Roundup

'The Politics of Good Intentions' [14min @13:00]

In the wake of 9/11, politicians have claimed we are at an increased risk from terrorist attacks and their actions to deal with this risk spring from good intentions. Laurie Taylor is joined by Dr David Runciman and Sir Bernard Crick to discuss whether we are actually witnessing 'politics of good intentions', or whether politicians are exploiting the language of risk for their own ends. Runciman is Lecturer in Political Theory at Cambridge University and author of The Politics of Good Intenti

The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail, 3rd of 3 [15min]

In the final extract from the controversial book recently involved in the court case about The Da Vinci Code, the authors' researches lead them to extraordinary conclusions about the fate of Jesus Christ, his relationship with Mary Magdalene, and the true meaning of the Holy Grail. On Thursday 6th April, Roger Bolton leads a discussion about the ideas in the book, whose thesis, methodology and sources have been questioned. Introduced by Roger Bolton and read by Robert Powell. Abridged and

The Reign of Queen Elizabeth II, 3rd of 5 -- Lifting the Veil [30min]

As the Queen approaches her 80th birthday, Anthony Howard looks back at key episodes that have marked her reign. In 1969, the monarchy decided to allow the cameras in on the domestic life of the Royals. The result was the Royal Family Film, shown on British television and around the world. The risk was that by lifting the veil and portraying the family as much like any other, people might be tempted to question whether the monarchy was anything special. There was another danger too -- if Royal p

Edward J. Renehan Jr. on Jay Gould [58min @ 11:25]

Here is the archived version of Edward Renehan's webcasted NYU Office of Alumni Affairs talk from last week. He advises that, once the file downloads and opens in Real Player, you should fast-forward to about 12 minutes into the loop. Renehan is the author of The Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons, which will be re-published in paperback this month by Perseus Publishing.

Soldiers Seek an Elusive Escape in Shakespeare [4min]

Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, is home to a multinational taskforce that conducts humanitarian and counter-terrorism operations across the Horn of Africa. For seven months last year, commentator Marine Major Adam McKeown was stationed there. A reservist, McKeown is an English professor at Adelphi University when he is not serving. While in Djibouti, in addition to his regular duties, McKeown offered a fully accredited Shakespeare class to more than 24 of his fellow service members. He says the class d

Dada at the National Gallery [7min]

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz describes the first major American exhibition of Dadaist art at Washington's National Gallery of Art. The exhibition will be at the National Gallery of Art through May 14 and reopens at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC on June 11.

When Baseball Went Global: 'Spalding's World Tour' [9min]

In October 1888, promoter Albert Goodwill Spalding and two baseball teams traveled the globe to put on baseball exhibitions. Mark Lamster's book Spalding's World Tour recounts the adventure, which included visits to Egypt's Sphinx, France's Eiffel Tower and the Roman Coliseum.

The Reign of Queen Elizabeth II, 2nd of 5 -- The Magic Circle [30min]

As the Queen approaches her 80th birthday, Anthony Howard looks back at key episodes that have marked her reign. How much power is invested in the monarchy and what part does it play in the constitution? Ministers (much to Tony Benn's annoyance) and bishops in the Church of England still take an oath of allegiance to the Queen and she retains the right to withhold or grant the dissolution of Parliament. But her limited powers were reduced further after a controversial decision to appoint Alec Do

The Red Comyn & Robert the Bruce [30min]

A knife flashes in a church, a man falls dead. Robert Bruce, the hero-king of Scots, starts his bid for the throne, hands bathed in blood. Mark Stephen explores the fall-out of the most important murder in Scottish history.

