In Our Time Archive: Culture
The history of ideas discussed by Melvyn Bragg and guests including Philosophy, science, literature, religion and the influence these ideas have on us today.
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All episodes (123)
In Memoriam
Wed, 29 Jun 11
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn and guests discuss one of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's greatest poem's, 'In Memoriam A.H.H.'. Written as a tribute to his best friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, who died suddenly and tragically at the age of 22, the poem offers an insight into Tennyson's deepest feelings of grief and loss. As well as being a heart-rending elegy, the poem also considers the new geological ideas that were coming to light at the time and the questions this knowledge raised about the history of the Earth as outlined in the Bible. Melvyn is joined by Dinah Birch, Professor of English Literature and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at Liverpool University; Seamus Perry, Fellow and Tutor in English at Balliol College, University of Oxford; and Jane Wright, Lecturer in English at the University of Bristol.
The Anatomy of Melancholy
Thu, 12 May 11
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy.
The Medieval University
Thu, 17 Mar 11
Duration:
42 minsMelvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval universities. In the 11th and 12th centuries a new type of institution started to appear in the major cities of Europe. The first universities were those of Bologna and Paris; within a hundred years similar educational organisations were springing up all over the continent. The universities provided training for those intending to embark on careers in the Church, the law and education. They provided a new focus for intellectual life in Europe, and exerted a significant influence on society around them. And the university model proved so robust that many of these institutions and their medieval innovations still exist today. With Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary, University of London; Ian Wei, Senior Lecturer in Medieval European History at the University of Bristol; and Peter Denley, Reader in History at Queen Mary, University of London.
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
Thu, 6 Jan 11
Duration:
42 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests consider the poem which allegedly made the Romantic English poet, Lord Byron, famous. 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' was a thinly veiled autobiographical poem recounting Byron's travels through the Mediterranean, the tales of the first and archetypal 'Byronic Hero'. Melvyn is joined by Jonathan Bate, Professor of English Literature at the University of Warwick; Jane Stabler, Reader in Romanticism at the University of St Andrews; and Emily Bernhard Jackson, Assistant Professor in Nineteenth-Century English Literature at the University of Arkansas.
Metaphor
Thu, 25 Nov 10
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests explore metaphor; the literary device that pervades our language, literature and lives. From medieval literature to Shakespeare, the Metaphysical poets and Virginia Woolf, this programme considers the role of metaphor in their work and more. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Julie Sanders, Professor of English Literature and Drama at the University of Nottingham; Steve Connor, Professor of Modern Literature and Theory at Birkbeck, University of London; and Tom Healy, Professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of Sussex.
The Unicorn
Thu, 28 Oct 10
Duration:
42 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests consider the origins and symbolism of that most legendary of mythical beasts, the unicorn. From ancient texts to medieval tapestries the unicorn has inspired writers, musicians and artists for centuries. Melvyn is joined by Juliette Wood, Associate Lecturer in Folklore at Cardiff University; Lauren Kassell, Lecturer in the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge; and David Ekserdjian, Professor of the History of Art and Film at the University of Leicester.
Sturm und Drang
Thu, 14 Oct 10
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 18th century 'Angry Young Men' movement in Germany, 'Sturm und Drang'. Translated into English as 'Storm and Stress', this short-lived movement was characterised by raw emotion, drama and rebellion. Melvyn is joined by Tim Blanning, Emeritus Professor of Modern European History at Cambridge University; Susanne Kord, Professor of German at University College, London; and Maike Oergel, Associate Professor of German at the University of Nottingham.
Al-Biruni
Thu, 10 Jun 10
Duration:
45 minsMelvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Central Asian polymath al-Biruni and his eleventh-century book the India. With Amira Bennison, Hugh Kennedy and James Montgomery.
Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists
Thu, 27 May 10
Duration:
42 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists. With David Ekserdjian, Martin Kemp and Evelyn Welch.
Roman Satire
Thu, 22 Apr 10
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Roman satire. Guests include Mary Beard, Duncan Kennedy and Denis Feeney.
Munch and The Scream
Thu, 18 Mar 10
Duration:
42 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Edvard Munch and his most famous painting, The Scream. Guests include David Jackson, Dorothy Rowe and Alastair Wright.
