2014

Plato’s Symposium 2 Jan

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Plato’s Symposium, one of the Greek philosopher’s most celebrated works.
180 Ancient, medieval, and Eastern philosophy
The Battle of Tours 16 Jan

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Tours.
940 History of Europe
Sources of Early Chinese History 23 Jan

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the sources for early Chinese history.
950 History of Asia
Catastrophism 30 Jan

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Catastrophism, the idea that natural disasters have had a significant influence in moulding the Earth’s geological features.
550 Earth sciences and geology

The Phoenicians 6 Feb

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Phoenicians.
930 History of the Ancient World
Chivalry 13 Feb

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss chivalry, the moral code observed by knights of the Middle Ages.
940 History of Europe
Social Darwinism 20 Feb

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Social Darwinism.
300 Social sciences, sociology and anthropology
The Eye 27 Feb

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the eye.
610 Medicine and health

Spartacus 6 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life of Spartacus, the gladiator who led a major slave rebellion against the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC.
930 History of the Ancient World
The Trinity 13 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Trinity.
230 Christianity
Bishop Berkeley 20 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work of George Berkeley, an Anglican bishop who was one of the most important philosophers of the eighteenth century.
100 Philosophy
Weber’s The Protestant Ethic 27 Mar

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Max Weber’s book the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
300 Social sciences, sociology and anthropology

States of Matter 3 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the science of matter and the states in which it can exist.
530 Physics
Strabo’s Geographica 10 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Strabo’s Geographica.
910 Geography and travel
The Domesday Book 17 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Domesday Book, a vast survey of the land and property of much of England and Wales completed in 1086.
940 History of Europe
Tristram Shandy 24 Apr

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Laurence Sterne’s novel Tristram Shandy.
820 English and Old English literatures

The Tale of Sinuhe 1 May

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss The Tale of Sinuhe, one of the most celebrated works of ancient Egyptian literature.
930 History of the Ancient World
The Sino-Japanese War 8 May

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-45.
950 History of Asia
Photosynthesis 15 May

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss photosynthesis, the process by which green plants and many other organisms use sunlight to synthesise organic molecules.
570 Biology
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 22 May

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
890 Other literatures
The Talmud 29 May

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the history and contents of the Talmud, one of the most important texts of Judaism.
290 Other religions

The Bluestockings 5 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Bluestockings.
300 Social sciences, sociology and anthropology
Robert Boyle 12 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Robert Boyle, a pioneering scientist and a founder member of the Royal Society.
540 Chemistry
The Philosophy of Solitude 19 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the philosophy of solitude.
120 Epistemology
Hildegard of Bingen 26 Jun

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss one of the most remarkable figures of the Middle Ages, Hildegard of Bingen.
780 Music

Mrs Dalloway 3 Jul

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs Dalloway.
820 English and Old English literatures
The Sun 10 Jul

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Sun.
520 Astronomy

e 25 Sep

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Euler’s number, also known as e.
510 Mathematics

Julius Caesar 2 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life, work and reputation of Julius Caesar.
930 History of the Ancient World
The Battle of Talas 9 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Talas, a significant encounter between Arab and Chinese forces which took place in central Asia in 751 AD.
950 History of Asia
Rudyard Kipling 16 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Rudyard Kipling.
820 English and Old English literatures
The Haitian Revolution 23 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Haitian Revolution.
970 History of North America
Nuclear Fusion 30 Oct

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss nuclear fusion, the process that powers stars.
530 Physics

Hatshepsut 6 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut, whose name means ‘foremost of noble ladies’.
930 History of the Ancient World
Brunel 13 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Victorian engineer responsible for bridges, tunnels and railways still in use today more than 150 years after they were built.
620 Engineering
Aesop 20 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Aesop.
390 Customs, etiquette and folklore
Kafka’s The Trial 27 Nov

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Franz Kafka’s novel of power and alienation ‘The Trial’, in which readers follow the protagonist Joseph K into a bizarre, nightmarish world in which he stands accused of an unknown crime; courts of interrogation convene in obscure tenement buildings; and there seems to be no escape from a crushing, oppressive bureaucracy.
830 German and related literatures

Zen 4 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Zen.
290 Other religions
Behavioural Ecology 11 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Behavioural Ecology, the scientific study of animal behaviour.
570 Biology
Truth 18 Dec

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the philosophy of truth.
100 Philosophy