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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

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    Architecture and Power

    Thu 31 Oct 2002

    Melvyn Bragg explores the ideas architecture expresses about our past and identity.

  • The Scientist

    Thu 24 Oct 2002

    Melvyn Bragg explores the origin of the concept and the historical role of the scientist.

  • Slavery and Empire

    Thu 17 Oct 2002

    Melvyn Bragg examines British imperialism and its captives, both slaves and Britons.

  • Heritage

    Thu 18 Jul 2002

    Melvyn Bragg explores the relationship between heritage culture and the study of history.

  • Psychoanalysis and Democracy

    Thu 11 Jul 2002

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact of politics on psychoanalysis.

  • Freedom

    Thu 4 Jul 2002

    Melvyn Bragg considers what it is to be free and how freedom became such a powerful value.

  • Cultural Imperialism

    Thu 27 Jun 2002

    Melvyn Bragg examines how a dominant power can exert a cultural influence on its empire.

  • Wagner

    Thu 20 Jun 2002

    Melvyn Bragg examines the position of Richard Wagner and his music in German culture.

  • The American West

    Thu 13 Jun 2002

    Melvyn Bragg explores the myths and harsh reality of the 19th century American pioneers.

  • The Soul

    Thu 6 Jun 2002

    The history of thought on immortality, the self and the afterlife.

  • The Grand Tour

    Thu 30 May 2002

    The origins and cultural impact of 18th century tourism.

  • Drugs

    Thu 23 May 2002

    Melvyn Bragg examines the role of narcotics and stimulants in the history of medicine.

  • Chaos Theory

    Thu 16 May 2002

    Melvyn Bragg examines how Chaos Theory has affected our understanding of the universe.

  • The Examined Life

    Thu 9 May 2002

    Melvyn Bragg investigates how our preoccupations about how to live have altered over time.

  • The Physics of Reality

    Thu 2 May 2002

    Melvyn Bragg examines the attempt to reconcile Quantum Theory and classical physics.

  • Tolstoy

    Thu 25 Apr 2002

    Melvyn Bragg explores the life and work of the 19th century Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy.

  • Bohemia

    Thu 11 Apr 2002

    The history of the ancient kingdom and its religious, national and ethnic ideologies.

  • Extra Terrestrials

    Thu 4 Apr 2002

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss our chances of ever discovering life on another planet.

  • The Artist

    Thu 28 Mar 2002

    Melvyn Bragg explores the history and changing the status of the artist.

  • Marriage

    Thu 21 Mar 2002

    The history of marriage from ancient Greek and Babylonian times to today.

  • The Buddha

    Thu 14 Mar 2002

    The life of Siddhartha Gautama and the legacy of his teachings.

  • Milton

    Thu 7 Mar 2002

    Melvyn Bragg examines both the literary and political careers of the poet John Milton.

  • Virtue

    Thu 28 Feb 2002

    Melvyn Bragg explores the meaning and purpose of the philosophical concept of virtue.

  • The Celts

    Thu 21 Feb 2002

    Melvyn Bragg examines what we really know about the Celts of pre-Roman Britain.

  • Anatomy

    Thu 14 Feb 2002

    The 2000 year old history of mankind's quest to understand the human body.

  • The Universe's Shape

    Thu 7 Feb 2002

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the shape, size and topology of the universe.

  • Yeats and Mysticism

    Thu 31 Jan 2002

    Melvyn Bragg explores the strange and mystical world of the Irish poet W B Yeats.

  • Happiness

    Thu 24 Jan 2002

    Melvyn Bragg considers whether 'happiness' means living a life of pleasure or of virtue.

  • Catharism

    Thu 17 Jan 2002

    Melvyn Bragg examines the Cathars, a medieval European Christian sect accused of heresy.

  • Nuclear Physics

    Thu 10 Jan 2002

    Melvyn Bragg examines the 20th century development of nuclear physics as a science.

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