Main content

Podcast

Misha Glenny and guests discuss the ideas, people and events that have shaped our world.

A world-class seminar, every week.

In Our Time explores the ideas, people and discoveries that have shaped our world, spanning history, philosophy, religion, science, literature, art and culture.

On Thursdays, hear brand-new episodes hosted by Misha Glenny and leading academics. On Mondays, discover Misha's Archive Picks: classic conversations from the In Our Time archive, originally presented by Melvyn Bragg.

Recent episodes have featured topics as wide-ranging as the Roman Arena, Handel's Messiah, John Keats, On Liberty and the Mariana Trench, bringing expert insight to pivotal events, influential thinkers and remarkable discoveries.

Throughout the archive, you can hear discussions on historical figures such as Marie Antoinette, Nefertiti, Mary Wollstonecraft, Karl Marx and Albert Einstein; explore great works of literature such as Shakespeare鈥檚 Hamlet, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the poetry of John Donne; uncover the stories behind cultural masterpieces including Van Gogh's Sunflowers and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel; or journey from Jupiter and the death of stars, to the theories of Plato and Aristotle.

In Our Time celebrates the pursuit of knowledge and the enduring power of ideas.

Updated: weekly
Episodes available: indefinitely

Episodes to download

  •

    Averroes

    Thu 5 Oct 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 12th century Islamic philosopher, Averroes.

  • Humboldt

    Thu 28 Sep 2006

    Melvyn Bragg examines the Prussian naturalist and explorer, Alexander Von Humboldt.

  • Comedy in Ancient Greek Theatre

    Thu 13 Jul 2006

    Melvyn Bragg explores comedy in Ancient Greek theatre including Aristophanes and Menander.

  • Pastoral Literature

    Thu 6 Jul 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss pastoral literature from Virgil to Dylan Thomas.

  • Galaxies

    Thu 29 Jun 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the creation and destruction of galaxies.

  • The Spanish Inquisition

    Thu 22 Jun 2006

    Melvyn Bragg examines the Spanish Inquisition, defenders of medieval orthodoxy.

  • Carbon

    Thu 15 Jun 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss carbon, which forms the basis of all organic life.

  • Uncle Tom's Cabin

    Thu 8 Jun 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 19th century anti-slavery novel, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'.

  • The Heart

    Thu 1 Jun 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of ideas about the heart.

  • Mathematics and Music

    Thu 25 May 2006

    Melvyn Bragg examines the mathematical structures that lie within the heart of music.

  • Mill

    Thu 18 May 2006

    The life and ideas of the 19th century political philosopher John Stuart Mill.

  • Fairies

    Thu 11 May 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 5000 year cultural history of fairies.

  • Astronomy and Empire

    Thu 4 May 2006

    Melvyn Bragg examines the relationship between astronomy and British Imperial expansion.

  • The Great Exhibition of 1851

    Thu 27 Apr 2006

    Melvyn Bragg examines the exhibition that showcased Victorian Britain's industrial might.

  • Immunisation

    Thu 20 Apr 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the search for immunisation and its impact on society.

  • The Oxford Movement

    Thu 13 Apr 2006

    Melvyn Bragg examines the 19th century Catholic movement within the Church of England.

  • Jorge Luis Borges

    Thu 6 Apr 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of Jorge Luis Borges.

  • Goethe

    Thu 6 Apr 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great German polymath, Johann Wolfgang Goethe.

  • The Carolingian Renaissance

    Thu 30 Mar 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Emperor Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance.

  • The Royal Society

    Thu 23 Mar 2006

    The history of the formation of the Royal Society, the oldest scientific academy.

  • Don Quixote

    Thu 16 Mar 2006

    Melvyn Bragg considers the importance of the 17th century Spanish novel Don Quixote.

  • Negative Numbers

    Thu 9 Mar 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss negative numbers, a history of mystery and suspicion.

  • Friendship

    Thu 2 Mar 2006

    Melvyn Bragg explores the concept of friendship; 鈥榓 single soul dwelling in two bodies鈥�.

  • Catherine the Great

    Thu 23 Feb 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Empress who transformed and modernized Russia.

  • Human Evolution

    Thu 16 Feb 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the six million year old story of human evolution.

  • Chaucer

    Thu 9 Feb 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English literature.

  • The Abbasid Caliphs

    Thu 2 Feb 2006

    Melvyn Bragg examines the Abbasid Caliphs, rulers of the Islamic world for 200 years.

  • Seventeenth Century Print Culture

    Thu 26 Jan 2006

    Melvyn Bragg examines the controversy and scandal of 17th century print culture.

  • Relativism

    Thu 19 Jan 2006

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss relativism; a philosophy with no absolute truths.

  • Prime Numbers

    Thu 12 Jan 2006

    Melvyn Bragg examines prime numbers and their mysterious role in the universe of numbers.

  2. 1
  3. …
  4. 26
  5. 27
  6. 28
  7. 29
  8. 30
  9. …
  10. 38

In Our Time podcasts

Download episodes from the huge In Our Time archive.

The In Our Time Listeners' Top 10

If you鈥檙e new to In Our Time, this is a good place to start.

This podcast belongs to