Details

Are we the mass media generation in an era of decline in human accomplishment? What distinguishes the times and places in which human accomplishment has flourished from those where it languished? Are we currently achieving much more than well-made entertainment? Charles Murray, author of controversial book, the Bell Curve, and most recently, Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, considers human accomplishment over the last 2800 years and questions what we are capable of accomplishing today, if anything. Respondents include: Howard Jacobson, presenter of Howard Jacobson Takes on the Turner and other programmes; David Herman, TV and radio producer/writer, who has worked on Start the Week and The Late Show; Philip Dodd, Director of the ICA. In the chair: Melvyn Bragg.