Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

Andrew Marr's guests include the neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris, who argues that science ought to influence human morality rather than religion; the writer Masha Gessen who describes the extraordinary story of the Russian maths genius Grigori Perelman who solved a mathematical problem that had remained inscrutable for a century but refused to take the credit - or the million dollar prize; Adam Rutherford, geneticist and journalist on decoding the genome and being human and the Revd Lucy Winkett of St James's Piccadilly, London on how the religious sensibility can contribute to the 'good society'.

Producer: Elaine Lester.

Tom Sutcliffe talks to Anne Dudley about the new opera, The Doctor's Tale, which with a Monty Python-esque absurdity tells the story of a devoted doctor, who just happens to be a dog. The writer Elif Batuman follows the footsteps of her Russian literary heroes, to see whether their lives and work can influence her own. While the BBC's former Moscow correspondent, Martin Sixsmith takes in a thousand years of Russian history. And David Runciman asks 'Can Democracy Cope?' with what is happening around the world, and looks back to the works of Tocqueville and Nietzsche to help make sense of the state of democracy today. Producer: Katy Hickman.

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.

Andrew Marr with the former UN deputy secretary-general Mark Malloch-Brown, who argues that national governments are no longer equipped to address complex international issues. The Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski describes the "corrupt grandiosity" of the Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi, and explains what is meant by the government's 'principled engagement' with the country. The historian David Gilmour looks back a hundred and fifty years to the unification of Italy, and considers whether it has ever really become a coherent nation-state. And the human rights lawyer, Baroness Helena Kennedy, believes we need to be more judgemental if we are to live an ethical life.

Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr talks to Simon Wessely about the mental health of soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and explores why British personnel appear to have fared so much better than their American counterparts. The historian John Stubbs revels in the antics of the Cavaliers - the 17th century dandies and political intriguers, loyal to the king. The experimental physicist Athene Donald argues that science is as creative as the arts, and describes how studying the texture of yoghurt could help the treatment of dementia. And Simon Sebag Montefiore studies the texture of a city - Jerusalem. His epic 3000 year history is a chronicle of faith and power, diversity and co-existence.

Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr talks to David Attenborough as he goes on the trail of the elephant bird. Fifty years ago he was given pieces of its egg on a visit to Madagascar, now he returns to find out what this giant ostrich-like creature can tell us about the balance between survival and extinction. A journey of a different kind for Sheila Hancock who goes in search of the often over-looked artist of the watercolour. The writer David Shields heralds the death of the realist novel, as he advocates blending fiction and non-fiction in a kind of 'lyric essay', but he does it by plagiarising other authors in a form of 'creative sampling'. And poet Andrew Motion meditates on crossing the borders between fact and fiction.

Producer: Katy Hickman.