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 ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ 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’re looking to explore the history of religion, from Buddhism’s early teachings to the Protestant Reformation.
If you’re 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’s famous Sunflowers. From Gothic architecture to the works of Shakespeare, each episode of In Our Time offers new insight into humanity’s 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’s 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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Antarah ibn Shaddad
Thu 28 Feb 2019
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the poetry and context of this pre-Islamic Arabian knight
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Pheromones
Thu 21 Feb 2019
A discussion of the chemicals that animals use in order to affect others of their species.
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Judith beheading Holofernes
Thu 14 Feb 2019
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how this Bible story has inspired artists for centuries.
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Aristotle's Biology
Thu 7 Feb 2019
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the scientific study of life, originated by Aristotle.
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Owain Glyndwr
Thu 31 Jan 2019
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the fight for Welsh independence in the early 15th century
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Emmy Noether
Thu 24 Jan 2019
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas of one of the great 20th-century mathematicians.
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Samuel Beckett
Thu 17 Jan 2019
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the playwright and novelist, author of Waiting for Godot
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Papal Infallibility
Thu 10 Jan 2019
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the idea that Popes cannot err in exercise of their office
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Venus
Thu 27 Dec 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the planet closest to Earth, sometimes called Earth's twin
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The Poor Laws
Thu 20 Dec 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Poor Law of 1834 and the rise of the workhouse
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Thu 13 Dec 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the greatest poems from medieval England
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The Thirty Years War
Thu 6 Dec 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the devastating war across the Holy Roman Empire 1618-1648
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The Long March
Thu 29 Nov 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Red Army's retreat across China, from October 1934
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Hope
Thu 22 Nov 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the philosophy of hope - a weakness or a strength?
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Horace
Thu 15 Nov 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Roman poet Horace, who flourished under Augustus.
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Marie Antoinette
Thu 8 Nov 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Austrian princess, guillotined as Queen of France.
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Free Radicals
Thu 1 Nov 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the molecules linked to cell functioning and ageing
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The Fable of the Bees
Thu 25 Oct 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Mandeville's work on the public benefit of private vices.
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Is Shakespeare History? The Romans
Thu 18 Oct 2018
Melvyn Bragg discusses the impact of Shakespeare's approach to history (programme 2 of 2).
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Is Shakespeare History? The Plantagenets
Thu 11 Oct 2018
Melvyn Bragg discusses the impact of Shakespeare's approach to history (programme 1 of 2)
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Edith Wharton
Thu 4 Oct 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Wharton's novels of America's Gilded Age.
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Thu 27 Sep 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the German theologian, killed for plotting against Hitler
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Automata
Thu 20 Sep 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of machines imitating living beings.
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The Iliad
Thu 13 Sep 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the epic poem on the wrath of Achilles in the Trojan War.
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William Morris
Thu 5 Jul 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss a great cultural figure of the 19th century.
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The Mexican-American War
Thu 28 Jun 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1846-48 war that cost Mexico half its territory.
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Echolocation
Thu 21 Jun 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how some animals sense their world with sound not sight.
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Montesquieu
Thu 14 Jun 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss republicanism, despotism and the separation of powers.
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Persepolis
Thu 7 Jun 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Achaemenid Empire's great ceremonial capital.
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Henrik Ibsen
Thu 31 May 2018
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the playwright and his tragedies of middle-class life.
In Our Time podcasts
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The In Our Time Listeners' Top 10
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