Four Thought

The Last Poets discuss why they're still performing after 50 years. The Last Poets were borne out of the origins of the civil rights movement in the United States. They have been writing and performing together in various formations ever since the late 1960s. Abiodon Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan reveal the motivation behind the collective's work and why they feel they're message about black empowerment is as relevant today as it was in 1968. Recorded at the Shambala Festival. Producer: Peter Snowdon.

Sunday league football is played up and down the country. The writer Ewan Flynn says that forging a team spirit against the odds can bring out the best in people. Recorded at the Shambala Festival. Producer: Peter Snowdon

Julia Unwin asks whether we've lost the human touch in a world of automation and technology. Touch screens, contactless cards and e-tickets are supposed to make our lives so much easier and more convenient. Julia Unwin, former chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, asks whether technology and automation and the loss of those everyday human connections are harming the way we interact with each other. Producer: Peter Snowdon.

Ian Brennan is a Grammy award-winning music producer. He and his wife have travelled the world discovering music that most people have never heard. He argues that the 'West' and in particular English speaking countries have dominated music for so long they have drowned out voices from around the world. This includes the incredible story of the Tanzanian Albinism Collective, from one of the most isolated places on earth. The members have suffered persecution for years for their condition. Brennan describes how music has brought them together with their neighbours.

John Connell speaks about how the connection to land and animals can heal the modern urban soul John Connell returned home to his native Ireland after years abroad living and working in cities. He had experienced a breakdown and was in the depths of depression. For an urbane young man a return to the farm that he grew up in could have been seen as a failure but it turned out to be anything but. The birth of a calf and the life cycle of his family's cattle helped to show him how he could finally quieten the demons of his past. Recorded in front of a live audience at the WOMAD music festival in August 2018.