Why art and science suffer in silos

A major new Radio 4 series breaks down the barriers between art and science, while a revival of Joe Egg is a timely epitaph for Peter Nichols

Arts people, and I very much include myself, get bewildered by science. I try to listen to Radio 4's The Life Scientific, but am often lost, while even Melvyn Bragg not long ago admitted to me that he at times struggles with science topics on his stellar In Our Time.

To help remedy this, on 23 September Radio 4 kicks off a 20-part series, The Art of Innovation, exploring and, it's hoped, breaking down barriers between the arts and science, with an accompanying exhibition at London's Science Museum and a book.