Digging for Words
In 1773, Phillis Wheatley became the first African American to publish a collection of poems. Jade Cuttle looks at the way her poems were de...
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The Essay
Leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, themed across a week - insight, opinion and intellectual surprise
The Essay Podcast Guide
Listen to The Essay, a Society & Culture podcast by BBC. Stream 1,128 episodes in English, follow new audio stories, and play episodes online on Radio and Podcast.
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Episodes
20 of 1,128 episodesWorkplace performance
What connects actors with baristas? In 1983, the American sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild published a book called The Managed Heart whi...
The crime of creation
The Japanese philosopher Yujin Nagasawa says the majority of people are what he calls ‘existential optimists’. What does this mean for ideas...
Mothers on trial
Having worked as a criminal and family barrister, Shona Minson has seen the effect on women and their children when a mother is sentenced to...
Land Cinema
If cinema is often associated with Hollywood or the European New Wave, since the 1970s activist-filmmakers around the world have been involv...
The intimacy of radio
The would-be composer and philosopher Theodor Adorno played classical piano and came up with influential studies of authoritarianism, antise...
Birth Stories
How have the first hours and days after childbirth changed in the NHS? Before the NHS, a 1932 publication describing mothers resting after l...
Losing Yourself in Books
What do we get from a good book? With a greater diversity of stories on offer from publishers and as exam set texts, Janine Bradbury looks a...
A Philosophical Forgery?
In 1852, a book of philosophical enquiry was discovered in Ethiopia. But what if the Hatata Zera Yacob is a forgery? Does it matter, if the...
Technicolor Wars
From The Wizard of Oz to Madame Mao, Kirsty Sinclair Dootson’s essay explores the politics of making films in colour - specifically Technico...
Poems of Love and Ageing
Irish poet Michael Longley, who died on 22nd January 2025, was described by Seamus Heaney as 'a keeper of the artistic estate, a custodian o...
Poems of Mayo
The Irish poet Michael Longley, who died on 22nd January 2025, was described by Seamus Heaney as 'a keeper of the artistic estate, a custodi...
Poems of the Troubles
The Irish poet Michael Longley, who died on 22nd January 2025, was described by Seamus Heaney as 'a keeper of the artistic estate, a custodi...
Poems of World War 1
The Irish poet Michael Longley, who died on 22nd January 2025, was described by Seamus Heaney as 'a keeper of the artistic estate, a custodi...
The Early Years
The poet Michael Longley, who died on 22nd January 2025 at the age of 85, was described by Seamus Heaney as 'a keeper of the artistic estate...
Indonesia's Tin Pan Alley - Tihingan in Bali
'Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instrumen...
Spain's Tin Pan Alley - Centro, Madrid
The journalist Guy Hedgecoe, who covers Spain for the BBC, visits Felipe Conde's shop and workshop in Centro, Madrid. Conde is the fourth ge...
Japan's Tin Pan Alley - Ochanomizu in Tokyo
Ochanomizu means 'tea water' because of its proximity to the Kanda River, which in the Edo period provided water for the Shogun's tea. Now i...
Türkiye's Tin Pan Alley - Galip Dede Street in Istanbul
Galip Dede Street in Istanbul used to be famous for its antique, philatelic and book shops. But over the past 30 years more and more music s...
China's Tin Pan Alley - Xinjiekou Street in Beijing
The original Tin Pan Alley was in Fifth and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, New York, where music publishers set up shop in the late 19th century...
Questions About The Essay
Where can I listen to The Essay episodes?
You can listen to The Essay episodes online on Radio and Podcast. Open an episode and the site player will stream the available audio.
What is The Essay about?
The Essay is listed as a Society & Culture show. The show language is listed as English.
How many The Essay episodes are listed?
This page lists 1,128 episodes for The Essay. More episodes are available from the View more button when the list continues.
Quick Answers About The Essay
Where can I listen to The Essay?
You can listen to The Essay episodes on this page by opening an episode and using the site player.
What type of podcast is The Essay?
The Essay is listed as a Society & Culture show by BBC.
How many episodes are available?
This page lists 1,128 episodes for The Essay where feed data is available.