Author: BBC Radio 4

Andrew Marr talks to the Catholic Archbishop Vincent Nichols about how far his faith's social teachings chime with the Big Society, but also what impact the government's cuts might have on the work of Catholic charities. The writer Michael Collins charts the rise and fall of the council estate, and what role social housing will have in the future. Lisa Appignanesi gets to grips with the most untidy of emotions: love. And the neuroscientist, David Eagleman exposes the workings of the non-conscious brain, and questions whether scientists should wade into the debate over what is fair punishment. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr talks to Niall Ferguson about the history of civilisation, and how the West came to triumph over what appeared to be superior empires in the East, and whether that ascendancy is in permanent decline. While the economist George Magnus questions whether emerging markets, like China, really are about to dominate the world. The Queen will celebrate her Diamond Jubilee next year, and the commentator Peter Whittle presents a robust defence of the monarchy as one of Britain's leading institutions. And as revolution and change sweep across the Middle East, Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed looks at the impact on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr talks to Pamela Yates about filming the mass killing of Guatemala's indigenous population during the 1980s, and how thirty years later her footage has become the evidence in a genocide case against a military dictator. And from the countryside of South America to the vast landscape of the Arctic: in Melanie McGrath's latest book, White Heat, nothing rots on the tundra, and all bones and memories are left exposed. The light and sea of Margate inspired Turner, and the Director of the Turner Contemporary gallery, Victoria Pomery, aims to put the Isle of Thanet on the artistic map. And a chest carved with wave forms is the centre piece of a show celebrating 50 years of design by the furniture maker, John Makepeace.

Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr with the physicists Brian Greene and Brian Cox explores the universe in all its wonder. And he attempts to understand our relation to parallel universes, which can be separated from us by enormous stretches of time and space, or hover just millimetres away. The science writer, Angela Saini, looks at why India is so successful in producing the next generation of doctors and scientists, in her book, Geek Nation.

Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr talks to the human rights lawyer, Peter Harris, who represented the ANC when apartheid in South Africa was at its height. He discusses how the law was always seen to be done, even when justice was denied. Richard Susskind wants to revolutionise the justice system: as the new President of the Society for Computers and Law he sees technology as the answer to today's problems. Australia has been the recent victim of natural disasters - floods, storms and wild fires - and the country's leading conservationist, Tim Flannery, puts forward his views on the future of the planet. And as the longest running study of elephants in the wild turns 40, Phyllis Lee, explains what they've learnt about, what John Donne called, "Nature's great masterpiece". Producer: Katy Hickman.