Weapons, Real and Symbolic
2026-05-01
How do weapons exert real and symbolic power, both now and in history?
Joining Matthew Sweet for Radio 4's roundtable discussion programme about ideas are:
The former soldier and politician Tobias Ellwood
The sculptor Hew Locke, whose artworks exploring colonial power have featured weaponry
The Renaissance historian Catherine Fletcher, whose latest book is The Firearm Revolution: From Renaissance Italy to the European Empires
The historian and broadcaster Mark Urban, whose books include Tank and Rifles
and
Hailey Austin, Lecturer in Visual Media and Culture at Abertay University who researches comics and videogames.
Producer: Eliane Glaser
Free Thinking
BBC Radio 4- No. of episodes
- 1,529
- Latest episode
- 2026-10-23
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Leading thinkers discuss the ideas shaping our lives - looking back at the news and making links between past and present. Fridays at 9pm on BBC Radio 4. Presented by Matthew Sweet, Shahidha Bari and Anne McElvoy.