Start the Week Folgen

Andrew Marr talks to Francis Fukuyama about the development of political institutions from the early tribal societies to the growth of the modern state. Pakistan has often been referred to as a 'failed state', but Anatol Lieven argues that despite its reputation it has the makings of a modern, viable and coherent country. The author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid, explores what it means to be middle class in Pakistan, and Tahmima Anam looks back to Bangladesh's fight for Independence, and the relationship between religion and politics in the country of her birth. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr talks to the MP Denis MacShane about the political situation in France. It's 30 years since the election of the country's first socialist president, Francois Mitterrand. The People's Pledge is campaigning for a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU, and its founder Ruth Lea argues that it's time to disregard the wishes of Brussels. The Turkish artist Kutlug Ataman explores the spirit of Mesopotamia in his latest works, where his films of water defy national boundaries. And the so-called 'godfather' of the Young British Artists, Michael Craig-Martin, showcases the art of drawing, from his original sketches using tape forty years ago, to the computer-generated drawings of today. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr explores how far empathy, or the lack of it, can explain cruelty. Simon Baron-Cohen proposes turning the focus away from evil or specific personality disorders, and to understand human behaviour by studying the 'empathy circuit' in the brain. Gwen Adshead, a forensic psychotherapist at Broadmoor Hospital and the crime writer Val McDermid question whether this would help in their line of work, and the philosopher Julian Baggini tries to pin down what we mean when we talk about the self. Producer: Katy Hickman.