Silas Marner
Thu, 28 Jan 10
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss George Eliot's 1861 novel Silas Marner. With Rosemary Ashton, Dinah Birch and Valentine Cunningham.
Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Thu, 26 Nov 09
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. With Roy Foster, Katherine Mullin and Jeri Johnson.
Elizabethan Revenge
Thu, 18 Jun 09
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg discusses why revenge tragedy was so popular with Elizabethan theatre goers. With guests Jonathan Bate, Janet Clare and Julie Sanders.
The Whale: A History
Thu, 21 May 09
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the evolutionary history of the whale. Guests include Steve Jones, Bill Amos and Eleanor Weston.
Brave New World
Thu, 9 Apr 09
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Aldous Huxley's dystopian 1932 novel Brave New World. With David Bradshaw, Daniel Pick and Michele Barrett.
The Wasteland and Modernity
Thu, 26 Feb 09
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss TS Eliot's seminal poem The Wasteland. With Steve Connor, Fran Brearton and Lawrence Rainey.
The Brothers Grimm
Thu, 5 Feb 09
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. With Juliette Wood, Marina Warner and Tony Phelan.
Swift’s A Modest Proposal
Thu, 29 Jan 09
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Jonathan Swift's satirical 1729 pamphlet A Modest Proposal. With John Mullan, Judith Hawley and Ian McBride.
The Baroque Movement
Thu, 23 Oct 08
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the culture of the Baroque. With Tim Blanning, Nigel Aston and Helen Hills.
Dante’s Inferno
Thu, 3 Jul 08
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg examines Dante’s ‘Inferno’, a medieval journey through Hell’s nine circles. With guests Claire Honess, Margaret Kean and John Took.
Music of the Spheres
Thu, 19 Jun 08
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg explores the ancient astrological idea of the music of the spheres. With Peter Forshaw, Angela Voss and Jim Bennett.
The Metaphysical Poets
Thu, 19 Jun 08
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the Metaphysical poets, including John Donne and Andrew Marvell. With Tom Healy, Tom Cain and Julie Sanders.
The Riddle of the Sands
Thu, 12 Jun 08
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the prescient thriller about Anglo-German relations. Guests include Rosemary Ashton, Richard Evans and Tim Blanning.
The Library at Nineveh
Thu, 15 May 08
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss a treasure house of Assyrian ideas. With Eleanor Robson, Andrew George and Karen Radner.
Yeats and Irish Politics
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the effect of Irish politics on the work of the poet W.B. Yeats. With Roy Foster, Fran Brearton and Warwick Gould.
The Greek Myths
Thu, 13 Mar 08
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Greek myths from Achilles to Zeus. Guests include Nick Lowe, Mary Beard and Richard Buxton.
Lear
Thu, 28 Feb 08
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests examine Shakespeare’s bloodthirsty tragedy, King Lear. With Catherine Belsey, Jonathan Bate and Katherine Duncan-Jones.
The Fisher King
Thu, 17 Jan 08
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the enigmatic myth of the Fisher King. Guests include Juliette Wood, Carolyne Larrington and Stephen Knight.
Camus
Thu, 3 Jan 08
Duration:
43 minsThe life and work of the Algerian-French writer and philosopher, Albert Camus. Discussed with guests Peter Dunwoodie, Christina Howells and David Walker.
The Prelude
Thu, 22 Nov 07
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss William Wordsworth’s poem The Predule. Guests include Emma Mason, Stephen Gill and Rosemary Ashton.
Taste
Thu, 25 Oct 07
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 18th century obsession with taste. Guests include Amanda Vickery, John Mullan and Jeremy Black.
The Arabian Nights
Thu, 18 Oct 07
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg discusses the myths, tales and legends of the Arabian Nights. With guests Robert Irwin, Geert van Gelder and Marina Warner.
Madame Bovary
Thu, 12 Jul 07
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg discusses the 1857 trial of Gustave Flaubert's novel, Madame Bovary. With guests Andy Martin, Mary Orr and Robert Gildea.
Siegfried Sassoon
Thu, 7 Jun 07
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the war poet Siegfried Sassoon. Guests include Jean Moorcroft Wilson, Fran Brearton and Max Egremont.
