The poet George the Poet explores whether there is anything such as "black culture," or whether writers, poets and artists are looking for new and idiosyncratic modes of expression.
Theater director Josie Rourke looks at the modern day fascination with biography and considers whether there is such a thing as a male hero in contemporary western cultures.
Comedian and ventriloquist Nina Conti looks at the ways in which masks can conceal as well as reveal aspects of the human personality. Among the companies she visits are the Trestle Theatre Company in St. Albans, Hertfordshire.
Maria Balshaw, director of the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, reflects on the extent to which opportunities for women have expanded since the Suffragette Movement a century ago. She focuses in particular on theater, politics, and the arts.