John Connell reflects on how rain has shaped Irish culture. 'Over the centuries, the Irish - most days anyway - have learned to accept, sometimes even love, the rain,' writes John. But, he says, that is now beginning to change. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: James Beard Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Bridget Harney

Sara Wheeler challenges the idea that there's an equivalence between loving nature and being a good person.'This queerly opaque idea has embedded itself in the collective subconscious since Granny Smiths ripened in the Garden of Eden,' writes Sara, 'but recent concerns have raised its stock.' She argues that the logic of that is flawed. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Graham Puddifoot Production coordinator: Katie Morrison Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Edwin Landseer's famous painting of a majestic Highland stag, 'Monarch of the Glen', has been given pride of place in the newly opened galleries at the National in Edinburgh. Alex Massie ponders the role of the deer - and deer stalking - in the Scottish psyche. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Will Self on why - for the past eight weeks - he's lived an almost entirely news-free existence.After a lifetime of keeping up with events and - in recent years - obsessively toggling between news apps 'with all the real cogitation of a commuter playing Candy Crush,' Will has decided to stop paying attention to the news. 'I realised I'd been reading about - and listening to - politicians and pundits for quite possibly months of my life, without really caring one jot or tittle about them.' He reflects on how the British became the news consumers par excellence in the 19th and 20th Centuries and on growing up in a household where following the daily go-round of news constituted a 'civic virtue.' In the aftermath of events in the Middle East, Will has a new guiding principle for his news consumption. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Sarah Dunant argues that the patriarchy of the classical music business is finally starting to change. Reliving her early relationship with music - from excruciating piano lessons to rebellious dancing in the mosh pit - Sarah reflects on the remarkable changes in classical music. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: China Collins

Stephen Smith on why HS2 is such a cause of national hand-wringing. 'We get railways, we do railways - ever since Stephenson's Rocket in the nineteenth century. We gave railways to the world', writes Stephen. He argues that there would never have been the same sense of dismay if we were talking about a road or a runway. Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: China CollinsNote to clarify: The Thames Tunnel used an innovative design, but not cut-and-cover.

'Russell Brand winked at me in the street once', begins Howard Jacobson. He reflects on that chance encounter many years ago and the dishonourable role we all play in the creation of celebrity. 'We watched too much television; we rubbed the lamp and set the extremely egregious genie free; we saw a blank slate and wrote the words ourselves.' Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: China Collins

AL Kennedy discusses the addictive nature of hate. 'Religion', she writes, 'was once called the opium of the masses; hate is now the Oxycontin of the masses. That low thrum of resentment, spikes of rage, hate gives them a logic, an addictive rush.' Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Bridget Harney

Zoe Strimpel discusses the thrills and psychic satisfactions of the spooky. She argues that the disorientating nature of contemporary society creates the ideal breeding ground for our resurgent interest in things supernatural.Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound; Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Bridget Harney

The podcast discusses the cultural significance of bucket lists and their connection to the Ice Bucket Challenge. It argues against the value of bucket lists, emphasizing the importance of living in the present moment and experiencing life fully. The speaker highlights the limitations of viewing life as a checklist and explores the subjective experience of time.