Radio 4’s The Art of Innovation is a series that — for once — deserves the label ‘landmark’

Radio 4, how do I love thee? Rather as one loves the flocked wallpaper that came with the house. It isn’t what one would have chosen — but it is home. Yes, even when plangent piano music indicates a meaningful drama is about to begin. Yes, even when said drama is a woefully wooden effort about Amy ‘a typical modern 18-year-old — who happens to be trans’. Sample quote: ‘You’ve had me for 18 years, now I want me for me!’ Sound effect: peevishly slammed door (mine). New trans dramas are, of course, welcome, but Woman’s Hour drama is often a bit miss and miss.

But then, on Monday, came a real treat: the start of a new 20-part series, The Art of Innovation, in which each short episode looks closely at a work of art, using it as a jumping-off point for a debate about how art interprets, promotes and critiques scientific progress.