Four Thought

The playwright Bola Agbaje on why black women are still under-represented on British TV. "If people don't see people like me, how will they understand me?" she says. "I quit drama school to pursue writing because I wanted to write myself into a script."Producer: Sheila Cook.

In this powerful edition of Four Thought, recorded at the Hay Festival, the writer Matt Haig describes how words helped him live with depression."You have to believe there is a point of there being words, and that they can offer real meaning. Normally this belief is taken for granted, but that is because normally we are taking the world itself for granted. But when your mind crumbles to dust everything you thought you knew suddenly becomes something to question. You have to build reality up again. And the bricks we use to shape our realities are called words." Recorded at the Hay Festival.Producer: Lucy Proctor Editor: Richard Knight.

In the third of four editions from this year's Hay Festival a pregnant Amanda Palmer talks about the prospect of reconciling art and motherhood."And right now, at 24 weeks pregnant, all I can do is look at the female heroes who've preceded me and not descended into crappy boringness, and pray to the holy trinity: Patti Smith. Ani Difranco. Bjork. Hear my prayer: may I not get baby brain."Producer: Lucy Proctor.Image courtesy of Shervin Lainez.

In the second of four editions recorded at the Hay Festival, Caroline Ingraham explains why we should give animals choices. She is the founder of a new approach to animal welfare which gives domestic and captive animals the chance to "self-medicate" as, she says, research shows they would in the wild."Maybe it's time to re-evaluate our relationship with animals, and start perceiving them as active, rather than passive, beings."Producer: Lucy Proctor.

In the first of four editions from this year's Hay Festival, Tim Meek explains why he and his family have left their old life behind them for a year of adventure on the road."We believe that the real measure of modern success is nothing to do with your bank balance or the size of your house, but instead, the amount of free time you have at your disposal."Producer: Lucy Proctor.

Brian Lobel who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 20 says surviving cancer does not mean you have to be heroic. "I thought there must be something for the other 50% or 20% or 90% who would rather watch a box set than run a marathon."Presenter: Mark Coles Producer: Sheila Cook.

Huda Jawad describes reconciling her deeply-held Islamic faith with her feminism, arguing that the Qur'an does not sanction the oppression of women. "I was enraged to hear that Islam was used in the most perverse ways," she says, "to maintain women's vulnerability and persecution and enable the perpetrators, who are usually men, to coerce and control them."Producer: Sheila Cook.

Baraa Shiban - stranded in London by the conflict in Yemen - describes how the revolution driven by young people in his country changed the course of his life and why he believes a revolution is just the beginning. "Whenever a revolution forces a dictator out of power, a counter revolution will always be next. Revolutions should always have post revolution plans. The actual work should start after removing the dictator. It's a long struggle and it's our duty to keep it alive and never give up." Producer: Sheila Cook.

Comedian John Williams finds unexpected joy in his autistic son's view of life, despite the inevitable struggles. "I have learnt far far more about the human condition, and what it truly means to be alive from just being with those with learning diabilities than I have from any eminent teacher or book." Producer: Sheila Cook.

Agata Pyzik, Polish cultural critic and author of "Poor But Sexy", reflects on divisions between Eastern Europe and the West and the prejudice she sees against Eastern European migrants. "I don't want to feel I have to conceal my history in order to pass for somebody worthwhile in English conversation, or to be ashamed that my country was historically poorer or was a part of the Eastern bloc," she says.Producer: Sheila Cook.

Peter Bleksley, a former undercover policeman fighting drugs crime and an ex-drug addict, argues that the only answer in the so-called "war on drugs" is to legalise and license them. "It's about time we had a radical rethink and came up with a plan that would wrestle the control and the enormous profits of this global industry, which is worth hundreds of billions of pounds per year, away from the hands of the bad guys and into the coffers of responsible governments." Producer: Sheila Cook.

Jamie Bartlett finds out that internet trolls can be surprisingly human. The author of "The Dark Net", he says that demonising people behind shocking and hidden online subcultures may not be the best way to deal with them. Greater understanding of the complexity of their motivation could lead us to a more effective response. Without condoning their disturbing and unacceptable behaviour, he tells the stories of his surprising encounters with them. Producer: Sheila Cook.

