The Essay

The most important book on black Britishness has one flaw: its author was white

3 October 2020 9:00 am

Can people of one race really understand the experience of another? asks Colin Grant

Why do writers enjoy walking so much?

7 February 2020 10:00 pm

Writers like walking. When people ask us why, we say it’s what writers do. ‘Just popping out to buy a…

The Somme battlefield today. Photo: Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

Why has BBC Radio been replaced by ‘BBC Sounds’?

3 November 2018 9:00 am

You may have noticed that BBC iPlayer (for radio programmes) has been replaced this week with the new BBC Sounds…

Split decision

5 October 2017 2:00 pm

Think back to that morning in September 1967 when the Light Programme was split in two, Tony Blackburn launching Radio…

Supporting Assad against the ‘invaders’

19 March 2016 9:00 am

Four programmes, four very different kinds of radio, from a classically made drama to weird sonic ramblings, via the best…

Sgt Bowe Bergdahl. Photo: U.S. Army/Getty Images

Serial returns with a story of loyalty, resilience and punishment

30 January 2016 9:00 am

The new season of the Serial podcast (produced by the same team who make This American Life) was launched last…

Could a change of body language make a difference to American policing?

9 January 2016 9:00 am

One of the most shocking items of recent news has been the bald statistic that the number of people shot…

Was this Christian pioneer of radio evangelism a fraud?

29 November 2014 9:00 am

She was the sequinned star of the airwaves back in the 1920s, the first preacher to realise the potential of…

BBC radio gets Easter right

19 April 2014 9:00 am

Given the decline of Christian belief in the UK, it’s surprising to discover there’s quite so much about the Easter…

Radio that makes you feel the wind on your cheek

5 April 2014 9:00 am

After a walk in Richmond Park beset by rush-hour traffic, the Heathrow flight path and a strange swarm of flying…

Michael Craig-Martin pokes a giant yellow pitchfork at the ordinary

5 April 2014 9:00 am

Visitors to Chatsworth House this spring might wonder if they have stumbled through the looking-glass. The estate’s rolling parkland has…