December 21st, 2012 is the date ancient Mayans believed would be the end of time. As the clock ticks down on the prophesy this is the one programme you need to listen to.

Shawshank Rededemption star Tim Robbins leads acting classes with segregated prisoners from Norco Prison in Los Angeles.

Gary Younge explores the future of affirmative action in the USA at the University of Texas, which is facing a challenge against its race-conscious admissions procedure.

Comic and broadcaster Ian Stone investigates the rapidly changing world of children's football. From parents' behaviour to bans on league tables - is this the start of a new era?

PM presenter Eddie Mair has harboured a secret. But no more - it's a lifelong love of Country music. He explores why it calls someone like him and many fellow Celts.

What is more dangerous in the hands of the public guns or microphones? Fi Glover investigates how radio has been used in revolutions during its 90 year history.

As the BBC marks 90 years since its first broadcast, Roger Bolton explores the genesis of Reithian values and asks how important they are in the 21st century.

To mark the 90th anniversary of the BBC, historian Dominic Sandbrook tells the story of how radio broadcasting began in Britain, and why it took so long to get started.

Alex Bellos visits Japan to look at why Asian cultures seem so much better at maths than many western countries.

Earworms are those nagging songs that get stuck in your brain. BBC 6 Music presenter Shaun Keaveny meets the scientists trying to find out what makes some tunes so catchy.

The phenomenon of hallucination is probably as old the human brain and examples exist throughout history and across cultures. Geoff Watts explores the science of hallucination.

Nick Fraser makes the case for rediscovering the work of Richard Yates, best known for his first novel, the remarkable Revolutionary Road, which was published to great acclaim in 1961.

Stephen Fry investigates the frightening reality of being a homosexual prisoner, discovering the lengths to which some go to hide the truth from fellow inmates.

Rana Mitter travels to Beijing to find out how China's Government is aiming to improve welfare for its 1.3 billion citizens - with a surprising purpose.

Northern Ireland's 18 year olds have known only relative peace. So what do they think of their past & future ? Geoffrey Beattie returns home to meet the post-Troubles generation.

Phill Jupitus enters a world in which the Victorian arts and sciences get an anachronistic modern twist. An imaginative leap backwards? Or an excuse to grow a silly moustache?

Journalist Rowan Pelling's life has been blighted by her procrastination. Can she find a cure by speaking to fellow sufferers and experts about her problem?

Professor Tanya Byron invites a group of victims of violent crime into Brixton Prison to come face to face with men serving sentences for similar crimes - with powerful results.

Suzy Klein is claustrophobic. She won't go in lifts, no matter how many steps she has to climb, and she hasn't been on the underground for twenty years. Can she conquer her fear?

By their very nature war zones are hazardous locations, subject to extreme destruction. Angus Crawford asks whether the army can do its job whilst also respecting the environment.