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, it's 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 at some level of genius. It also helps

that it's a long time ago, right? It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream

van plays music when it's out of ice cream. Listen to evil genius on BBC sounds.

This is a download from the BBC. For more information and our terms of use, go to BBC.co.uk slash radio three.

Tonight we're talking about variations on the theme of charm.

Now, in Oscar Wales, the picture of Dorian Gray, an actress calls her hero Prince Charming,

but later he abandons her and she kills herself.

This is a reminder that even if we'd all like to be charming or even to be charmed, charm itself can be lethal. But even if it may be, it's still something devoutly to be wished for,

whether by politicians or business leaders or sexual adventurers.

And literature itself is often charmed by charm.

Think the silver-tongued barone in Shakespeare's love labour's lost,

or Henry Crawford in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park,

or Herman Melville's The Confidence Man.

And then, of course, there's the music of enchanted evenings.

Music There's the music of enchanted evenings. The charm of you is comparable to a Christmas tree with toys.

I put a spell on you.

Because you might Luigi Buccorini, Frank Sinatra and Nina Simone.

Now, free thinking this evening looks calmly at charm.

As we come live from London, South Bank Centre,

Wed Radio 3's in residence for a fortnight,

we'll be asking just what is about charm that makes it so valuable in the contemporary world,

and being free thinking will also let a width of history into discussion.

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