Four Thought

Jay Owens argues that dust is a lot more interesting than we think, and we ought to pay more attention to it.Jay has spent years researching dust, and produces a popular newsletter on the subject. In this fascinating Four Thought, recorded at the Design Museum in London, she shares some stories from the field of dust research that up until now have only been known to other 'dust people', as she calls her fellow dust researchers. Producer: Giles Edwards.

Astrid Alben explains how only art and science together can help us appreciate complicated phenomena like moonlight.Astrid is a poet and founder of the arts and science organisation, the PARS Foundation. In this meditative talk, she explains how bridging the artificial divide between science and the arts leads to a greater understanding of concepts as varied as moonlight, laughter and elasticity. Producer: Giles Edwards.

Daniel Hahn, a judge for this year's Man Booker International Prize, asks what really makes a good book.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Mark Breeze asks why architects haven't done more to design shelter for refugees. An architect himself, he tells us that his training was aimed at helping him come up with solutions to the toughest problems, yet none is tougher than finding a balance between impermanence, sustainability and low cost in homes for refugees. After visiting the so-called 'Jungle' camp in Calais and witnessing conditions there, Mark explains how he hopes to find a better framework for architects like him to help.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Rowland Manthorpe explains why he thinks the quality of confidence is overrated and is more of a curse than a blessing."Far from being good for everything, confidence comes with its own set of priorities, not all of which fit the things we claim to want or need."Producer: Sheila Cook.

Ellen Mara De Wachter says collaborative art or "co-art" offers new insights into human relationships and the role of sharing in society."The co-artists who were successful in their collaborations were those who recognised and valued difference within the group...The key was not to get over personal differences, but to value them as essential to the creative process."Producer: Sheila Cook.

Franklyn Addo describes how witnessing a murder transformed his life. It made him all the more determined to help other young people from underprivileged backgrounds go to top universities, as he did, and to challenge stereotypes. "There's so much more to talk about regarding council estates other than crime and anguish; more pertinent things, more celebratory things and more interesting things," he says. Producer: Sheila Cook.

Writer Jonathan Stroud explains why he thinks ghost stories are good for you. "While it may seem odd that it's pleasurable to be frightened, it's actually - like other activities that get the heart racing - a celebration of being alive. While so much around us is frankly mind-numbing, there's something pure and bracing about a nicely delivered scare."Producer: Sheila Cook.

Jonnie Bayfield reflects on being the last generation to grow up in an analogue childhood."Looking back, I can see that no-one had any idea what the chemical, biological, or social ramifications of this burgeoning technology might be. In my school we had computer classes, but no-one ever suggested that intense use would lead to anything other than a personal and global liberation." Producer: Sheila Cook.

Matt Hood says we need to raise the standards of teaching by treating it like a performance profession where techniques are honed in rehearsal rather than tried out "live" in front of a class. "When we have low expectations of how complex teaching is, it translates directly into low expectations for how sophisticated training and development for teachers needs to be. As a result teachers learn less. That is a disaster." Producer: Sheila Cook.

Sarah Thomas de Benitez says our image of childhood has skewed our attitude towards street children and it's time to listen to them."We listened, learned and found that the most important thing for each child was not 'where' they were but 'who' was there for them."Producer: Sheila Cook.

Tommy Whitelaw, who was his late mother's carer, calls for more support and respect for people living with dementia. "If we really are going to make a difference to each other we have to change the conversation from 'what's the matter with you' to 'what matters to you'". Recorded in front of a live audience at Somerset House. Presenter: Mike Williams Producer: Sheila Cook.

VV Brown explains why after years of relaxing, weaving and extending it, she has embraced her natural hair.A singer-songwriter, model and record producer, VV has long needed to take care of her image. But recent changes in her life have prompted her to ask why that has meant covering up her natural hair.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Lucy Hurst-Brown asks why so many learning disabled people are so lonely.Having worked with learning disabled people for 25 years, Lucy describes a system which has moved a very long distance from the impersonal, institutional care of the twentieth century, but which still has a long way to go before learning disabled people are properly integrated into their communities.And in describing how she and her colleagues realised they may be causing the problem, and how they set about finding a solution, she also challenges all of us to play our part.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Jeremy Leslie explains why reports of magazines dying have been greatly exaggerated.Jeremy has spent years working in the print magazine industry, and runs the shop and website magCulture. But in recent years, as much commentary has focused on the rise of online and the accompanying death of print, Jeremy has instead seen a series of small, new and often niche print titles opening, and thriving. But why, and will it continue?Producer: Giles Edwards.

Hannah Jane Walker makes the case for being a bit sensitive.As a child Hannah was told to toughen up, not to be so sensitive, but now she says her sensitivity is who she is, and it's how she makes her income. And she thinks that people should embrace their sensitivity, and not pretend to be tough if they're not.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Katz Kiely argues that we should all learn to better manage change.Katz has advised governments, companies and international bodies on managing change. She says she is always surprised by how many organisations still adopt a top-down model of managing change, and she makes the case for a radically different way of doing so.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Chris Pierson makes the case for a radical rethinking of private property.Arguing that we are currently in the midst of a property crisis, Chris challenges us to go back to basics, to ask whether 'property is theft' and to consider whether there might be another way of allocating property.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Kerry Littleford argues that mothers who have multiple children taken into care need help to stop it happening again.As she shares her own story, Kerry makes the case for focusing not just on the children who have been taken into care, but the women whose problems haven't gone away.Producer: Giles Edwards.

Annie Zimmerman and James Wheale argue that food is the perfect storytelling medium.Working together as Understory, they are developing foods which go beyond taste and nutrients, but which pose another question: will people eat food if it doesn't taste delicious?Producer: Giles Edwards.