On Start the Week Andrew Marr discusses the legacy of the philosopher Alan Watts with the writer Tim Lott and psychotherapist Mark Vernon. Watts popularised Buddhism and Eastern philosophy in the West and in Tim Lott's latest coming-of-age novel set in the 1970s he reflects on the power of self-discovery, while Mark Vernon questions how therapy has appropriated Buddhist ideas. The writer and translator Maureen Freely looks back at her itinerant upbringing in America, Turkey and Greece, and explores how she became the translator of other people's words and worlds, including the Nobel-prize winning author Orhan Pamuk. It's a 150 years since the first Welsh settlers established a community in Patagonia in Argentina, and the theatre director Marc Rees looks at how his countrymen retained their welsh identity in an alien landscape. Producer: Luke Mulhall.

On Start the Week Tom Sutcliffe looks at the landscapes of communism with the writer Owen Hatherley whose new book reflects how power transformed the cities of the twentieth century. Jacqueline Yallop looks back at one of the most enduring experiments of Victorian philanthropy - the utopian 'model' village. The architect Graham Morrison is involved in a model village of his own, the regeneration and development of the 67 acre site at Kings Cross, and the artist Doug Aitken, famous for his large scale outdoor film installations which he's called 'liquid architecture', is creating a 30-day happening, Station-to-Station. Producer: Katy Hickman.

On Start the Week Andrew Marr discusses the value and authenticity of art. In her novel The Improbability of Love, Hannah Rothschild satirises the art world from the Russian oligarchs and sheiks ready to spend excessive amounts, to the unscrupulous dealers and politicians, as she explores what a painting is really worth. The artist Grayson Perry has never been slow to laugh at the art world and question the role of the artist, and in his latest exhibition he brings Provincial Punk to Margate. Xavier Bray is a curator at the Dulwich Picture Gallery which earlier this year placed a cheap Chinese copy among its collection to see if visitors could spot the difference, and the filmmaker Patrick Mark tells the story of the iconic luxury brand from the 19th century - Fabergé. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Tom Sutcliffe explores health and well-being from the musings of a 17th century doctor to the latest research into psychosomatic illness. The GP, Gavin Francis celebrates the marvels of the human body while Hugh Aldersey-Williams looks back at the life of the celebrated and ever-curious doctor Sir Thomas Browne. The consultant neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan accepts that telling a patient 'it's all in your head' is unhelpful, but how do you treat those whose symptoms are medically unexplained, and may well have an emotional cause? Charlie Howard runs a youth mental health charity which takes the health professionals out of the clinic and onto the streets, and involves young people at all levels of diagnosis and treatment.Producer: Katy Hickman.

On Start the Week Andrew Marr talks to Zachary Leader about the life and work of Saul Bellow, one of America's most famous novelists. Bellow's vivid prose and mix of high and low culture brought 20th century America to life. Linda Grant reflects on his significance for writers today and on the literature of immigration he represents. Aeschylus' play cycle The Oresteia brought to the stage a world the Ancient Greeks understood only too well - family drama and bloody politics. In a new production Robert Icke radically re-imagines the play for a modern audience. The rapper Speech DeBelle looks back at what inspired her to find her voice, and the challenge to retain it. Producer: Luke Mulhall.

Start the Week is at the Hay Festival for a discussion about what has made homo sapiens so successful. The historian Yuval Noah Harari looks back a hundred thousand years ago when at least six human species inhabited the earth and explores why only one came to dominate. Science was a key breakthrough and Beth Shapiro pushes at the limits of knowledge with her book on how to clone a mammoth. The writer Colm Tóibín reveals how much he owes past writers in his introduction to the enigmatic American poet, Elizabeth Bishop, while Owen Sheers explores the themes of loss and redemption in his latest novel. Producer: Katy Hickman.

On Start the Week Andrew Marr finds out if it's possible to create a world less impersonal and more equal. David Cameron's former senior adviser, Steve Hilton, believes our governments and institutions are too big, and he argues for a more human-focused society. The US economist Joseph Stiglitz tackles rising inequality in the West and blames the unjust and misguided priorities of neoliberalism. The Russian writer Masha Gessen looks at the struggle between assimilation and alienation as she asks why two brothers turned terrorist, bombing the Boston Marathon. Producer: Katy Hickman.

On Start the Week Mariella Frostrup talks to the academic Hamid Dabashi about his critique of European intellectual heritage and identity. In his polemic Can Non-Europeans Think? Dabashi argues that those outside the West are often marginalised and mis-represented. Ancient Greece dominates the intellectual landscape in Europe and Edith Hall looks back to explore what made this civilisation so successful. The Greeks of Ancient Athens were always questioning their society and asking what makes people happy, and Douglas Murray wonders whether the secular West has stopped asking those questions, and is the shallower for it. The artist Glenn Ligon takes inspiration from black writers and abstract expressionists to give a fresh perspective on the values of contemporary America. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Tom Sutcliffe talks to the Indian writer Vikram Seth about his latest collection of poetry, Summer Requiem, which traces the dying days of summer and is haunted by loss and decay. The cuckoo's song may celebrate the arrival of spring, but as Nick Davies explains the cuckoo is also a signal of doom, as he explores how cheating evolves and thrives in the natural world. The writer Olivia Laing finds inspiration in a murmuration of birds to ask questions about the beauty of patterns and freedom of movement, and Nick Groom celebrates and regrets the passing of the English seasons and folklore. Producer: Katy Hickman.

On Start the Week Anne McElvoy discusses our obsession with violence. The historian Richard Bessel explores its past ubiquity, but argues that our modern attitudes towards it have changed. There's little change in the attitudes towards women in the armed forces, according to a play by the academic Helen Benedict. Diana Preston sees history repeating itself as weapons of mass destruction continue to be used in much the same way as a century ago. For June Oscar, an Indigenous leader from North Western Australia, the history of her people has been dominated by the violent struggle with settlers from the 1770s. Producer: Katy Hickman.