Royal Institution Christmas Lectures The Mind’s I: BBC2, Sunday, January 1, 1.15pm. The nature of the relationship between the human brain, individuality and memory still eludes scientists. Susan Greenfield concludes the season of lectures with an exploration of the current state of research.

Henry Purcell The English Orpheus: BBC2, Sunday, January 1, 4.30pm: 1995 is the tercentenary of the death of Henry Purcell and this programme introduces a season of commemorative broadcasts on BBC2 and Radio 3, including concerts, operas and documentaries.

Cold Comfort Farm: BBC1, Sunday, January 1, 9.30pm. This showcase drama is the first co-production between former rivals the BBC and Thames Television. A social satire set in the Thirties, it has been adapted for television by Malcolm Bradbury, directed by John Schlesinger and stars Joanna Lumley and Ian McKellen.

Distant Voices: Radio 2, Monday, January 2, 10am. The BBC sound archives have been searched for early sound recordings of famous people, giving a rare chance to hear how people like Joyce and Einstein actually sounded although the only recording of Queen Victoria has been lost.

Home Movies: Channel 4, Tuesday, January 3, 3.55pm. Home movies can be packed with unintended social history, and this collection of cine films from the west country shows how amateur film makers recorded their families and everyday life in the Thirties and Forties.

UN Blues: Channel 4, Tuesday, January 3, 9pm. The anniversary industry rolls on with this three-part documentary on the United Nations, founded 50 years ago. The first episode suggests that the Cold War anti-communist hysteria in the United States undermined the early idealism of the United Nations, with the United States failing to lend its full support to the principles of the UN Charter.