Start the Week - 16/05/2011

Andrew Marr talks to Francis Fukuyama about the development of political institutions from the early tribal societies to the growth of the modern state. Pakistan has often been referred to as a 'failed state', but Anatol Lieven argues that despite its reputation it has the makings of a modern, viable and coherent country. The author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid, explores what it means to be middle class in Pakistan, and Tahmima Anam looks back to Bangladesh's fight for Independence, and the relationship between religion and politics in the country of her birth.

Producer: Katy Hickman.

Motley Fool Money - Motley Fool Money: 05.13.2011

Microsoft bets big on Skype. Disney loses big on Mars. Big oil gets grilled over big tax breaks. Google unveils the Chromebook. And Facebook deals with a public relations fiasco. Plus, New York Times writer Diana Henriques, author of The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust, discusses how Bernie Madoff pulled off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.

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Start the Week - 09/05/2011

Andrew Marr talks to the MP Denis MacShane about the political situation in France. It's 30 years since the election of the country's first socialist president, Francois Mitterrand. The People's Pledge is campaigning for a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU, and its founder Ruth Lea argues that it's time to disregard the wishes of Brussels. The Turkish artist Kutlug Ataman explores the spirit of Mesopotamia in his latest works, where his films of water defy national boundaries. And the so-called 'godfather' of the Young British Artists, Michael Craig-Martin, showcases the art of drawing, from his original sketches using tape forty years ago, to the computer-generated drawings of today. Producer: Katy Hickman.