Amy Golden, who is seriously disabled - she can move only her right arm and cannot speak - shares what life is like through her eyes. In an essay read by actor Rhiannon Neads, she reveals her frustrations, her battle with depression and also the pleasures of being able to watch what other people are up to without being noticed. "I think perhaps they sometimes allow me to pick up on things because they don't realise that there's a thinking, feeling person inside this body," she says. Her talk is a passionate plea to be heard and noticed. "If you want to know what I want to say you have to focus on me," Amy insists. "You can't ignore me, or pretend I'm not here."Producer: Sheila Cook Editor: Richard Knight.

Darren Harris, a double paralympic athlete and mathematics graduate, draws similarities between people and prime numbers: each is indivisible and unique. In the age of big data, he makes the case for a more person-centred approach in public services. And he finds it in an unexpected place, somewhere more usually associated with a 'win at all costs' mentality: elite sport.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Paola Antonelli explores the politics in art and design.The curator of design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Paola uses examples from a recent exhibition to show how curatorial decisions can be extremely political, and to examine the role of museums and curators in stimulating political debate and discussion.The programme is presented by Amanda Stern, from McNally Jackson Books in New York City.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Jeffrey Sachs argues that many of today's global problems are hangovers from bad, ungenerous decisions at the end of previous conflicts.Professor Sachs is one of the world's leading economists, and amongst the many governments he has advised over 30 years were Poland and Russia at the end of the Cold War.In this very personal talk, recorded at McNally Jackson books in New York City, Professor Sachs describes how a stunned Russian Prime Minister, facing economic calamity and desperate for western support, was told instead by western governments that there would be no help forthcoming. And he argues that decisions like this - similar to those taken by the Entente powers at the end of the First World War which sowed the seeds of today's conflicts in the Middle East - are a large part of the explanation of Russian attitudes today, including in Ukraine.The presenter is Amanda Stern.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Professor Christina Greer asks what it means to be black in America today.Speaking at McNally Jackson Books in New York City, Professor Greer describes herself as a 'JB' - 'just black' - a black American without a hyphenation. She argues that many new black immigrants into the United States are increasingly keen to avoid that designation, choosing instead to retain their accents, their citizenship or their separate identity.She argues that this is caused by the poor status of black people in the United States, and asks whether it presages an historic change in what American immigration has meant: a nation where new immigrants do all they can to integrate, not to remain separate.The presenter is Amanda Stern.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of the seminal memoir book Prozac Nation, revisits the process of writing the book. And on the twentieth anniversary of its publication, she explores the relationship between writing and the need to pay the bills.Speaking in front of an audience at McNally Jackson Books in New York City, Elizabeth argues that people have lost their minds trying to write great literature. Instead, she says, "If your whole thing is 'I can't starve', you'd be stunned with what you come up with. You'll be thinking of what you need, not what you want. You'll definitely come up with the next right thing."The host is Amanda Stern.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Is it time to radically re-think pet ownership? In this highly challenging and thought provoking Four Thought the writer Esther Woolfson argues that a lifetime spent sharing her home with a variety of birds and animals - rook, magpie, crow, starling, canaries, parrots, rats and rabbits - has led her to understand just how little we really know about the capacities and feelings of other beings. Pushing us to consider why we own pets in the first place Esther's talk promises to have you looking at Rover, Ginger, Fluffy or Socks in a whole new light.

Author, poet and translator, Kenneth Steven, draws on the magical experience of a long dreamed for trip to Greenland to consider the dangers of cruise ship tourism. While Kenneth understands the desire of tourists to experience the extraordinary landscape and culture of the Arctic, after all he has a long held personal passion for northern places and people himself, he worries the arrival of the cruise ships does more damage than good to the fragile Inuit communities. Might there not be a better way to experience these vulnerable indigenous communities, sustaining their history, traditions and culture than through mass tourism which might change it beyond all recognition?