News
Crème Brûlée
Essays about our favourite puddings. A rich French classic with surprises: Crème brûlée. Read more
now playing
The Story of Puddings
Essays about our favourite puddings. A rich French classic with surprises: Crème brûlée.
Pavlova
Essays about our favourite puddings. A disputed antipodean Christmas classic: pavlova.
Christmas Pudding
Essays about our favourite puddings. Christmas pudding, the essence of a British yuletide.
Secret irers (Series 5)
Georgia Mann on Antonio Vivaldi
Radio 3 presenter Georgia Mann celebrates the Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi.
Linton Stephens on Florence Price
Radio 3 presenter Linton Stephens celebrates the African American composer Florence Price.
Jennifer Lucy Allan on Annea Lockwood
Radio 3 presenter Jennifer Lucy Allan celebrates NZ-born American composer Annea Lockwood.
Kevin Le Gendre on Bobby McFerrin
Radio 3 presenter Kevin Le Gendre celebrates the American singer-songwriter Bobby McFerrin
That's Entertainment...? Variety and Me
Singing, Dancing and Having a Laugh: The Backbone of Variety
Traditional Variety through the lens of a writer’s childhood fascination.
Gokkle o’ Geer: Ventriloquists and their Dummies
It's The Animal In Me: Animal Acts in Variety Theatre
Girls! Girls! Girls! Women in Variety
How Did They Do That? Magic and Mesmerism
A Circumnavigation of the British Isles in Five Traditional Boats
The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Pilot Gig
Annamaria Murphy on the gig, which rowed out to approaching ships to get pilots aboard.
The Curach
The poet Keith Payne on the curach, the ancient, but still used, Irish skin boat.
Shetland Whillies, Yoals and Sixerns
Brian Wishart in Lerwick on Shetland's traditional boats, still influenced by the Vikings.
The Coble
Poet Katrina Porteous on the coble, the beach-launched working boat of the northeast coast
The Essex Smack
Malcolm 'Mac' MacGregor on the Essex Smack, boats he built and fished with under sail.
Women of Substance
Frida Kahlo
What does the art of Frida Kahlo reveal about her addictions?
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday sang about alcohol and broken hearts and went to prison for drug use.
Anna Kavan
Legally prescribed heroin by a psychiatrist, Anna Kavan’s writing reveals her addiction.
Andrea Dunbar
At 18 Andrea Dunbar was the youngest playwright ever at the Royal Court Theatre, London.
Nan Goldin
Nan Goldin beat heroin and Oxycontin. Her biggest fight was against the drug manufacturers
Letters to the Overrated and the Underrated
1. Dear Katherine Mansfield...
Ian Sansom drops a line to late New Zealand-born author and critic Katherine Mansfield.
2. Dear Joseph Conrad...
Ian Sansom pens imaginary missives to late Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad.
3. Dear Clarice Lispector...
Ian Sansom fires off a quick line or two to late Brazilian novelist Clarice Lispector.
4. Dear Octavia Butler...
Ian Sansom is sending imaginary dispatches to late American sci-fi writer Octavia Butler.
5. Dear John le Carré...
Ian Sansom is writing uncoded messages to late English-Irish spy novelist John le Carré.
Edith Piaf in Five Songs
1. Milord
Edith Piaf - from her mouth to your heart in five songs. 1 - Milord by Lucy O'Meara.
2. L'Accordeoniste
The French singer Edith Piaf - from her mouth to your heart in five of her songs.
3. Les Amants d'un jour
The French singer Edith Piaf - from her mouth to your heart, through five classic songs.
4. Hymne à l'amour
Edith Piaf defined five songs. Myriam Phiro explores love and death in Hymne à l'amour.
