Start the Week - The power of poetry

Rowan Williams celebrates The Book of Taliesin – legendary Welsh poems of enchantment and warfare. The former Archbishop of Canterbury tells Andrew Marr how the collection of poems speak of a lost world of folklore and mythology, and the figure of Taliesin is an elusive and exuberant creative poetic fiction.

Martin Sixsmith tells the extraordinary story of the Russian poet Sergei Yesenin at the turn of the 20th century. Yesenin lived through the most turbulent times in Russian history, and during an age when poets were stars, and millions could recite his works by heart.

The poet Jay Bernard has found inspiration in exploring the black British archive, and the enquiry into the New Cross Fire in 1981 which killed thirteen young people. The poems shine a light on an unacknowledged chapter in British history, and find resonance with the horror of the Grenfell tower fire two years ago.

The poet, writer and teacher, Kate Clanchy has seen first-hand poetry’s unique ability to unleash young voices. At the multicultural school in Oxford where she teaches, students speak 30 languages and poetry has become a vital part of bringing pupils together, giving them pride in their work and allowing them to express the reality of their lives.

Producer: Katy Hickman

Image of Jay Bernard, taken by Joshua Virasami

More or Less: Behind the Stats - Questioning the Chernobyl disaster death count

The recent TV miniseries ?Chernobyl? has stirred up debate online about the accuracy of its portrayal of the explosion at a nuclear power plant in the former Soviet state of Ukraine. We fact-check the programme and try and explain why it so hard to say how many people will die because of the Chernobyl disaster.

Image: Chernobyl nuclear power plant a few weeks after the disaster. Credit: Getty Images

Start the Week - Money – in your pocket and in the bank

Andrew Marr discusses money, from central banks to personal finances. The historian John Guy looks back to the emergence of London as the financial centre of the world. His latest biography focuses on the life and world of Sir Thomas Gresham, Elizabeth I’s banker – a flawed and ambitious man who dabbled in blackmail, fraud and adultery and left his widow saddled with debt.

Few of today’s central bankers could match Gresham’s tumultuous private life, but they do wield enormous power in the markets. Paul Tucker spent more than 30 years as a central banker and regulator at the Bank of England and sounds a warning against increasing the authority of technocrats.

Miatta Fahnbulleh is the Chief Executive of the radical economics think-tank, NEF, which aims to build a new economy from the bottom up and put more power in the hands of the people. She looks at the role central banks have to play in a Green New Deal and the impact of debt on the country and its citizens.

While government debt makes the headlines, personal debt is now at a record high, and could derail future confidence in the market. The behavioural economist Alice Tapper offers a guide to personal finances and argues for more openness when it comes to talking about what we earn and what we spend.

Producer: Katy Hickman

Start the Week - Money – in your pocket and in the bank

Andrew Marr discusses money, from central banks to personal finances. The historian John Guy looks back to the emergence of London as the financial centre of the world. His latest biography focuses on the life and world of Sir Thomas Gresham, Elizabeth I’s banker – a flawed and ambitious man who dabbled in blackmail, fraud and adultery and left his widow saddled with debt.

Few of today’s central bankers could match Gresham’s tumultuous private life, but they do wield enormous power in the markets. Paul Tucker spent more than 30 years as a central banker and regulator at the Bank of England and sounds a warning against increasing the authority of technocrats.

Miatta Fahnbulleh is the Chief Executive of the radical economics think-tank, NEF, which aims to build a new economy from the bottom up and put more power in the hands of the people. She looks at the role central banks have to play in a Green New Deal and the impact of debt on the country and its citizens.

While government debt makes the headlines, personal debt is now at a record high, and could derail future confidence in the market. The behavioural economist Alice Tapper offers a guide to personal finances and argues for more openness when it comes to talking about what we earn and what we spend.

Producer: Katy Hickman

Start the Week - Beyond the headlines

Diego Maradona was a footballer of unrivalled talent, but off the pitch his story is one of despair and betrayal. Chris King, the editor of a feature documentary on the player, tells Kirsty Wark that the film reveals the life of this flawed icon through his own words and personal archive.

Hussein Kesvani also aims to tell a story that goes beyond the usual headlines, exploring the unexpected online worlds of British Muslims. He reveals a new generation of young media-savvy Muslims creating their own diverse cultural identities online.

More secrets are unveiled in Shahidha Bari’s book, Dressed, which looks at the hidden power of clothes in our culture and daily lives. She explores the link between what we wear and who we are.

The latest exhibition at the British Museum offers visitors the chance to enter a graphic world where art and storytelling collide in its display of Japanese manga. The curator Nicole Rousmaniere argues that manga has long been a way to tell the stories of those whose history is not recorded.

Correction: the programme wrongly states that Adolf Eichmann’s trial took place at Nuremberg. He was tried in Jerusalem in 1961.

Producer: Katy Hickman

Start the Week - Beyond the headlines

Diego Maradona was a footballer of unrivalled talent, but off the pitch his story is one of despair and betrayal. Chris King, the editor of a feature documentary on the player, tells Kirsty Wark that the film reveals the life of this flawed icon through his own words and personal archive.

Hussein Kesvani also aims to tell a story that goes beyond the usual headlines, exploring the unexpected online worlds of British Muslims. He reveals a new generation of young media-savvy Muslims creating their own diverse cultural identities online.

More secrets are unveiled in Shahidha Bari’s book, Dressed, which looks at the hidden power of clothes in our culture and daily lives. She explores the link between what we wear and who we are.

The latest exhibition at the British Museum offers visitors the chance to enter a graphic world where art and storytelling collide in its display of Japanese manga. The curator Nicole Rousmaniere argues that manga has long been a way to tell the stories of those whose history is not recorded.

Correction: the programme wrongly states that Adolf Eichmann’s trial took place at Nuremberg. He was tried in Jerusalem in 1961.

Producer: Katy Hickman