Start the Week Folgen

On Start the Week Tom Sutcliffe discusses the 'myth' of progress with James Lasdun, Mary Beard, Mark Ravenhill and John Gray.The poet and novelist James Lasdun talks about his experience of being cyber-stalked and the terrifying opportunities new technology offers. Mary Beard looks back to classical times to see how far the relationship between persecutor and persecuted have changed.Playwright Mark Ravenhill discusses his comic reworking of Voltaire's 'Candide'. But is everything in the 21st century still for 'the best in the best of all possible worlds?' John Gray argues that ethical progress in human civilisation is easily reversible and yet people need to believe in myths to shape their lives and give them meaning.Producer: Natalia Fernandez.

On Start the Week Allan Little talks to Pakistani novelist, Mohsin Hamid about 'how to get filthy rich in rising Asia', and his self-help manual of rags to riches. The playwright Bruce Norris dramatises an entrepreneur's quest for wealth with priceless ambition, while Katherine Boo explores the slums of Mumbai to question the impact of the volatility of the market. And the turbulent times of an English village throughout the 20th century is the subject of Peter Moffat's latest television series. Producer: Katy Hickman.

On Start the Week Lisa Jardine asks whether the writing of history has been dominated by conflict and difference. The Professor of History, David Cannadine argues against the predominant 'them and us' agenda, and for a common humanity. While the Balkan writer Aleksandar Hemon splits his life between Sarajevo and Chicago. Ed Vulliamy reported on the war in Bosnia and explores a journalist's role in historical events, and Margaret MacMillan discusses the teaching of history. Producer: Katy Hickman.