Victorian Pessimism
Thu, 10 May 07
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg discusses the high pessimism of Victorian culture. Guests include Dinah Birch, Rosemary Ashton and Peter Mandler.
Greek and Roman Love Poetry
Thu, 26 Apr 07
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Greek and Roman love poetry. Guests include Nick Lowe, Edith Hall and Maria Wyke.
Epistolary Literature
Thu, 15 Mar 07
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg discusses epistolary literature from Aphra Benn to Les Liaisons Dangereuses. With John Mullan, Brean Hammond and Karen O’Brien.
Heart of Darkness
Thu, 15 Feb 07
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg discusses Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness. With Laurence Davies, Robert Hampson and Susan Jones.
Jorge Luis Borges
Thu, 4 Jan 07
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of Jorge Luis Borges. Guests include Edwin Williamson, Efrain Kristal and Evelyn Fishburn.
Pope
Thu, 9 Nov 06
Duration:
42 minsThe life and work of the brilliant, acerbic and unpopular poet Alexander Pope. With John Mullan, Jim McLaverty and Valerie Rumbold.
The Encyclopédie
Thu, 26 Oct 06
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the great achievements of the Enlightenment. Guests include David Wootton, Caroline Warman and Judith Hawley.
Comedy in Ancient Greek Theatre
Thu, 13 Jul 06
Duration:
42 minsMelvyn Bragg explores comedy in Ancient Greek theatre including Aristophanes and Menander. With Edith Hall, Nick Lowe and Paul Cartledge.
Pastoral Literature
Thu, 6 Jul 06
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss pastoral literature from Virgil to Dylan Thomas. With Helen Cooper, Julie Sanders and Laurence Lerner.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Thu, 8 Jun 06
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 19th century anti-slavery novel, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'. With Clive Webb, Celeste-Marie Bernier and Sarah Meer.
Mathematics and Music
Thu, 25 May 06
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the mathematical structures that lie within the heart of music. With Marcus du Sautoy, Robin Wilson and Ruth Tatlow.
Fairies
Thu, 11 May 06
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 5000 year cultural history of fairies. With guests Juliette Wood, Diane Purkiss and Nicola Bown.
Goethe
Thu, 6 Apr 06
Duration:
42 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great German polymath, Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Guests include Tim Blanning, Dan Wilson and Sarah Colvin.
Don Quixote
Thu, 16 Mar 06
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg considers the importance of the 17th century Spanish novel Don Quixote. With Edwin Williamson, Barry Ife and Jane Whetnall.
Chaucer
Thu, 9 Feb 06
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English literature. Guests include Carolyne Larrington, Helen Cooper and Ardis Butterfield.
Seventeenth Century Print Culture
Thu, 26 Jan 06
Duration:
28 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the controversy and scandal of 17th century print culture. With Kevin Sharpe, Joad Raymond and Ann Hughes.
The Oresteia
Thu, 29 Dec 05
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the ‘Oresteia’, the seminal trilogy of tragedies by Aeschylus. With Edith Hall, Simon Goldhill and Tom Healy.
Johnson
Thu, 27 Oct 05
Duration:
29 minsThe life and work of Samuel Johnson, a giant of 18th century literature. With guests John Mullan, Judith Hawley and Jim McLaverty.
Marlowe
Thu, 7 Jul 05
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the life of glittering Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe. With guests Jonathan Bate, Emma Smith and Katherine Duncan-Jones.
Merlin
Thu, 30 Jun 05
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines Merlin, prophet, magician, king maker and the mad man of the woods. With Juliette Wood, Stephen Knight and Peter Forshaw.
The Scriblerus Club
Thu, 9 Jun 05
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the satirical 18th century Scriblerus Club. Guests include John Mullan, Judith Hawley and Marcus Walsh.
Abelard and Heloise
Thu, 5 May 05
Duration:
39 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the medieval tale of Abelard and Heloise. Guests include Michael Clanchy, AC Grayling and Henrietta Leyser.
The Aeneid
Thu, 21 Apr 05
Duration:
42 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss ‘The Aeneid’, Virgil's great epic poem about Rome. Guests include Catherine Edwards, Edith Hall and Philip Hardie.
John Ruskin
Thu, 31 Mar 05
Duration:
43 minsThe life and work of one of the most influential figures of the Victorian era. With guests Dinah Birch, Stephan Collini and Keith Hanley.
