Today sees the return to Night Waves on BBC Radio 3 of some of the successful humanities researchers from the inaugural BBC Radio 3 and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) New Generation Thinkers scheme.

The latest broadcast, presented by Professor Rana Mitter, is a special edition entirely composed of contributions from the New Generation Thinkers, including a review from Lucy Powell of a new production of The Tempest in  the Middle East  with a cast  from across the region.

Shahidha Bari, Laurence Scott and Alexandra Harris discuss the place of irony in the twenty-first century.

David Petts reports from the frontline of archaeological practice and examines how personal and individual histories are gaining importance.

And Jon Adams maps the blurring of boundaries between fact and fiction in television and film documentary and drama and the implications for today's wider culture .

The next programme to feature the AHRC/BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinkers is due to be broadcast on September 26th.

The 2011 scheme received over 1000 applications from university researchers who, after a six month selection process, were whittled down to the final 10 by a judging panel of Radio 3 producers and AHRC academics.

The winners were chosen from a group of 57 finalists who attended a series of day-long workshops at the BBC exploring the key to making scholarly research into good radio.

The New Generation Thinkers for 2011 are now working closely with dedicated mentors from the production team of Radio 3's arts and ideas programme Night Waves (Mondays to Thursdays 10-10.45pm).

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Notes to Editors

The 10 New Generation Thinkers for 2011 are:
Alexandra Harris, University of Liverpool
Corin Throsby, University of Cambridge
David Petts, Durham University
Jon Adams, London School of Economics
Laurence Scott, Kings College London
Lucy Powell, University College London
Philip Roscoe, University of St. Andrews
Rachel Hewitt, Queen Mary, University of London
Shahidha Bari, Queen Mary, University of London
Zoe Norridge, University of York

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) supports research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. The AHRC makes research awards every year ranging from individual fellowships to major collaborative projects as well as over 1,100 studentship awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded.