From Nobel Laureates Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter to theatre greats Tom Stoppard and Alan Bennett to rising stars Polly Stenham and Florian Zeller, Faber Drama presents the very best theatre has to offer. The essays are most effective when the authors use their experiences and expertise to address a specific problem. This is the podcast where we explore why and how Black British lives matter –What it means to be Black and British, our culture, our joy and our pain. Too often there is “one person of colour to argue for a policy that would deny their own parents entry into the UK versus another politician of colour arguing for policies that would benefit other people of colour”.

Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder introduce an essential collection of essays arguing how and why we need to fight for Black lives to matter - not just for Black people, but for British society as a whole. It is an effective primer for those keen to understand why Floyd’s death drove hundreds of thousands of people to the street. This plea to recognise black Britons’ humanity recurs throughout the book, from Marverine Cole’s account of mental ill-health, which deconstructs the devastating consequences of the “strong Black woman” stereotype, to Ryder’s closing essay, which describes his own horrific encounters with the police. Our guests talk about the reality behind the shocking stats, their own personal mental health experiences and whether living in Britain is bad for our mental health.Statues were toppled, streets renamed and venerable British institutions such as the Bank of England were forced to reckon with their ties to the slave trade. It shows how through resisting colonial slavery, people produced new cultures known as the Black Atlantic, that continue to shape our world. With Black Britons four times more likely to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act this is one of the most pressing issues affecting our communities. So large is the political crisis to which the book is responding that some of the essays only manage to scratch the surface of their subject, while others at times feel repetitive. Butler laments the smattering of black and Asian representation in overwhelmingly white institutions such as parliament, arguing that, as a result, minorities can easily be pitted against each other.

It is clear, though, that the response to last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests must go beyond just representation.This week we discuss why Black British Mental Health Matters with the highly acclaimed actor David Harewood and journalist and documentary maker Marverine Cole. Drawing from personal experience, they stress how Black British people have unique perspectives and experiences that enrich British society and the world; how Black lives are far more interesting and important than the forces that try to limit it. Her tireless battle to get justice for her son, and force the country to confront the reality of racism, has transformed her into a symbol, but this has also dehumanised her. This week we discuss one big idea - reparations - paying Black British people, and Black people around the world, for the slavery and colonialism they suffered. Refunds for correctly delivered and undamaged items are available within 30 days of the goods' receipt.

He was previously the Chair of the Royal Television Society’s Diversity Committee and was the head of BBC Scotland Current Affairs for nearly a decade. Sir Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder sit down with prominent Black British figures and explore the simple question: How do we make Black British Lives Matter? Professor Kehinde Andrews and activist and lawyer, Esther Stanford Xosei join Lenny and Marcus to discuss. In Olusoga’s chapter, which is an interview conducted by Henry, the historian admits this surprised him.

Estimated to make up 22 percent of the Black British population we explore exactly why Black British disabled people’s lives matter. Honestly there is no other podcast out there like this and which manage such delicate and challenging issues in such a human and even funny way. With classics such as Ted Hughes's The Iron Man and award-winners including Emma Carroll's Letters from the Lighthouse, Faber Children's Books brings you the best in picture books, young reads and classics.