In Our Time Podcast
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas, people and events that have shaped our world.
Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from 91热爆 Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Melvyn Bragg and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world.
History fans can learn about pivotal wars and societal upheavals, such as the rise and fall of Napoleon, the Sack of Rome in 1527, and the political intrigue of the Russian Revolution. Those fascinated by the lives of kings and queens can journey to Versailles to meet Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV the Sun King, or to Ancient Egypt to meet Cleopatra and Nerfertiti. Or perhaps you鈥檙e looking to explore the history of religion, from Buddhism鈥檚 early teachings to the Protestant Reformation.
If you鈥檙e interested in the stories behind iconic works of art, music and literature, dive in to discussions on the artistic genius of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and Van Gogh鈥檚 famous Sunflowers. From Gothic architecture to the works of Shakespeare, each episode of In Our Time offers new insight into humanity鈥檚 cultural achievements.
Those looking to enrich their scientific knowledge can hear episodes on black holes, the Periodic Table, and classical theories of gravity, motion, evolution and relativity. Learn how the discovery of penicillin revolutionised medicine, and how the death of stars can lead to the formation of new planets.
Lovers of philosophy will find episodes on the big issues that define existence, from free will and ethics, to liberty and justice. In what ways did celebrated philosophers such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Karl Marx push forward radical new ideas? How has the concept of karma evolved from the ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism to today? What was Plato鈥檚 concept of an ideal republic, and how did he explore this through the legend of the lost city of Atlantis?
In Our Time celebrates the pursuit of knowledge and the enduring power of ideas.
Episodes to download
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Plutarch's Parallel Lives
Thu 19 Dec 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the influential Greek biographer and his main work
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The Habitability of Planets
Thu 12 Dec 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss ideas about where life may begin in the universe and how.
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Nizami Ganjavi
Thu 5 Dec 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great 12th-century Persian epic romantic poet.
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The Hanoverian Succession
Thu 28 Nov 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the politics that led to the coronation of George I.
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Italo Calvino
Thu 21 Nov 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the influential 20th-century Italian novelist and essayist
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The Antikythera Mechanism
Thu 14 Nov 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the mysterious ancient Greek astronomical computer.
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George Herbert
Thu 7 Nov 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss arguably the greatest devotional poem writer in English.
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The Venetian Empire
Thu 31 Oct 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise and eventual decline of the Venetian Empire.
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Little Women
Thu 24 Oct 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Louisa May Alcott's influential story of the March sisters
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Hayek's The Road to Serfdom
Thu 17 Oct 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Hayek's ideas on a state-planned economy's link to tyranny
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Robert Graves
Thu 10 Oct 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the fine poet of love and war and author of I, Claudius.
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The Haymarket Affair
Thu 3 Oct 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1886 bombing in Chicago amid violent labour conflict.
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Wormholes
Thu 26 Sep 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests test the idea that there are shortcuts between distant galaxies.
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Benjamin Disraeli
Thu 19 Sep 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most prominent Victorian politicians.
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Bacteriophages
Thu 4 Jul 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how viruses can help us track and cure bacterial illnesses
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Monet in England
Thu 27 Jun 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Claude Monet's fascination with the foggy Thames.
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Karma
Thu 20 Jun 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the doctrine on how you answer for your own actions.
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Fielding's Tom Jones
Thu 13 Jun 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the great English comic novels.
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The Orkneyinga Saga
Thu 6 Jun 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Saga of the Earls of Orkney up to the 13th century.
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Marsilius of Padua
Thu 30 May 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the great figures in the history of political ideas
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Empress Dowager Cixi
Thu 23 May 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the woman who dominated China's court for almost 50 years.
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Philippa Foot
Thu 16 May 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century
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Sir Thomas Wyatt
Thu 9 May 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the astonishing poet at the heart of Henry VIII's court
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Bertolt Brecht
Thu 25 Apr 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great 20th-century German playwright.
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Napoleon's Hundred Days
Thu 18 Apr 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Napoleon Bonaparte's surprise coup in 1815 before Waterloo
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Lysistrata
Thu 11 Apr 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Aristophanes' comedy in which a sex strike brings peace.
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Nikola Tesla
Thu 4 Apr 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the celebrated Serbian-American inventor.
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The Kalevala
Thu 28 Mar 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the epic poem that helped build the Finnish nation.
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Julian the Apostate
Thu 21 Mar 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the emperor who aimed to return Christian Rome to paganism
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