12c & 21c Extraordinary People [30min]

Some of the high ratings programmes on television in recent months have been the burst of films about extraordinary people with extraordinary bodies: 'The Boy Who Gave Birth to His Twin', 'The Woman with Half a Body', 'The Curse of the Mermaid' are amongst the titles -- and the mass-circulation magazines are full of similar stories as well. But it's hardly a new phenomenon. Physical extremes fascinated us back in the twelfth century too, when they were recorded as 'wonder stories' in medieval Ch

The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail, 2nd of 3 [15min]

In this extract from the controversial book recently involved in the court case about The Da Vinci Code, secret documents and dossiers about the events at Rennes-le-Château turn up at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, and reveal the existence of a secret and highly influential society. On Thursday 6th April, Roger Bolton leads a discussion about the ideas in the book, whose thesis, methodology and sources have been questioned. Introduced by Roger Bolton and read by Robert Powell. Abrid

The Reign of Queen Elizabeth II, 1st of 5 -- A Slap in the Face [30min]

As the Queen approaches her 80th birthday, Anthony Howard looks back at key episodes that have marked her reign. The Queen's accession was seen as the dawn of a new Elizabethan age -- with then prime minister Winston Churchill making comparisons with the 'grandeur and genius' of the previous Elizabethan age. But how long would the euphoria last? There were those who saw things differently -- but one man who dared to speak out received a very public slap in the face.

'American Gospel' [5min]

Maureen Corrigan reviews Jon Meacham's American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation, which explores the history of a subject that both obsesses and polarizes Americans: religion. Meacham is the managing editor of Newsweek and author of the bestselling biography Franklin and Winston, about the friendship between Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.

Voice from the Past: Booker T. Washington [2min]

We hear a recording of Booker T. Washington's most famous words. April 5 marks the 150th anniversary of his birth.

Anti-Semitism [1st 13min]

Dan Cohn-Sherbok is a leading authority on Judaism and a Rabbi, but he admits that his new book, The Paradox of Anti-Semitism (Continuum Books), will cause outrage in the Jewish community. This is because he is arguing that anti-Semitism has helped Jewish culture survive and without it, the ancient traditions are doomed to extinction.

Moscow 1941 [12min @12:30]

Few Westerners have heard of the greatest battle of the Second World War, fought on a scale never matched in Western Europe or Africa. In 1941 Russia beat Germany, despite almost a million casualties for Russia. The British Ambassador in Moscow during the fall of the Soviet Union, Rodric Braithwaite, talked to Muscovites about their experience for his book Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War (Profile Books).

The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail, 1st of 3 [15min]

The first of three extracts from the controversial book recently involved in the court case about The Da Vinci Code. In this extract, authors Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln tell the mysterious story of Bérenger Saunières, the curé of Rennes-le-Château. On Thursday 6th April, Roger Bolton leads a discussion about the ideas in the book, whose thesis, methodology and sources have been questioned. Introduced by Roger Bolton and read by Robert Powell. Abridged and Produced by

Remembering the Easter 1916 Rising [13min]

1) Listen to an excerpt from the archives of Helena Maloney of the Irish Citizens' Army, 1916 activist and fighter who was involved in the attack on Dublin Castle, about her role in the Rising. 2) Sinéad McCoole and Margaret McCurtain, historians, talk about the wider role of women in the 1916 Rising. 3) Lieutenant General Jim Sreenan, Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, discusses this Easter's military parade in Dublin to commemorate the Rising, the first such parade since 1970.

Key Dead Sea Scroll Makes U.S. Debut [4min]

For nearly 2,000 years the Dead Sea Scrolls sat undisturbed in tall, earthen jars hidden in a honeycomb of caves in the Judean desert. For the last 50 years, these ancient texts have been preserved in Jerusalem's Israel Museum. Now one of the most important scrolls has left the Middle East and is making its first appearance in the United States, at a museum in Cleveland. The exhibit, which opens April 1 at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, includes many ancient treasures, including bronze and

French Protests Hark Back to Revolutionary Times [4min]

Hugh Schofield reports from Paris on how in the current dispute between over youth job contracts, the public and the French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, can be likened to the Jacobins and Napoleon Bonaparte.