Start the Week

Andrew Marr is in Perth in Australia for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, to discuss mining, money and the monarchy. He talks to the Director of the Commonwealth Foundation, Danny Sriskandarajah, about the future of an organisation, headed by the Queen, that's been criticised for being impotent and irrelevant. Compared to many Commonwealth nations, Australia is going through an economic boom time. At its heart is the mineral-rich land of Western Australia, and ABC's morning show presenter Geoff Hutchison explains how the growth in mining has affected the lives of his listeners. The Minister for Mines and Petroleum in WA, Norman Moore, lambasts the federal government over its plans for a carbon tax. And the economic advisor to the former Labor leader, Andrew Charlton, says the debate about the environment has become so vicious and polarised that it has the power to bring down party leaders.Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr talks to musician Jarvis Cocker about lyrics and the lyricism of the everyday; to playwright Jez Butterworth about his vision of bucolic myths and modern brutality in the English countryside; to poet Melanie Challenger about the extinction of species and also of ways of life and to Matthew White who catalogues and compares the brutality of humanity throughout the ages. Producer: Eleanor Garland.

Andrew Marr discusses the wonders of the universe with Lisa Randall, Richard Dawkins and the Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. The cosmologist Professor Randall looks at the how the latest developments in physics have the potential to alter radically our view of the world around us, and our place within it. Richard Dawkins explores the beauty and magic of scientific reality, from rainbows and shooting starts, to our genetic ancestors, and believes the facts far exceed the stories of ancient myth. Jonathan Sacks rejects the false dichotomy of science and religion, and argues that faith has a complementary role to play in the understanding of the human condition. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr looks at the lasting impact of the British Empire with Jeremy Paxman and Richard Gott. Paxman reflects on how our imperial past still has the power to influence everything from Prime Ministers' decisions to send troops to war, to the way we view adventurers of the past. While Gott argues against any residual belief that the Empire was an imaginative and civilising enterprise, and reveals the brutality at its heart. The social entrepreneur Mariéme Jamme believes it's time for Africa to leave behind its colonised past, and with Africa's share of global trade on the rise, she asks whether this is her continent's decade. China's Empire once ruled over a third of the world's population, and the film-maker Suyun Sun is embarking on a major history series on China which she hopes will cast new light on the country. Producer: Katy Hickman.

In the run-up to the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, Andrew Marr discusses foreign intervention with the Conservative MP Rory Stewart and the former intelligence officer, Frank Ledwidge. Stewart looks back at the conflict to ask whether simple notions of winning foreign wars is counterproductive, while Ledwidge turns a critical eye on the army's lack of strategic thinking which he argues led to catastrophic failures in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera discusses the role of the British secret service, from the Cold War days of spies lurking in the shadows, to the disaster of the 'dodgy dossier' on Iraq. And Dr Rosemary Hollis, Professor of Middle East Policy Studies, considers the impact of recent revelations of complicity with Gaddafi's regime, and how 9/11 has skewed international relations. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr discusses the work of the 'Godfather' of new music Pierre Boulez. The French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard explains the joy of his compositions, which are in a state of permanent revolution. The writer Peter Conrad pits Verdi against Wagner to ask whether it's possible to love both composers, or does taste, nationality and ideology still get in the way. With a very English temperament Simon Jenkins romps through the history of England in a bid to answer why the nation lost America, avoided a French revolution and gradually lost its world supremacy. And the Welsh National Poet, Gillian Clarke, talks about her country's literary heritage.Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr talks to the journalist Misha Glenny about the murky world of internet crime, as the cybercops pit their wits against the cyberthieves and hackers. The creative director at google, Tom Uglow, celebrates the art and ingenuity that comes with he calls, 'the post-digital age'. It's more colourful, but no less subversive, at an exhibition of Postmodernism at the V&A. The curator Jane Pavitt argues that for this radical movement, style was everything. And the art historian Martin Kemp explores how image, branding and logos have become the obsessions of our age - from the coca cola bottle to the images of Christ and Che Guevara.Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr discusses the life and work of the writer Vasily Grossman in a special programme recorded at an event in Oxford to celebrate his greatest novel, Life and Fate. Grossman was a Ukrainian Jew who spent most of WWII reporting on the front line with a humanity and attention to detail that defied the Soviet censors. His masterpiece, Life and Fate, pitted communism against fascism but came down on the side of human kindness. Start the Week looks at the legacy of a writer who is largely ignored in his own country, and asks how Grossman's depiction of the war compares to the authorised version in Russia today. Andrew talks to the historian Antony Beevor, the writers Andrey Kurkov and Linda Grant.

Andrew Marr talks to the science fiction writer China Mieville, whose latest planetary creation explores the links between language and thought, and asks what it means to have no concept of lying. AN Wilson explores a world closer to home, but no less alien, medieval Florence, as he tries to uncover the life and work of Dante. Jonathan Bates' play, Being Shakespeare also attempts to bring to life the work of the Bard and the real man behind the legend, by placing him in his historical context. And the prize-winning poet Jo Shapcott argues for the transformative nature of poetry. Producer: Katy Hickman.

Andrew Marr explores the limits of science and art in this week's Start the Week. The philosopher and neuroscientist Raymond Tallis mounts an all-out assault on those who see neuroscience and evolutionary theory as holding the key to understanding human consciousness and society. While fellow scientist Barbara Sahakian explores the ethical dilemmas which arise when new drugs developed to treat certain conditions are used to enhance performance in the general population. And the gerontologist Aubrey de Grey looks to the future when regenerative medicine prevents the process of aging. Producer: Katy Hickman.