Playing badminton is like playing chess at 200 miles per hour, it requires a combination of explosive power, speed, agility and strategy. The physiological demands that badminton places on the body requires intense fitness preparation. So what training is vital to ensure high performance? In a series of interviews, sports coach for England’s national Badminton Team, Andy Alford, explores the different training methods used to enhance playing ability, and the principles behind them.

This material forms part of The Open University course E217 Sport and conditioning science into practice

How has the English language influenced your life? How would you define your relationship with English? In this collection these questions are explored by Poet Benjamin Zephaniah, writer Sindiwe Magona, and author Jung Chang amongst others. They discuss the impact of the language; and describe the part English has played in their life. For many of us the language can broaden experiences and opportunities, for others it can create obstacles and become a hindrance. How often do you change they way you speak to adapt to different environments or accommodate other peoples assumptions? Can we get an insight into who people are by how the use grammar and pronounce words? In a series of conversations we’re given access to the varying perspectives on the English language from a range of personal experiences.

This material forms part of The Open University course U214 Worlds of English.

The world of the early modern period (C10th - C16th) was one of religious obsession, power struggles and plunder. But it was also a world of stunning artistic endeavour. This collection shows how, encoded in the art and architecture of the time, you can find stories of political machinations, female influence and surging movements of people. We may think our own era has a monopoly on long-distance travel, but in the mediaeval period it was perfectly possible for Western Catholic artists to encounter Eastern Orthodox or Islamic cultures. And as the different cultures met, they influenced each other in unexpected ways.

This material forms part of The Open University course A226 Exploring art and visual culture.

Multiculturalism is one of the most vexing political issues of our day. How can people with very different values and customs live alongside each other? What is the history of multiculturalism? What are the arguments for and against its various forms? Has it failed? Does it have a future? The Open University's Nigel Warburton interviews ten leading thinkers about the meaning and implications of multiculturalism. David Edmonds introduces each episode.

This album provides the budding author with everything they need to know about approaching the art of fiction writing. Each track contains discussions and interviews with best-selling novelists from a variety of backgrounds including Alex Garland, Louis de Bernières, Abdulrazak Gurnah and Monique Roffey. This enlightening and engaging series tackles the practicalities and pitfalls of writing fiction. It contains invaluable advice on the creation of characters, the structure of narratives and how to turn an idea into the book you’ve always wanted to write. This material forms part of The Open University course A174 Start writing fiction. (New and updated content added July 2009)

Do we use our buildings to declare who we are? How far does our heritage influence our collective identity? This insightful album reveals Ireland's shifting attitudes towards its cultural heritage. In 1922 when it broke free of British rule to become an independent nation state, the Irish nationalists abandoned high-profile buildings like Dublin Castle as it was symbolic of their British oppressors, and it fell into ruin. Yet they proudly restored older sites like Cashel and New Grange, which is even older than the pyramids, to emphasise an earlier romantic Irish past. In doing so they literally reconstructed their new identity through obliterating the memories they didn't want to keep and reinforcing those they did. Today, with the passing of time and after joining the EU, the neglected buildings no longer provoke associations with a painful colonial history. St Mary's Church is now appreciated as a bar as well as a work of art. Ireland has moved on, and now embraces all of its heritage. In the audio track, Anne Laurence, a History Professor at The Open University, elaborates on the issues addressed in the album. This material is drawn from The Open University course AA100 The arts past and present.

German surrender brought the Second World War in Europe to an end. But all feared that war with Japan would drag on and on. Behind the scenes, the US had been working on a secret weapon – the most powerful ever devised – and by August 1945… it was no longer such a secret. These films explore A-Bomb in Pop Culture or: How The West Has Changed its Portrayal of the Atomic Bomb Through Time, from the dropping of the very first atomic bomb, through to the Cold War and right up to the present day. The films conclude by asking whether or not these types of weapon should have existed in the first place, and questioning what the future holds for the A-Bomb.
The films relate to the Open University Course A327 Europe 1914-1989: war, peace, modernity

What was it like to go to the theatre nearly 2500 years ago? Greek theatre has survived through the ages as a powerful and influential art form. This album introduces what early Greek theatres looked like and the kind of audience they attracted. Using the Theatre of Dionysus as a starting point, experts discuss the significance of attending the theatre as a civic occasion, associated with the political and cultural achievements of Athens. Through archaeology and analysis of contemporary art forms, such as decoration on pottery, a picture is built up of ancient Greek theatre. The album reveals how precious Greek texts have survived, and how Aeschylus’ tragedy 'Persians' has been interpreted in modern theatre. This material forms part of The Open University course A219 Exploring the classical world.

The Acropolis is one of the most famous ancient sites in the world. Rising over the city of Athens 150 metres above sea level, it consists of several significant archaeological remains of temples dedicated to various deities, and civic buildings. This album offers a chance to tour the Acropolis and examine its many buildings, including its best preserved temple, the Parthenon, along with its friezes, known as the Elgin Marbles. Also, the album follows the route of the procession that took place during the Panathenaea festival which rivalled the Olympic Games in popularity, and contains a track to help the student understand the conventions used to draw up plans of ancient buildings and to visualise 3-dimensional structures. This material forms part of The Open University course A219 Exploring the Classical World.