About this season
Art and culture define us - but in an age of change, who are we now? In divided times, Simon Schama asks whether art, music and words can be the threads that bind us together.
Episodes (3)
1. Who Are We Now?
Aired 8 January 2025 • 59 min
Simon Schama meets Sir Cliff Richard, Jarvis Cocker, Ali Smith and Frank Cottrell-Boyce in an effort to understand how artists, writers and performers have charted the huge changes in Britain.
2. Whose Britain Is It Anyway?
Aired 15 January 2025 • 59 min
Simon Schama examines how artists and writers, ranging from James Bond creator Ian Fleming to two-tone band The Specials, have responded to the changing face of post-imperial Britain.
3. Our Contested Land
Aired 22 January 2025 • 59 min
Simon Schama looks at artists who've explored why the landscape matters to people's sense of who they are. From Philip Larkin to Seamus Heaney and Derek Jarman. Featuring U2's Bono.