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Why do some ideas transform the world immediately while others languish for decades before being recognised? On Radio 4's weekly discussion programme, Tom Sutcliffe is joined by three guests exploring creativity, influence and the long lives of true artistry.

David Byrne, the musician, writer and founding member of Talking Heads, discusses his book Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up. Drawing on examples from art, science and technology, he examines why some innovations are overlooked in their own time and what eventually brings them back into view.

The acclaimed potter and author Edmund de Waal talks about How to Begin, a personal reflection on artistic apprenticeship, resilience and creative discovery, inspired by a remarkable correspondence between his grandmother and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

Emma Capron, curator at the National Gallery, introduces the exhibition Van Eyck: The Portraits. Bringing together all of Jan van Eyck鈥檚 known painted portraits for the first time, the exhibition (which runs until April 2027) explores how the fifteenth-century artist transformed portraiture and changed the way people were represented in art.

Producer: Katy Hickman
Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez