Meridian Episodes Available now

Writing for the US President
Speechwriters who craft the big set-pieces delived by presidents and captains of industry

New Oriana collection for the Golden Jubilee
New choral works will celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee

Nawal El Saadawi – Egypt's 'unputdownable' Campaigner
Interview with Nawal el-Saadawi, Egyptian novelist and campaigner for women's rights

'Making it real' – A History of Film Music
Music helps audiences to forget it's not real… A history of music in film with Carl Davis

To Turkey, with love from Nâzim Hikmet
A new selected works by Turkish poet Nâzim Hikmet, who was born100 years ago

Rohinton Mistry, chronicler of Bombay
Rohinton Mistry talks about his third novel and his own Bombay and Parsi background

Carmina Burana – from medieval Poetry to modern Classic
The medieval manuscript, Carmina Burana, that inspired Carl Orff's 20th-century cantata

Backstage with director Peter Hall
Influential British theatre director Peter Hall interviewed on the opening of The Bacchae

Dangerous memories at Heaven's Edge
To remember or forget? – that's the question at the heart of Romesh Gunesekera's new novel

Cuba's private Libraries open to All
Cuba's book shortage has led to individuals opening up their own collections as libraries