Picks For You - Sharif

From a very early age I loved the countryside as much as any garden and was fascinated by the life that I saw all around me from trees, wildflowers, birds, insects and mammals. In a sense this book has been over sixty years in gestation. I have kept notebooks and journals ever since I could write and I have drawn upon these as well as the events of the past year.

A year at home in the country with Monty Don - the UK's favourite gardener, dog owner, writer and broadcaster - on a personal journey through the natural year, season by season, month by month.

My Garden World by Monty Don is a celebration of every living creature that we all share. This year has given us the enforced opportunity to learn more about the fascinating natural world around us. Whether you live in the countryside or the town, Monty's observations and insights are relevant to each and every one of us. My Garden World is Monty Don's personal journey through the natural year, month by month, season by season, observed from the immediate world around him. 

Wildlife is not something that we watch happening in remote and exotic parts of the world on our screens, but right here in our own back yards and the more that we encourage it and learn to live with it, the more rewarding it becomes. If, in our own modest back yards, we can help preserve and treasure our natural world then we will make the world a better place - not just for ourselves but for every living creature.

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MY GARDEN WORLD by Monty Don, read by Monty Don - audiobook extract

In his fifth and final Reith Lecture, the Nobel Laureate, playwright, poet and political activist Wole Soyinka examines the causes and impact of fanaticism.

When Osama Bin Laden declares that the world is divided between believers and non-believers, it is easy to identify the menace of the fanatical mind but, in what other company can we place George Bush when we hear him declare that 'you are either with us or you are on the side of the terrorists'? We fail at our peril to recognize a twin strain of the same fanatic spore that threatens to consume the world in its messianic fires. What could be the role of the 'invisible' religions and world views in tempering the forces that seek to dichotomise the world?May 05, 200401:00:00

I am Right; You are Dead

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Roberto Azevêdo, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, an institution dedicated to banning protectionism and freeing up global trade. But maybe the WTO is out of step with the spirit of the age. From Donald Trump’s protectionist messages to the Brexit vote in Britain. There seems to be a backlash against economic globalisation. So, is the WTO swimming against a powerful tide? Published on November 4, 2016.

Roberto Azevêdo, Director General of the WTO

Surgeon and writer Atul Gawande explores the nature of fallibility and suggests that preventing avoidable mistakes is a key challenge for the future of medicine.

Through the story of a life-threatening condition which affected his own baby son, Dr. Gawande suggests that the medical profession needs to understand how best to deploy the enormous arsenal of knowledge which it has acquired. And his challenge for global health is to address the inequalities in access to resources and expertise both within and between countries.

This first of four lectures was recorded before an audience at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dr. Gawande's home town of Boston in Massachusetts. The other lectures are recorded in London, Edinburgh and Delhi.

The series is introduced and chaired by Sue Lawley. The producer is Jim Frank. Published on November 4, 2014.

Why Do Doctors Fail?

Surgeon and writer Atul Gawande calls for a new approach to the two great unfixable problems in life and healthcare - ageing and death. He tells the story of how his daughter's piano teacher faced up to terminal cancer and the crucial choices she made about how to spend her final days. He says the teacher was only able to do this because of an essential honesty from her physicians and the people around her. Dr. Gawande argues that the common reluctance of society and medical institutions to recognise the limits of what professionals can do can end up increasing the suffering of patients towards the end of life. He proposes that both doctors and individuals ask a series of simple but penetrating questions to decide what kind of treatment is appropriate - or whether treatment is appropriate at all. And he praises the values of the hospice movement, in putting quality of life before prolonging life.


The programme was recorded at The Royal Society in Edinburgh in front of an audience.

The Reith Lectures are introduced and chaired by Sue Lawley and produced by Jim Frank. Published on December 9, 2014.

The Problem of Hubris

Hardtalk interviews the world's leading politicians, thinkers and cultural figures. In an in-depth, hard-hitting, half-hour discussion, Stephen Sackur talks to some of the most prominent people from around the world. Broadcast on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Roberto Azevêdo, Director General of the WTO

WSHardtalk