2011

Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage 6 Jan

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Byron’s poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.
820 English and Old English literatures
Random and Pseudorandom 13 Jan

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss randomness and pseudorandomness.
510 Mathematics
The Mexican Revolution 20 Jan

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Mexican Revolution.
970 History of North America
Aristotle’s Poetics 27 Jan

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Aristotle’s Poetics.
800 Literature, rhetoric and criticism

The Battle of Bannockburn 3 Feb

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Bannockburn.
940 History of Europe
The Nervous System 10 Feb

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the nervous system.
610 Medicine and health
Maimonides 17 Feb

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work and influence of Maimonides.
100 Philosophy
The Taiping Rebellion 24 Feb

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Taiping Rebellion.
950 History of Asia

The Age of the Universe 3 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the age of the Universe.
520 Astronomy
Free Will 10 Mar

In the 500th edition of the programme, Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the philosophical idea of free will.
100 Philosophy
The Medieval University 17 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval universities.
370 Education
The Iron Age 24 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the dawn of the European Iron Age.
930 History of the Ancient World
The Bhagavad Gita 31 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Bhagavad Gita.
290 Other religions

Octavia Hill 7 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Victorian social reformer Octavia Hill.
360 Social problems and social services
The Neutrino 14 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the neutrino.
530 Physics
The Pelagian Controversy 21 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Pelagian Controversy.
270 History of Christianity
Cogito Ergo Sum 28 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss one of the most famous statements in philosophy: “Cogito ergo sum”.
190 Modern Western Philosophy

Islamic Law and its Origins 5 May

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the origins and early development of Islamic law.
340 Law
The Anatomy of Melancholy 12 May

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Robert Burton’s masterpiece The Anatomy of Melancholy.
610 Medicine and health
Custer’s Last Stand 19 May

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’s Last Stand.
970 History of North America
Xenophon 26 May

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Xenophon.
930 History of the Ancient World

The Battle of Stamford Bridge 2 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
940 History of Europe
The Origins of Infectious Disease 9 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the origins of infectious disease.
570 Biology
Wyclif and the Lollards 16 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss John Wyclif and the Lollards.
270 History of Christianity
Malthusianism 23 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Malthusianism.
300 Social sciences, sociology and anthropology
Tennyson’s In Memoriam 30 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s long poem In Memoriam.
820 English and Old English literatures

The Minoan Civilisation 7 Jul

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Minoan Civilisation.
930 History of the Ancient World

The Hippocratic Oath 15 Sep

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Hippocratic Oath.
610 Medicine and health
Shinto 22 Sep

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Japanese belief system Shinto.
200 Religion
The Etruscan Civilisation 29 Sep

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Etruscan civilisation.
930 History of the Ancient World

David Hume 6 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work of the philosopher David Hume.
100 Philosophy
The Ming Voyages 13 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Ming Voyages.
950 History of Asia
Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People 20 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Delacroix’s painting Liberty Leading the People.
700 Arts
The Siege of Tenochtitlan 27 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Siege of Tenochtitlan.
970 History of North America

The Moon 3 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the origins, science and mythology of the moon.
520 Astronomy
The Continental-Analytic Split 10 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Continental-Analytic split in Western philosophy.
100 Philosophy
Ptolemy and Ancient Astronomy 17 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy, and consider how and why his geocentric theory of the universe held sway for so many centuries.
520 Astronomy
Judas Maccabeus 24 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the revolutionary Jewish leader Judas Maccabeus.
930 History of the Ancient World

Christina Rossetti 1 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of the Victorian poet Christina Rossetti.
820 English and Old English literatures
Heraclitus 8 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus.
180 Ancient, medieval, and Eastern philosophy
The Concordat of Worms 15 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Concordat of Worms.
940 History of Europe
Robinson Crusoe 22 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe.
820 English and Old English literatures
Macromolecules 29 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the giant molecules that form the basis of all life.
570 Biology