Four Thought

Jelena Sofronijevic tells a story of Serbia, Yugoslavia - and Telford.In this talk Jelena explores questions of diasporic identity through her family's connection with Yugoslavia, a country which no longer exists. On a visit to Serbia, she discovers that her upbringing in Telford had been more traditionally ‘Serbian’ than that of her Belgrade and Novi Sad relatives. And she finds herself, despite being born after Yugoslavia ceased to exist, drawn to its blended nationalism; her lived experiences traversing harsh borders. And she likens Yugoslavia, a country born of republics, to her home town of Telford, itself a collection of small, independent towns. Producers: Giles Edwards and Peter Snowdon.

Claire Lynch describes how she navigated motherhood.When Claire arrived at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit shortly after the birth of her daughters, the nurse on duty looked alarmed, then flustered, and finally realised, in Claire's words, 'that I have not risen, Lazarus-like, from an epidural, but might just be another kind of mother all together.' This is how Claire begins her beautiful meditation on what it means to be a mother - reflecting on her experiences trying to get pregnant, of what she has experienced of motherhood, and what she has not.Producers: Giles Edwards and Peter Snowdon

Sam Gallivan examines the similarities between surgery and sculpture.Sam is an orthopaedic surgeon, and in this talk takes us into the operating theatre to experience how it sounds, and how it feels. And it's the sense of feeling - of drilling into a bone or cutting through a ligament - where she finds unexpected similarities between surgery and sculpture. What, she asks, can each learn from the other? And how might this sense of surgery as a craft challenge the dominant way of seeing the medical world? After all, she reasons, 'to accept surgery as a craft is to accept that there are unexpected ways of knowing in medicine that we might not be able to pin down in numbers or statistics.'Producers: Giles Edwards and Peter Snowdon.

Lois Pryce argues that bicycles need to be reclaimed as simply a mundane means of transport - and cycling needs to be uncool again.As a passionate advocate of two-wheeled transport, whether it's powered by an engine or her own legs, Lois is tired of disapproving looks. And she thinks that in the case of bicycles, it's partly because cycling has turned into an identity. She wants to revert to the time it was just a way of getting around.Producer: Peter Snowdon.

Reggie Nelson believes in the importance for young people of finding a mentor and tells the extraordinary story of how he found his own. Presenter: Olly Mann Producer: Sheila Cook

Caoilinn Hughes discovers the power of embracing uncertainty instead of always fearing it. In her work as a writer and in life, she commends a little more leaping into the unknown.Presenter: Olly Mann Producer: Sheila Cook

Carl Honoré believes we're all missing out by stereotyping older people as "over the hill". He argues for recognition of the positive sides of ageing, and thinks everyone would benefit from more inter-generational mixing. "Spending time with people of different ages makes us happier – and less ageist. After all, nothing shoots down stereotypes more than getting to know the people being stereotyped."Presenter: Olly Mann Producer: Sheila Cookwww.carlhonore.info

Mahamed Hashi draws on his experience as a teacher, youth worker, councillor and victim of a stabbing and shooting to speak out against racist stereotyping. He explains why he thinks community outreach is a two way process: meeting people's needs but also listening to what they have to say, especially young people. Positive engagement with the police and representative bodies is the way, he believes, to change racist culture and a discriminatory status quo. Presenter: Olly Mann Producer: Sheila CookMahamed Hashi: Twitter @drnbyp and Instagram @hashiwho

Nwando Ebizie describes the world she senses: one of glowing lines and shapes; whizzing, fizzing dots; and auras around people, trees and stars. Nwando's experiences with a condition called 'Visual Snow' have been an important impetus to her work as an artist. Other people's reactions, when Nwando describes them, have been another. In her art, and in this beautiful talk, Nwando tries to bring others into her world, a world which she describes as a denial of absolutes, and one in which everyone understands that their own sensory experiences are unique.Presenter: Olly Mann Producer: Giles Edwards

Sammy Wright asks why we put such weight on exam results.Sammy is a deputy headteacher of a large secondary school. He spends his days teaching students knowledge which will uplift and enrich them; he demands rigour and high standards; and he wants to help his students succeed in their exams. But why, he asks in this talk, do we elide success in exams with some moral quality? And why do we put such weight on the exam results? In this powerful talk, Sammy suggests that much of it has to do with a certain set of expectations from those in charge.Presenter: Olly Mann. Producer: Giles Edwards.

