Free Thinking Folgen

As two major archaeological exhibitions open in the UK featuring discoveries from underwater excavations off Egypt and Sicily, Rana Mitter hears from historian and archaeologist, Alexandra Sofroniew, exhibition curator of Storms, War and Shipwrecks at Oxford's Ashmolean Museum about a British pioneer of underwater excavations, Honor Frost, and discusses why underwater sites make the difficulties and challenges worthwhile with Damian Robinson, Director of Centre for Maritime Archaeology at Oxford University and contributing archaeologist to the British Museum's Sunken Cities: Egypt's Lost Worlds.Joining them to discuss the changing story of archaeology itself in this country and abroad, Raimund Karl, Professor of Archaeology and Heritage at Bangor University who has done two continent-wide surveys on the state of the profession in Europe while continuing to dig, study and develop the ever changing story of the Celts, and Susan Greaney, who works for English Heritage presenting interpretations of sites from Stonehenge to Tintagel to the public when she's not digging in Orkney and pursuing her PhD on Neolithic ceremonial complexes. Storms, War and Shipwrecks: Treasures from the Sicilian Seas is at the Ashmolean Museum 21 June 2016 – 25 September 2016 Sunken Cities: Egypt's Lost Worlds is at the British Museum from May 19th - November 27th 2016.Producer: Jacqueline SmithGuests: Alexandra Sofroniew, exhibition curator Storms, War and Shipwrecks, Ashmolean Museum Damian Robinson, Director, Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology Raimund Karl, Professor Archaeology and Heritage, Bangor University Susan Greaney, English Heritage

Moral philosopher Peter Singer is in conversation with Philip Dodd. His essay Famine, Affluence and Morality was first printed in 1972 in the journal Philosophy and Public Affairs. It has now been republished with a foreword by Bill and Melinda Gates. Peter Singer's book is called Famine, Affluence and Morality Producer: Ruth Watts

Icelandic writer Sjón talks to Matthew Sweet about fiction, poetry and making music with Björk. Curator Sacha Llewellyn explores the art of Winifred Knights, Katie Roiphe looks at writers dying and in the first of our commissioned columns from 2016 New Generation Thinkers - Sarah Jackson from Nottingham Trent University explores touch and frostbite. Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was by Sjón was named Best Icelandic Novel of 2015. The English translation which is out now is from Victoria Cribb. Winifred Knights (1899-1947) is the first major retrospective of the award-winning Slade School artist which will display all her completed paintings for the first time since their creation, including the apocalyptic masterpiece The Deluge, 1920. It runs at the Dulwich Picture Gallery from June 8th to September 18th 2016. Katie Roiphe's new book The Violet Hour considers the deaths of six literary figures Susan Sontag, Sigmund Freud, John Updike, Dylan Thomas, Maurice Sendak and James Salter. Sarah Jackson from Nottingham Trent University is one of the 2016 New Generation Thinkers and a poet whose collection Pelt was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award. New Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by BBC Radio 3 in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council to find academics who can turn their research into radio programmes. Find out more from our website and hear them introducing their research in the programme which broadcast on May 31st - available as an arts and ideas podcast. Producer: Fiona McLean.