This year's Reith lecturer is the Palestinian American academic, political activist, and literary critic Edward Said. He joined the faculty of Columbia University in 1963 where he is now Professor of English and Comparative Literature. Regarded as one of the founders of post-colonial theory, his 1978 book Orientalism is one of the most influential scholarly books of the 20th century. In his second lecture, Edward Said explores the role of intellectuals from different cultures and backgrounds, and the choices that face them when deciding to side with the powerful or with the underdog. He examines that problems of loyalty and nationalism for intellectuals, and argues that their role is primarily to question.

This year's Reith lecturer is the Palestinian American academic, political activist, and literary critic Edward Said. He joined the faculty of Columbia University in 1963 where he is now Professor of English and Comparative Literature. Regarded as one of the founders of post-colonial theory, his 1978 book Orientalism is one of the most influential scholarly books of the 20th century. In his first of six Reith Lectures, Edward Said examines how intellectuals have been defined by academics, sociologists and writers throughout history. He explores what their role should be in the modern world and looks at what the public and private versions of an intellectual are.

Dr Steve Jones, Reader in Genetics at University College, London delivers his final Reith lecture, in a series about the new biological insight into humanity. In this lecture, Dr Jones explores the long history of genetic engineering including Frances Galton's founding of the 'science' of eugenics and its consequences.There has long been a history of attempted genetic engineering by parents trying to dictate the sex of their offspring by various, almost always futile, and often painful, methods. It is now possible to do this with almost 100% success by separating female and male eggs in the test tube. Dr Jones examines the moral implications and varying views on such procedures, and how gene-therapy provokes the same sort of moral questions.He argues that the biology of the future will not be very different to that of the past and it may even be that humans are at the end of their evolutionary road; as near to our biological utopia as we're ever likely to get.

Dr Steve Jones, Reader in Genetics at University College, London delivers his penultimate Reith lecture, in a series about the new biological insight into humanity. In this lecture, Steve Jones examines how science has been used to discriminate, arguing that the history of race illustrates more than anything else the way science can be used to support prejudice.He examines the limitations of biology in understanding human affairs and by using the example of the genetic differences between snails in two valleys in the Pyrenees, which he argues, are greater than between Australian aborigines and ourselves, he explains that there are far greater genetic differences between individuals than between countries or races. Humans, he says, are in fact a tediously uniform species.

Dr Steve Jones, Reader in Genetics at University College, London gives a series of lectures on the new biological insight into humanity.In his fourth lecture, Dr Jones examines the correlation between genetic change and economic development. While society tends not to be driven by its genes, social and economic changes produce many of the genetic patterns seen in the world today. He also draws parallels between the evolution of languages and the evolution of genes. Languages evolve, he argues, like genes, producing dialects and whole new languages and lines of descent can be produced using languages as well as genetics.

Dr Steve Jones, Reader in Genetics at University College, London gives a series of lectures on the new biological insight into humanity.In his third lecture, Dr Jones explores the power and consequences of natural selection. Differences in animals' physical characteristics vary according to longitude. Creationists see this as evidence of God's subtle design whereas Darwinists point to natural selection. Dr Jones explains how selection works and argues that there is less chance of it in modern Western societies than even a century ago.

Dr Steve Jones, Reader in Genetics at University College, London gives a series of lectures on the new biological insight into humanity.In his second lecture, Dr Jones explores the importance of mutation in the development of individuals and species. Recent advances in molecular biology have revolutionised the study of mutations in human DNA.Dr Jones explains how mutation leads to diversity and change, some good, some bad, and argues that humanity is not a decayed remnant of a noble ancestor, but rather we are the products of evolution; a set of successful mistakes.

Dr Steve Jones, Reader in Genetics at University College, London gives the first of six Reith Lectures on the new biological insight into humanity.He explains how the study of genetics has been transformed in recent decades and argues that while fossil records and ancient myths preserve some limited truths about humanity's origins; our genes hold a far more complete picture. Like anatomy, sociology or psychoanalysis, he says, genetics can give us a significant glimpse into aspects of our history and about what it means to be human.

In his sixth and final Reith Lecture, Dr. Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, explains why faith will survive. Dr. Jonathan Sacks explores in his lecture entitled 'A Community of Communities' the bond of religion. He explains that although the numbers of religious believers seems to be dwindling, religion will never totally fade away. He believes that the values it provides communities are still needed by the individual and the nation.

Dr. Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth evaluates the effects of combining religious revival with nationalism in his fifth Reith Lecture. Reviewing the topic of religious fanaticism in his lecture entitled 'Fundamentalism', he argues that when faith and national identity are united they create an explosive mix. Yet, paradoxically, he believes secularism does not provide a solution either.