Melvyn Bragg explores what defines a hero, and their place in classical society. Read more
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Heroism
Melvyn Bragg explores what defines a hero, and their place in classical society.
Zero
Melvyn Bragg examines the number between 1 and -1, once denounced as the devil's work.
Toleration
Melvyn Bragg looks at the politics behind the rise of religious freedom in England.
The Planets
Melvyn Bragg examines our knowledge of the planets in both our and other solar systems.
Babylon
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the truth behind the empire of Babylon.
Empiricism
Melvyn Bragg examines the 17th century idea that all knowledge arises from experience.
Renaissance Magic
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Renaissance obsession with Magic.
Washington and the American Revolution
Melvyn Bragg examines the first President of the US and what drove him to revolution.
Pi
Melvyn Bragg examines the history of the longest and most detailed number in nature.
The Odyssey
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the monster filled epic, Homer’s Odyssey.
Agincourt
The history and legacy of the English army's defeat of the French at Agincourt in 1415.
The Origins of Life
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss when and how life on earth originated.
Politeness
Melvyn Bragg examines the cultural effect of the eighteenth century idea of Politeness.
Sartre
The life and work of French novelist, playwright and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
The Han Synthesis
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Han Synthesis philosophies of China.
Witchcraft
The history of witchcraft in Reformation Europe.
Rhetoric
Melvyn Bragg and guests discusses rhetoric; supported by Aristotle but reviled by Plato.
Electrickery
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the dawn of the age of electricity.
Zoroastrianism
The history of Zoroastrianism, claimed to be the first monotheistic religion.
Higgs Boson
The history of the quest to find the Higgs Boson, also known as the 'God Particle'.
The Venerable Bede
The life and work of the Venerable Bede who revolutionised Christian scholarship.
Jung
The extraordinary mind and theories of the psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung.
Machiavelli and the Italian City States
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics
Melvyn Bragg examines the Second Law of Thermodynamics from steam to the Big Bang.
Faust
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the myth of Faustus and temptation by evil.
The Roman Republic
The rise and eventual downfall of the Roman Republic which survived for 500 years.
Tsar Alexander II's assassination
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881.
The Mind/Body Problem
Melvyn Bragg examines the history of thought about the mind/body problem in philosophy.
The Cambrian Period
Melvyn Bragg examines the Cambrian period, when there was an explosion of life on Earth.
Alchemy
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Alchemy, the ancient science of transformations.
Stoicism
Melvyn Bragg explore Stoicism, the most influential philosophy in the Ancient World.