Modernist Utopias
Fri, 11 Mar 05
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the mad, bad world of modern utopias. Guests include Laura Marcus, Steve Connor and John Carey.
Faust
Thu, 23 Dec 04
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the myth of Faustus and temptation by evil. Guests include Osman Durrani, Juliette Wood and Rosemary Ashton.
Sartre
Thu, 7 Oct 04
Duration:
43 minsThe life and work of French novelist, playwright and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. With guests Jonathan Ree, Benedict O’Donohue and Christina Howells.
Politeness
Thu, 30 Sep 04
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the cultural effect of the eighteenth century idea of Politeness. With Amanda Vickery, John Mullan and David Wootton.
The Odyssey
Thu, 9 Sep 04
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the monster filled epic, Homer’s Odyssey. Guests include Oliver Taplin, Edith Hall and Simon Goldhill.
The Later Romantics
Thu, 15 Apr 04
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the poetry, tragedy and idealism of Byron, Shelley and Keats. With guests Robert Woof, Jonathan Bate and Jennifer Wallace.
The Norse Gods
Thu, 11 Mar 04
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the myths and theology that inspired the Vikings. With guests Carrolyn Larrington, Heather O’Donohue and John Hines.
The Sublime
Thu, 12 Feb 04
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg explores a transcendental idea that took hold on the Age of Enlightenment. With Annie Janowitz, Peter De Bolla and Janet Todd.
Sensation
Thu, 6 Nov 03
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the novels of sensation, a Victorian literary phenomenon. Guests include John Mullen, Dinah Birch and Lyn Pykett.
Robin Hood
Thu, 30 Oct 03
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the centuries old myth of the most romantic noble outlaw. Guests include Stephen Knight, Juliette Wood and Thomas Kahn.
Bohemianism
Thu, 9 Oct 03
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the 19th century Parisian philosophy of life lived for art. With guests Hermione Lee, Virginia Nicholson and Graham Robb.
Youth
Thu, 17 Apr 03
Duration:
42 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the history of concepts and ideas on youth from antiquity to today. With guests Deborah Thom, Tim Whitmarsh and Tom Healy.
Proust
Thu, 10 Apr 03
Duration:
42 minsThe life and work of 19th century French novelist Marcel Proust. With Malcolm Bowie, Jacqueline Rose and Robert Fraser.
Originality
Thu, 20 Mar 03
Duration:
42 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests explore the creative force of originality. Guests include John Deathridge, Catherine Belsey and Jonathan Ree.
The Epic
Thu, 6 Feb 03
Duration:
29 minsThe history of the epic, from Homer's Odyssey to Joyce’s Ulysses. With John Carey, Karen Edwards and Oliver Taplin.
Victorian Realism
Thu, 14 Nov 02
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg explores Victorian realism and its focus on the ordinariness of life. Including guests Phil Davis, Dinah Birch and Andrew Wilson.
Cultural Imperialism
Thu, 27 Jun 02
Duration:
28 minsMelvyn Bragg examines how a dominant power can exert a cultural influence on its empire. With guests Linda Colley, Mary Beard and Philip Dodd.
Wagner
Thu, 20 Jun 02
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the position of Richard Wagner and his music in German culture. With John Deathridge, Michael Tanner and Lucy Beckett.
The Grand Tour
Thu, 30 May 02
Duration:
29 minsThe origins and cultural impact of 18th century tourism. With Chloe Chard, Edward Chaney and Jeremy Black.
Tolstoy
Thu, 25 Apr 02
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg explores the life and work of the 19th century Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. With guests A.N. Wilson, Catriona Kelly and Sarah Hudspith.
The Artist
Thu, 28 Mar 02
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg explores the history and changing the status of the artist. Including guests Tom Healy, Emma Barker and Tim Blanning.
Marriage
Thu, 21 Mar 02
Duration:
42 minsThe history of marriage from ancient Greek and Babylonian times to today. With guests Christina Hardyment, Frederick Pederson and Janet Soskice.
Milton
Thu, 7 Mar 02
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines both the literary and political careers of the poet John Milton. Including guests John Carey, Lisa Jardine and Blair Worden.
