of social injustice.
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Political party membership
Fri 30 Sep 2011
Will Self attacks political party members as 'donkeys led by donkeys'.
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Churchill, chance and the black dog
Fri 23 Sep 2011
John Gray reflects on the chance encounters that made Churchill wartime Prime Minister.
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Believing in Belief
Fri 16 Sep 2011
John Gray argues that the scientific and rationalist attack on religion is misguided.
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Cats, birds and humans
Fri 9 Sep 2011
John Gray considers why the human animal needs contact with something other than itself.
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John Gray: The revolution of capitalism
Fri 2 Sep 2011
John Gray on why an increasing number of people believe that Karl Marx was right.
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Kim Philby
Fri 26 Aug 2011
John Gray on why Kim Philby, and so many others, have failed to predict the future.
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Greece and the Meaning of Folly
Fri 19 Aug 2011
The celebrated thinker John Gray gives his reflection on the meaning of folly.
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The Advantages of Pessimism
Fri 12 Aug 2011
Alain de Botton on why pessimism is the key to happiness.
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On Social Climbing
Fri 29 Jul 2011
Alain de Botton argues that social climbing is often much more than idle pleasure-seeking.
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What's in a marriage
Fri 22 Jul 2011
Alain de Botton on our extraordinarily high expectations for modern marriage.
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The Art of Conversation
Sun 17 Jul 2011
Alain de Botton with some food for thought for a summer picnic.
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In Praise of the Zoo
Fri 8 Jul 2011
Alain de Botton explores the relationship between humankind and animals.
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On marriage
Fri 11 Feb 2011
Alain de Botton muses on why a bookish life is a poor preparation for marriage!
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In Praise of the Nanny State
Fri 4 Feb 2011
Alain de Botton reflects on why freedom has become our ultimate political ideal.
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The ecological sublime
Fri 21 Jan 2011
Alain de Botton gives a philosopher's take on our ecological dilemmas.
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What humanities should teach
Fri 7 Jan 2011
Alain de Botton with a controversial view of the teaching of humanities in universities.
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A Time for Empathy
Fri 17 Dec 2010
Joan Bakewell wonders how we recover true empathy in a culture of self-regard.
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Talking About Their Generation
Christmas Day 2009
Clive James reflects on the human condition and the need for liberal democracy to spread.
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Clive James: Option Swamp
Fri 18 Dec 2009
Clive James vents his frustration at automated customer systems.
