Past Programs
Human Rights - 2008
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Alexander Solzhenitsyn revisited
10/08/2008
Alexander Solzhenitsyn has died at the age of 89. His work is testament to the power of the written word to change the world. We revisit a powerful program on Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, first broadcast in 2007. Master interviewer Terry Lane interrogates a great work of art, and the uncompromising life of its creator.
Reith Lectures 2008 - Chinese Vistas
06/07/2008
We hear much analysis about China as an emerging economic entity. But can history provide a more reliable insight into this rapidly modernising giant? This year's Reith Lectures bring to the fore one of the world's foremost authorities on Chinese history. Professor Jonathan Spence, Sterling Professor of History at Yale University, presents a long view in four parts. In this first lecture Professor Spence reflects on Confucius, and his importance for the current Communist leadership.
Massey Lectures 2007: The City of Words, Lecture 5,The Screen of Hal
27/04/2008
In his final lecture, Alberto Manguel examines an unfinished novel by Jack London. In The Assassination Bureau, a shady organisation believes it can purify society by killing off 'undesirables'. Manguel compares London's dark creation with our world of interconnected multinational corporations who, he says, hide behind a screen of countless anonymous shareholders, threatening the planet and our very humanity.
For copyright reasons this series is not available as a podcast
The 2008 Manning Clark Lecture: Julian Burnside QC
23/03/2008
It is a lecture that packs some punch. And this year is no different. The ninth Manning Clark lecturer is controversial barrister and human rights advocate Julian Burnside QC. His running battle with the previous government was played out in our newspapers and broadcast media. In this lecture Burnside returns to those points of contention, which include anti-terror laws, children in detention, and compensation for the stolen generations. Hear a forthright case for the rule of law, not the rule of men.