Ali Goldsworthy explains why campaigns which succeed by polarising people can cause long-term harm, and suggests ways we might tackle the resulting damage.Ali was a top digital campaigner, working with charities, campaigns and political parties to mobilise hundreds of thousands of people to take action on behalf of causes. But in this honest and introspective talk she reveals how her doubts about some of the techniques she was using eventually suggested a dramatic change of direction. Ali now heads up the Depolarization Project, seeking to create space for people to change their minds.Presenter: Olly Mann Producer: Giles Edwards

Emma Hayes explains why the fit of our clothes matters, particularly for women. Inviting us to join her journey from fitting rooms to advising on the latest innovations in technology, Emma describes the many failures of size to capture a woman's body. And with many more of us now buying clothes online, and unable to find out before buying it whether a garment which appears to be the right size actually fits, the problem is getting worse. The costs, as she explains, can be serious for the individual, for the business, and for the environment.Producer: Giles Edwards

Alice Moloney discusses how best to express negative emotions in the digital realm.When Alice's father was diagnosed with cancer, she found herself at a loss as to how to communicate with him digitally. One solution was sending more personal objects. But Alice works in digital communication, and in this talk at the Shambala Festival she describes her journey to improve the tools available to communicate grief and sadness.Producer: Giles Edwards

Andrew Hankinson tells the story of a boy who died, and his parents, who wanted him alive.Recorded at the Shambala Festival in 2019, this is also an extraordinary story about Andrew's quest to understand the family's story, his feelings of discomfort, and his reasons for wanting to tell it in the first place.Producer: Giles Edwards

Anna Della Subin takes a journey with a man once worshipped as a living god.Anna Della has been writing a book about people inadvertently turned into gods, and in this bewitching talk she describes a journey across Morocco with one of them. She discusses what prompts people to regard others as gods, and what it might tell us about our society.Producer: Giles Edwards

Sarah Gristwood is worried that the vogue for tidying will make history harder to uncover.Sarah is an historian herself, and in writing her books has relied heavily on documents which might easily have been discarded. But that's not all: she wonders, too, how her successors will access our digital clutter in 500 years' time.Producer: Giles Edwards

Ashley Hickson-Lovence says his powerful mother and his love of reading kept him out of gangs while growing up on an estate in East London. As a former English teacher and now a debut novelist, he believes black boys, in particular, need books to read that engage them by reflecting their own lives. "Not everyone can have a mother like mine, but everyone deserves the key to the world of books which could change their lives." Recorded at Primadonna literary and arts festival. Presenter: Farrah Jarral Producer: Sheila Cook

Monisha Rajesh says the romance of train travel is not dead. After exploring the railways of India, she travelled across continents to research her book "Around the World in 80 Trains", discovering that the romance, " Wasn't dead, just reincarnated, living on in the passengers who would always tell their story to strangers, offer advice, share their food, and give up their seats." Recorded at Primadonna literature and arts festival. Presenter: Farrah Jarral Producer: Sheila Cook

Winnie M Li talks about her traumatic experience as a survivor of sexual violence, describing its lasting impact. She also charts her recovery through writing and activism.

Louise Doughty, whose novels include Apple Tree Yard, explains why Peterborough railway station, the setting of her latest novel, has particular significance in her life as a place of transit. As she journeys back into her past, she discovers her own personal history sheds light on the experience of others. Recorded at Primadonna literature and arts festival in Suffolk. Presenter: Farrah Jarral Producer: Sheila Cook