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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

  •

    Angels

    Thu 24 Mar 2005

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the heavenly host of Angels.

  • Dark Energy

    Thu 17 Mar 2005

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

  • Modernist Utopias

    Thu 10 Mar 2005

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

  • Stoicism

    Thu 3 Mar 2005

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

  • Alchemy

    Thu 24 Feb 2005

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

  • The Cambrian Period

    Thu 17 Feb 2005

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

  • The Mind/Body Problem

    Thu 13 Jan 2005

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

  • Tsar Alexander II's assassination

    Thu 6 Jan 2005

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

  • The Roman Republic

    Thu 30 Dec 2004

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

  • Faust

    Thu 23 Dec 2004

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

  • The Second Law of Thermodynamics

    Thu 16 Dec 2004

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

  • Machiavelli and the Italian City States

    Thu 9 Dec 2004

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli.

  • Jung

    Thu 2 Dec 2004

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

  • The Venerable Bede

    Thu 25 Nov 2004

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

  • Higgs Boson

    Thu 18 Nov 2004

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

  • Zoroastrianism

    Thu 11 Nov 2004

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

  • Electrickery

    Thu 4 Nov 2004

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

  • Rhetoric

    Thu 28 Oct 2004

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

  • Witchcraft

    Thu 21 Oct 2004

    The history of witchcraft in Reformation Europe.

  • The Han Synthesis

    Thu 14 Oct 2004

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

  • Sartre

    Thu 7 Oct 2004

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

  • Politeness

    Thu 30 Sep 2004

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

  • The Origins of Life

    Thu 23 Sep 2004

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

  • Agincourt

    Thu 16 Sep 2004

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

  • The Odyssey

    Thu 9 Sep 2004

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

  • Pi

    Thu 2 Sep 2004

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

  • Washington and the American Revolution

    Thu 24 Jun 2004

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

  • Renaissance Magic

    Thu 17 Jun 2004

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Renaissance obsession with Magic.

  • Empiricism

    Thu 10 Jun 2004

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

  • Babylon

    Thu 3 Jun 2004

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the truth behind the empire of Babylon.

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