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 is 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.

We begin tonight's program with a plea and an anguished question.

Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Is that the deal? Yeah, well, it's worthless.

It's worthless. What's the point of earning it?

Saving it to be humiliated like this? Well, that's it, they don't have any more cards to play.

There's nothing more I can do.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land.

If that's okay with everybody else,

blessed are the piss takers.

Blessed are those that hunger and thirst.

For they shall have their fill.

I hunger, I thirst.

Chouytel Ejifor, in the 15th century play Everyman,

and it opened to Ninth the National Theatre in a new version by Carolan Duffy.

Now you may think that every man sounds hounded enough as it is in the sequence we've just played you, but I'm now joined by a novelist, a theologian, and a historian who'll pursue

him down the corridors of history, all the way from the medieval morality play to Arthur Miller's

Willie Loman, and to the every man and every woman, who's the apple of the advertisers' eye

and the target of many

a politician. That's soon. We'll also hear Clive James read a new poem and talk to the New York-based

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