Follow this link to hear the episode & read the show notes. Transcription by Amy Carpenter. [Car horn. White noise from distant traffic etc.] Ian: We’re in the middle of London within sight of the British Museum, just next to a glass, stone and concrete office block. And carved into its wall there’s a tribute to the “Women’s Freedom League”, worked for equality between men and women from its headquarters on this site.… more

Follow this link to hear the episode & read the show notes. Transcription by Amy Carpenter. [Traffic noise. Rustling sounds. Voices.] Ian: I’m at my local health food shop in East London, surrounded by a cornucopia of modern vegan sausages and burgers, and mock-meats of every mock-animal. Not to mention supermarket staples, like peanut butter, almond butter, and breakfast cereal.… more

Follow this link to hear the episode & read the show notes. Transcription by Amy Carpenter. US Army band in an archive recording of period song “Army Bean”: ‘Tis the bean that we mean! [fades and continues in background]… more

Follow this link to hear the episode & read the show notes. Transcription by Amy Carpenter. Tim Newman: This is out of its sheath, so it’s just a long thin sword, with a handle that’s wrapped with twine.… more

Follow this link to hear the episode & read the show notes. Transcription by Amy Carpenter. [Traffic and building noise] Ian McDonald [in Paris]: We’re in the courtyard of the brick and stone baroque Hotel Tubeuf in Paris, now being renovated as the headquarters of the National Library of France. But from here the French East India Company in the 18th Century controls swathes of India, unwittingly connecting the ideas of ahimsa and vegetarianism with the Paris of Voltaire and Rousseau.… more

Follow this link to hear the episode & read the show notes. Transcription by Amy Carpenter. [Sound of birds] Sherwin Everett: This is an Indian flapshell turtle. And it was run over by a car.… more

Alternatively, follow this link to hear the episode & read the show notes. Transcription by Amy Carpenter. [A woman sings passionately in Italian, backed by a Renaissance orchestra. Continues in background] Ian McDonald: Prosperina, the Queen of Hades, is swayed by the singing of Orpheus and begs Hades to return his wife, in Monteverdi’s 1607 opera.… more

Follow this link to hear the episode & read the show notes. Transcription by Amy Carpenter. [A group of men chant. A bell chimes.] Ian [speaking over the chanting, which fades down]: Jain evening prayers at Hutheesing temple, in Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat, north west India.… more