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May 1, 2026 56 min

Weapons, Real and Symbolic

from Free Thinking Hosted by 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 Ellwood The sculptor Hew Locke, whose artworks exploring colonial power have featured weaponry The Renaissance historian Catherine Fletcher, whose latest book is The Firearm Revolution: From Renaissance Italy to the European Empires The historian and broadcaster Mark Urban, whose books include Tank and Rifles and Hailey Austin, Lecturer in Visual Media and Culture at Abertay University who researches comics and videogames. Producer: Eliane Glaser

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Weapons, Real and Symbolic

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This episode was published on May 1, 2026.

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