Zimbabwe?s budget provided a fascinating insight into the country?s economy last week. Ben Carter looks at what the numbers mean for the future prosperity of Zimbabwe and the challenges the nation faces. The programme hears from David Blair, Chief Foreign Correspondent at The Daily Telegraph, Julian Rademeyer, director of fact checking website Africa Check and Russell Lamberti, author of When Money Destroys Nations.This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.
Start the Week - Evolution and Extinction
Tom Sutcliffe discusses evolution and extinction with Jules Pretty, who's been travelling to meet "enduring people in vanishing lands" and is concerned about their future; with Andreas Wagner on solving what he calls evolution's greatest puzzle - how can random mutations over a mere 3.8 billion years solely be responsible for eyeballs; poet Ruth Padel on what we can learn from animals and Chris Stringer who's been looking at ancient human occupation of Britain and how homo sapiens may have driven other humans to extinction.
Start the Week - Evolution and Extinction
Tom Sutcliffe discusses evolution and extinction with Jules Pretty, who's been travelling to meet "enduring people in vanishing lands" and is concerned about their future; with Andreas Wagner on solving what he calls evolution's greatest puzzle - how can random mutations over a mere 3.8 billion years solely be responsible for eyeballs; poet Ruth Padel on what we can learn from animals and Chris Stringer who's been looking at ancient human occupation of Britain and how homo sapiens may have driven other humans to extinction.
More or Less: Behind the Stats - Teenage Pregnancy
"About one-third of American girls become pregnant as teenagers? a recent article claimed. More or Less asks if this is true and looks at the long-term pregnancy trends in developed countries. Plus: Does 55% of communication really come from body language and gestures, 38% from facial expression and only 7% from words? This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.
Start the Week - Science Fiction
Tom Sutcliffe explores our relationship with computer technology and the interplay of alien and familiar in science fiction. Tom's joined in the studio by writer William Gibson, novelist Michel Faber, LSE Professor Judy Wajcman and historian Dominic Sandbrook. How have computer technologies transformed our sense of outer space, cyber space and our own inner space?
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
More or Less: Behind the Stats - WS MoreOrLess: Caps off to Rooney
England captain Wayne Rooney made his 100th appearance last weekend but former England star Chris Waddle claims that it?s easier to win caps now than it was in previous generations. Wesley Stephenson asks whether Waddle is right and how many caps would greats like Bobby Moore, Maradona and Pele have won if they?d played in today?s era. Plus the programme hears from Professor Carlos Vilalta from the University of California San Diego and Steven Dudley from Insight Crime about claims that ?98% of homicides in Mexico are unsolved.? An amazing statistic but is it true? This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.
Start the Week - Self-Portrayal
Self-portraits rarely fail to compel, but to what extent are they a true form of self-examination? James Hall maps the history of self-portraiture, from the earliest myths of Narcissus to the prolific self-image-making of contemporary artists. Rembrandt's self-portraits are the highlight of a major exhibition of the artist's work at The National Gallery. Its curator Betsy Wieseman discusses what these paintings can tell us about the artist. Poetry and memoir are the tools of John Burnside's self-exploration. A previous TS Eliot prize winner, he discusses his latest collection 'All One Breath' for which he has been nominated again this year. The musician Richard Tognetti argues that 'the self' can still shine through in interpretations of great classical works.
Producer: Fiona Woods.
More or Less: Behind the Stats - WS MoreOrLess: Pregnancy and Homicide
The movie Gone Girl claims homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant women. Ruth Alexander asks Dr Katherine Gold from the University of Michigan if this is true. And can we trust country rankings seen in the growing number of performance indices? We speak to the Economist?s international editor Helen Joyce. This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.
Start the Week - A Good Death
Do we value longevity more than quality of life, towards our final years? That's the discussion Andrew Marr's having with surgeon Atul Gawande, who's giving this year's Reith Lectures. Joining them in the studio are the legendary editor, novelist and memoirist Diana Athill, who has recently written about her attitude to death and the process of dying; Professor Deborah Bowman who advises on the ethics of medical care, including whether to prolong life when death is imminent; and Dr Carl Watkins, who has examined the idea of "a good death" from Medieval times until now.
Atul Gawande's Reith lectures start on Radio 4 on Tuesday 25th November at 9am and are also broadcast on BBC World Service.
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
More or Less: Behind the Stats - Tracking and Tackling Ebola
Hans Rosling, global health expert and data visionary, has just arrived in Liberia. He is working as an independent professor at the Health ministry there, as part of the team tracking and tackling Ebola. We talk to him about the latest numbers surrounding the virus. This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.