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Night Waves - Baby Boomers/Peter Brook/Turkey

Logo for Night Waves - Baby Boomers/Peter Brook/Turkey

Philip Dodd talks to David Willetts, Shadow Secretary of State for Universities about his new book The Pinch arguing that the baby boomer generation have thrived at the expense of their children. Journalist Beatrix Campbell, writer Andrew Hankinson and Richard Reeves of Demos join the appraisal of the baby boom generation. 1945-65 produced the biggest, richest generation that Britain has ever known. Today baby boomers run our country; by virtue of their sheer demographic power, they have fashioned the world around them in a way that meets all of their housing, healthcare and financial needs. Will the young people of today continue to pay for their parents' quality of life, or can the Baby Boomers give something back before its too late? Philip talks to the theatre director Peter Brook about his new touring production, 11 or 12, which argues the need for religious and political tolerance. Set in Mali under French occupation a dispute over whether a prayer should be recited eleven or twelve times leads to violent repercussions. Istanbul is European Capital of Culture this year, along with Pecs in Hungary and Essen in Germany. But it's not a member of the European Union, and this year is the last time a non-member state will be eligible to become a European Capital of Culture. Continuing our Turkey week here on Night Waves, we discuss how European a city Istanbul is, and if it is, how European a country is Turkey?