Empiricism

Melvyn Bragg examines the 17th century idea that all knowledge arises from experience.

• 45 mins

Renaissance Magic

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Renaissance obsession with Magic.

• 45 mins

Washington and the American Revolution

Melvyn Bragg examines the first President of the US and what drove him to revolution.

• 45 mins

Pi

Melvyn Bragg examines the history of the longest and most detailed number in nature.

• 45 mins

The Odyssey

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the monster filled epic, Homer’s Odyssey.

• 45 mins

Agincourt

The history and legacy of the English army's defeat of the French at Agincourt in 1415.

• 45 mins

The Origins of Life

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss when and how life on earth originated.

• 45 mins

Politeness

Melvyn Bragg examines the cultural effect of the eighteenth century idea of Politeness.

• 45 mins

Sartre

The life and work of French novelist, playwright and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.

• 45 mins

The Han Synthesis

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Han Synthesis philosophies of China.

• 45 mins

Witchcraft

The history of witchcraft in Reformation Europe.

• 45 mins

Rhetoric

Melvyn Bragg and guests discusses rhetoric; supported by Aristotle but reviled by Plato.

• 45 mins

Electrickery

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the dawn of the age of electricity.

• 45 mins

Zoroastrianism

The history of Zoroastrianism, claimed to be the first monotheistic religion.

• 45 mins

Higgs Boson

The history of the quest to find the Higgs Boson, also known as the 'God Particle'.

• 45 mins

The Venerable Bede

The life and work of the Venerable Bede who revolutionised Christian scholarship.

• 30 mins

Jung

The extraordinary mind and theories of the psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung.

• 45 mins

Machiavelli and the Italian City States

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli.

• 45 mins

The Second Law of Thermodynamics

Melvyn Bragg examines the Second Law of Thermodynamics from steam to the Big Bang.

• 45 mins

Faust

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the myth of Faustus and temptation by evil.

• 45 mins

The Roman Republic

The rise and eventual downfall of the Roman Republic which survived for 500 years.

• 45 mins

Tsar Alexander II's assassination

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881.

• 45 mins

The Mind/Body Problem

Melvyn Bragg examines the history of thought about the mind/body problem in philosophy.

• 45 mins

The Cambrian Period

Melvyn Bragg examines the Cambrian period, when there was an explosion of life on Earth.

• 45 mins

Alchemy

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Alchemy, the ancient science of transformations.

• 45 mins

Stoicism

Melvyn Bragg explore Stoicism, the most influential philosophy in the Ancient World.

• 45 mins

Modernist Utopias

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the mad, bad world of modern utopias.

• 45 mins

Dark Energy

Melvyn Bragg examines recently discovered 'dark energy' and its effect on the universe.

• 45 mins

Angels

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the heavenly host of Angels.

• 45 mins

John Ruskin

The life and work of one of the most influential figures of the Victorian era.

• 45 mins