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EPISODE · May 1, 2026 · 56 MIN

Weapons, Real and Symbolic

from Arts & Ideas · host BBC Radio 4

How do weapons exert real and symbolic power, both now and in history?Joining Matthew Sweet for Radio 4's roundtable discussion programme about ideas are:The former soldier and politician Tobias EllwoodThe sculptor Hew Locke, whose artworks exploring colonial power have featured weaponryThe Renaissance historian Catherine Fletcher, whose latest book is The Firearm Revolution: From Renaissance Italy to the European EmpiresThe historian and broadcaster Mark Urban, whose books include Tank and Riflesand Hailey Austin, Lecturer in Visual Media and Culture at Abertay University who researches comics and videogames.Producer: Eliane Glaser

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 1, 2026

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Weapons, Real and Symbolic

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