Lust poses as love and ambition as patriotism in this dark and brilliant play depicting the heroic action of the Trojan War.Troy is besieged by the invading Greeks, but the young Trojan prince Troilus can think only of his love for Cressida. Her uncle Pandarus brings the two together, but after only one night news comes that Cressida must be sent to the enemy camp. There, as Troilus looks on, she yields to the wooing of the Greek Diomedes. The tragic story is undercut by the commen...

This shattering drama of isolation and loss is one of the greatest tragedies in world literature.King Lear of Britain has three daughters: the hard-hearted Goneril and Regan, and the good and gentle Cordelia. He determines to divide his kingdom between them, giving the largest share to she who can say she loves him the best. Lear’s tragic lack of judgement and self-knowledge is paralleled by the blindness of the loyal Gloucester who is persuaded to reject his virtuous son Edgar in ...

The complete Series 1 and 2 of the historical drama set in a bustling Midlands railway station in the Victorian eraIn these two series, set on selected dates in January 1895 and December 1896, we follow the day-to-day shenanigans of Bridgford station master Joe Braddock and his staff, along with a motley crew of passengers and passers-by. Each episode is a self-contained drama, as well as telling the ongoing story of the crises and challenges tackled by the team, a...

A full-cast dramatisation of this comic tale about an eighteenth-century gentleman who tries to tell his life story, but continually finds that he must digress...Featuring some of the best-known and well-loved characters in English literature, including Uncle Toby, Corporal Trim, Dr Slop and the Widow Wadman. Beginning (or attempting to begin) at the moment of his own conception, Tristram Shandy recounts his progress through the world and utterly fails to stick to the point.

Julia Ford and Greg Wise star in this BBC Radio 4 drama about a husband who comes out as gay after 19 years of marriageJack and Karen are an ordinary, happily-married couple. They've been together for years and are convinced every problem can be worked through. Until Karen finds an odd text on Jack's phone, and her confrontation leads to a shock revelation: Jack is gay, and he wants a male lover.Seeking stability for themselves and security for their teenag...

Why are we so often in conflict – arguing with ourselves and with others, uncertain over who we are and what we want?For thousands of years, writers, thinkers and philosophers have seen life as a battle between the guiding power of reason and a disruptive animal within. In a world where fierce culture wars and endless newsfeeds turn up the tension, how can we overcome our uncertainties and know the many sides of ourselves?In The Animal and the Thinker

**A new biography of Cicero, one of the most influential and fascinating figures in classical history.This program is read by the author.**When the Roman statesman Cicero was murdered in 43 BCE, his head was cut off, and his tongue pierced with pins – a final, brutal act of revenge against a man whose words had shaped a generation and made him many enemies. Rising from provincial obscurity to the highest elected office in Rome, Cicero became the greatest orator of his age, ...

Brought to you by Penguin.An electrifying novel about the Nazi who reinvented himself, Albert Speer‘Which is the most seductive, truth or fiction?’This is the story of Albert Speer: The protégé. The ‘good Nazi’. The star. The mythmaker.In 1969 Speer, Hitler’s favourite architect and Minister of Armaments and War Production, publishes his memoirs. Rewriting his own past, claiming to have known nothin...

**From bestselling, award-winning author James Ellroy, "the neo-noir eminence of L.A. crime fiction" (The New Yorker)—a gritty, fast-paced historical crime thriller set in 1962 Los Angeles during the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis"The Freddy Otash novels will be mentioned . . . as some of Ellroy's best work.” —NPR**It’s late October 1962. The Cuban Missile Crisis has just concluded. The Russkies blinked and pulled their ICBMs out of Cuba. Attorney G...

Embark on a tantalising journey into the weird and wonderful world of fermentation.Dr Johnny Drain has spent his career exploring how fermentation has shaped the bodies we inhabit, the foods we eat and the world we live in. From making live yoghurt in his grandma’s kitchen, to fermenting butter at the world’s best restaurant, Noma, Dr Drain’s fascination with the magic of fermentation has led him around the globe. Adventures in Fermentation charts his culi...

Brought to you by Penguin.The global powerhouse that is the United States of America is younger even than the British Museum, Guinness and the flushing toilet. In 2026 it will celebrate its 250th birthday. How did this vast land, long inhabited by diverse indigenous cultures, come to be dominated by English speakers? How has it grappled with the stark contradictions between its ideals of liberty and the grim reality of genocide and slavery?This extraordinar...

"Spectacular." ―Daniel PinkA guide to dealing with uncertainty at a time when our lives have never felt less certain.From our careers to our politics to our personal lives, the future is unknown. And yet, our capacity to tolerate this uncertainty is in decline. How to Not Know will help you prepare for and even appreciate the uncertainty that surrounds us.Through gripping stories of people grappling with big problems withou...