Free Thinking: Caravaggio; Bob Dylan; Dario Fo; Lenin's train journey.
Arts & Ideas
BBC
4.2 • 598 Ratings
🗓️ 13 October 2016
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The award of this year's Nobel Prize in Literature to Bob Dylan is discussed by writer Toby Litt and by Anthony Wall, the Editor of BBC TV's Arena series who co-produced the Martin Scorsese documentary about Dylan: No Direction Home and who has made several other films with and about Dylan.
As the death of Italian playwright and activist Dario Fo is announced, David Greig Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh is joined by playwright Anders Lustgarten to reflect on Dario Fo's plays.
Caravaggio's art explored by curator Letizia Treves, New Generation Thinker Joe Moshenska and playwright Anders Lustgarten.
Plus, historian and Russologist Catherine Merridale on her latest book about Lenin's journey from exile in Zurich back to Russia on the eve of the 1917 Revolution. Anne McElvoy presents.
Beyond Caravaggio runs at The National Gallery 12 Oct 2016 To 15 Jan 2017.
Anders Lustgarten's play The Seven Acts of Mercy is at the Royal Shakespeare Company from November 24th to February 10th
Joe Moshenska is the author of A Stain In The Blood and teaches at Cambridge University. He is on the New Generation Thinkers scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to find academics who can turn their research into radio.
Mexican writer Álvaro Enrigue's novel is called Sudden Death. It's translated by Natasha Wimmer. You can find more about fiction in translation in a collection on our website http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p047v6vh
Catherine's Merridale's account of Lenin's journey from Zurich to Petrograd is Lenin On The Train.
Producer: Luke Mulhall
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome back to the home of the oxymoron. Evil genius. He asked the newspaper to print his obituary early so he'd enjoy it. That's like hiding at your own funeral. Yeah, a big, great gig. I'm Russell Kane. Join me to weigh in on whether the biggest players in history are more evil or genius. Becoming that rich, I'd say that is some level of genius. It also helps that it's a long time ago, right? |
| 0:23.3 | It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream van plays music when it's out of ice cream. |
| 0:28.8 | Listen to evil genius on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:32.0 | Hello and welcome to the arts and ideas download from the free thinking team at the BBC. |
| 0:38.5 | Hello and on free thinking tonight, how to import a revolution put Lenin on the train. |
| 0:44.5 | We'll explore how Germany sending the chief Bolshevik back to Russia seemed like a good idea. |
| 0:49.8 | We'll also reflect on the life and artistic influence of the painter Caravaggio and how he's inspired a new drama. |
| 0:56.6 | And we'll look at the impact of both the Italian playwright and activist Dario Fou |
| 1:00.5 | whose death at the age of 90 was announced today |
| 1:03.3 | and the lyrics of Bob Dylan, just named as the 2016 Nobel Laureate in Literature. |
| 1:09.5 | So let's begin by listening to those lyrics. |
| 1:13.7 | How many roads must a man walk down |
| 1:18.3 | before you call him a man. |
| 1:24.5 | How many seas must the white dove sail |
| 1:28.8 | before she sleeps in the sand |
| 1:33.1 | How does it feel? |
| 1:38.4 | Ah, how does it feel |
| 1:40.9 | Behind your own |
| 1:45.8 | with no direction |
| 1:49.8 | hold |
| 1:51.1 | like a complete unknown |
| 1:55.7 | like a road |
... |
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