
Free Thinking at the Hay Festival: Responsibility
From Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4
May 29, 2026 · 57 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the concept of responsibility in various contexts, featuring a panel of experts at the Hay Festival.
Freedom is one of the leading values of our society. But with freedom comes responsibility, which is a much more contested principle. Deciding where responsibility lies, and what it means to take it, is the job of the courts. It is also debated in Parliament and in the media. It is often at issue on the psychotherapist’s couch. For Radio 4’s arts and ideas discussion programme, Shahidha Bari gathers a panel of experts who deal with the concept of responsibility in very different contexts. Recorded in front of an audience at the Hay Festival, Shahidha's guests are: Baroness Hale served as the most senior judge in the UK. Her books include Spider Woman, and With the Law on Our Side Psychotherapist and artist Philippa Perry. Her books include The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read, How to Stay Sane and now a crime novel Shrink Solves Murder Philosopher Simon Critchley. His books include On Mysticism, Tragedy: The Greeks and Us, and What We Think About When We Think About Football Former Downing Street Director of Communications Guto Harri Producer: Luke Mulhall
People in this episode
Host: Shahidha Bari
Guests: Baroness Hale, Philippa Perry, Simon Critchley, Guto Harri
Topics covered
- freedom
- responsibility
- law
- psychotherapy
- philosophy
- media
- society
Keywords
- freedom
- responsibility
- law
- psychotherapy
- philosophy
- Hay Festival
- BBC Radio 4
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: BBC Radio 4
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