Night Waves - Childhood

05/27/13 • 44 min

Matthew Sweet examines our current and past attitudes to childhood and asks whether nurturing children is something that we should deregulate or attempt to reform. He’s joined by Jay Griffiths, author of Kith - in which she argues that children in Brazilian rain forests are happier than those in Western cities, Hugh Cunningham, historian and author of the Invention of Childhood, sociologist Frank Furedi, who coined the phrase paranoid parenting, Gabriel Gbadamosi, Irish-Nigerian poet, playwright and Carnegie medal winner Meg Rosoff who writes fiction for children and young adults.

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Night Waves - Wagner 200

With Anne McElvoy. It is of course 200 years this week since the birth of the composer who perhaps excites more strong opinions about his life and work than any other. Professor Paul Rose, Barry Emslie and Dr Barbara Eichner discuss Wagner and antisemitism. What about Prague as a capital of the 20th century? Defending this thought is Derek Sayer and discussing it with him is Andrew Lass and Dr Rajendra Chitnis. And Anne speaks to Michael Landy about his new exhibition at the National Gallery, Saints Alive.

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Night Waves - Morality and the Law

Anne McElvoy discusses ethics and the law after several politicians have complained recently about tax avoidance by big companies. To discuss are Geoffrey Robertson QC, Mark Littlewood and Angie Hobbs. Australian writer Andrew Upton talks about his sometimes controversial adaptations of classic Russian plays and explains to Anne why he inserted an egg fight into his recent production of Maxim Gorky's Children of the Sun. And writer Philip Hoare explores his fascination and fear of the sea when he talks to Anne about his new book; "The Sea Inside".