2005

Tsar Alexander II’s assassination 6 Jan

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the assassination of Tsar Alexander II.
940 History of Europe
The Mind/Body Problem 13 Jan

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the mind/body problem in philosophy.
120 Epistemology

The Cambrian Period 17 Feb

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Cambrian period when there was an explosion of life on Earth.
560 Fossils and prehistoric life
Alchemy 24 Feb

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

Stoicism 3 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Stoicism, the third great philosophy of the Ancient World.
100 Philosophy
Modernist Utopias 10 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the mad, bad world of modern utopias.
320 Political science
Dark Energy 17 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss ‘dark energy’.
520 Astronomy
Angels 24 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the heavenly host of Angels.
200 Religion
John Ruskin 31 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of John Ruskin.
700 Arts

Alfred and the Battle of Edington 7 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss King Alfred and the defeat of the Vikings at Battle of Edington.
940 History of Europe
Archaeology and Imperialism 14 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the link between archaeology and imperialism.
930 History of the Ancient World
The Aeneid 21 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss ‘The Aeneid’.
870 Latin and Italic literatures
Perception and the Senses 28 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss perception: how the brain reacts to the mass of data continually crowding it.
150 Psychology

Abelard and Heloise 5 May

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the story of Abelard and Heloise, a tale of literature and philosophy, theology and scandal, and above all love in the high Middle Ages.
800 Literature, rhetoric and criticism
Beauty 19 May

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss beauty and its qualities.
110 Metaphysics
The French Revolution’s reign of terror 26 May

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the reign of terror during the French Revolution.
940 History of Europe

Renaissance Maths 2 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Renaissance Mathematics.
510 Mathematics
The Scriblerus Club 9 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Scriblerus Club.
800 Literature, rhetoric and criticism
Paganism in the Renaissance 16 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss paganism in the Renaissance.
940 History of Europe
The KT Boundary 23 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the KT Boundary.
560 Fossils and prehistoric life
Merlin 30 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the legendary wizard Merlin.
390 Customs, etiquette and folklore

Marlowe 7 Jul

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Christopher Marlowe.
820 English and Old English literatures
Marx 14 Jul

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Karl Marx.
330 Economics

Magnetism 29 Sep

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of magnetism.
530 Physics

The Field of the Cloth of Gold 6 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Field of the Cloth of Gold, an extraordinary international party.
940 History of Europe
Mammals 13 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise of the mammals.
590 Animals (Zoology)
Cynicism 20 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Cynics, the performance artists of philosophy.
180 Ancient, medieval, and Eastern philosophy
Johnson 27 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Samuel Johnson, a giant of 18th century literature.
820 English and Old English literatures

Asteroids 3 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the unique properties of asteroids.
520 Astronomy
Greyfriars and Blackfriars 10 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the religious orders of the Dominicans and the Franciscans, known as the Blackfriars and Greyfriars.
270 History of Christianity
Pragmatism 17 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the American philosophy of pragmatism.
190 Modern Western Philosophy
The Graviton 24 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the search for the Graviton particle.
530 Physics

Hobbes 1 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great 17th century political philosopher Thomas Hobbes who argued: “During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man”.
320 Political science
Artificial Intelligence 8 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss artificial intelligence.
000 Computer science, knowledge and systems
The Peterloo Massacre 15 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Peterloo Massacre in 1819, a defining moment of its age.
940 History of Europe
Heaven 22 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss ideas of heaven and the afterlife.
230 Christianity
The Oresteia 29 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ‘Oresteia’, the seminal trilogy of tragedies by Aeschylus.
880 Classical and modern Greek literatures