Tag Archives: Something Understood

The men are weeping in the Oval Office…

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

Lucy Dichmont and I have made a Something Understood for Radio 4 about Weeping. I knew I wanted to talk about the Wailing Women in the Bible and especially that I wanted to talk again to award-winning poet Andrew McMillan … Continue reading →

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Ice, ash and fury: A meditation on eruptions from Mt St Helens to the Temple of St Paul’s Cathedral

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

Since I made The White North Has Thy Bones a year ago about our obsession with the Arctic and the North West Passage I’ve realised January has become a favourite time of the year. For this Something Understood the starting … Continue reading →

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Leaving home: The 60s and getting out

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Samira Ahmed

The roots of this Sunday’s Something Understood for Radio 4 are in one song – The Beatles’ She’s Leaving Home and one time: the 1960s. Over the course of the decade young people found greater opportunity through a huge growth … Continue reading →

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Plankton of the midsummer air

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Samira Ahmed

This week’s Something Understood takes its title Inebriate of the Air, from an Emily Dickinson poem about the insect heavy honeyed thickness of midsummer light and air. And insect and bird sounds (swifts) dominate this programme. Entomologist Ross Piper helps us … Continue reading →

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Desert worlds: JG Ballard, Lawrence of Arabia, Dune & the story of Ishmael

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Samira Ahmed

My latest Something Understood for Radio 4 on Sunday April 19th was conceived as a sequel  to The White North Has Thy Bones, about our fascination with the Arctic and the North West Passage. Together with producer Natalie Steed we … Continue reading →

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The Bronte heroine who hated bouquets

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Samira Ahmed

For this week’s Something Understood producer Lucy Dichmont was keen to explore the elaborate Victorian coded language of floral bouquets. Unexpectedly I found myself pulling out memories and stories that I’ve been carrying around for decades. I’ve also created a … Continue reading →

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Get hold of a skull, nutmeg: Leonardo Da Vinci, Bruce Lee and the art of the List

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Samira Ahmed

This week’s Something Understood for Radio 4 focusses on the human passion for lists. My elder brother, an obsessive list maker, started me off on my first — a film diary with each film dated and rated kept since I … Continue reading →

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Page 3 and pushy feminists

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Samira Ahmed

The weird argument being wheeled out over how feminist campaigners somehow made The Sun keep Page 3 just to spite them reminded me of this Radio 4 programme I made about Procrastination and what Martin Luther King had to say … Continue reading →

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The White North Has Thy Bones: Ice stations, submarines & the woman who swam the North West Passage

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

Here’s a programme to listen to huddled by the fire, like Jane Eyre with her book of polar wildlife as the wind howls outside. Producer Kevin Dawson came up with the idea of our latest Something Understood  programme about the … Continue reading →

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Crossing the black line: the secret history of Durham Cathedral

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

BEYOND THE GREY TOWERS: THE MYSTERY OF DURHAM CATHEDRAL from Samira Ahmed on Vimeo. When you walk into Durham Cathedral take a moment to look down at your feet in the nave. You might notice a big black line of … Continue reading →

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