Arts & Entertainment

Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon College. This is the audio recording of David Foster Wallace delivering that very address. How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously? How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion? The speech captures Wallace's electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others.

Best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the iconic band Talking Heads, David Byrne has received Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the insightful How Music Works, Byrne offers his unique perspective on music - including how music is shaped by time, how recording technologies transform the listening experience, the evolution of the industry, and much more.

Andy Kershaw truly has no off switch. As a teenager he was promoting major rock gigs. He was Billy Bragg's driver and roadie one day and presenting Whistle Test and Live Aid the next. A passionate music enthusiast, he is a man with an obsessive curiosity about the world. Over a 25 year career, he has worked for the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen, shared an office with John Peel, and amassed a record collection that weighs seven tons. He has won more Sony Radio awards than any other broadcaster. He has visited 97 countries and as a foreign correspondent, filed numerous reports for Radio 4.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation features a star cast including Leo McKern, Simon Russell Beale, Emily Mortimer, and Nicola Pagett, and over two hours of specially composed music.