Yeats and Mysticism
Thu, 31 Jan 02
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg explores the strange and mystical world of the Irish poet W B Yeats. Including guests Roy Foster, Brenda Maddox and Warwick Gould.
Sensibility
Thu, 3 Jan 02
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the ideas behind the 18th century literary cult of sensibility. With Hermione Lee, John Mullan and Claire Tomalin.
Food
Thu, 27 Dec 01
Duration:
43 minsThe cultural history of food in Modern Europe since the Renaissance. With guests Felipe Fernandez Armesto, Rebecca Spang and Ivan Day.
Oscar Wilde
Thu, 6 Dec 01
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Oscar Wilde, his literary legacy and the Aesthetes. With Neil Sammels, Reginia Garnier and Valentine Cunningham.
Surrealism
Thu, 15 Nov 01
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss surrealism, the art of the unconscious. Guests include Darian Leader, Malcolm Bowie and Dawn Ades.
Dickens
Thu, 12 Jul 01
Duration:
29 minsThe achievements and legacy of the 19th century literary giant Charles Dickens. With guests Michael Slater, Rosemary Ashton and John Bowen.
Existentialism
Thu, 28 Jun 01
Duration:
28 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests examine the 20th century philosophy of existentialism. Guests include AC Grayling, Christina Howells and Simon Critchley.
The Sonnet
Thu, 21 Jun 01
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Sonnet, the most enduring form in the poet’s armoury. With guests Frank Kermode, Jonathan Bate and Phyllis Levin.
Literary Modernism
Thu, 26 Apr 01
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the movement that embraced Joyce, DH Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. With John Carey, Valentine Cunningham and Laura Marcus.
Shakespeare's Life
Thu, 15 Mar 01
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests consider the enigma of the life of William Shakespeare. Including guests Katherine Duncan-Jones, John Sutherland and Grace Iopollo.
Gothic
Thu, 4 Jan 01
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the origins and significance of the 18th century Gothic movement. With Chris Baldick, Andrew Wilson and Emma Clery.
Psychoanalysis and Literature
Thu, 9 Nov 00
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg assesses the role of Freudian analysis in understanding literature. With guests Malcolm Bowie, Adam Philips and Lisa Appignanesi.
The Romantics
Thu, 12 Oct 00
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideals, exponents and legacy of Romanticism. Including guests Jonathan Bate, Rosemary Ashton and Nicholas Roe.
London
Thu, 28 Sep 00
Duration:
42 minsThe history of London from its Neolithic origin to the digitalised capital city of today. With Peter Ackroyd, Claire Tomalin and Iain Sinclair.
Biography
Thu, 22 Jun 00
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines why the public is fascinated with the private lives of individuals. Including guests Richard Holmes, Amanda Foreman and Nigel Hamilton.
Inspiration and Genius
Thu, 15 Jun 00
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the true meaning of genius and whether it is born or made. With Arthur I. Miller, Juliet Mitchell and Michael Howe.
The Renaissance
Thu, 8 Jun 00
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg explores the veracity of modern claims about the culture of the Renaissance. With guests Evelyn Welch, Peter Burke and Francis Ames-Lewis.
The American Ideal
Thu, 1 Jun 00
Duration:
43 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests examine the ideals that underwrite the idealism of America. With Susan Sontag, Christopher Hitchens and John Keane.
Shakespeare's Work
Thu, 11 May 00
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines what it is about Shakespeare’s work that makes it universal. With Frank Kermode, Michael Bogdanov and Germaine Greer.
Death
Thu, 4 May 00
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the development of Western rituals and attitudes to death. With guests Thomas Lynch, Jonathan Dollimore and Marilyn Butler.
Englishness
Thu, 20 Apr 00
Duration:
42 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the characteristics of the English identity. Including guests Paul Langford, Lola Young and Peter Mandler.
Materialism and the Consumer
Thu, 23 Mar 00
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the development and future of material culture. With William Gibson and Rachel Bowlby.
Metamorphosis
Thu, 2 Mar 00
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg explores the enduring appeal of the Roman poet Ovid’s work Metamorphoses. With A.S. Byatt and A. Catherine Bates.
Reading
Thu, 17 Feb 00
Duration:
29 minsThe history of the politics, practice and process of reading. With guests Kevin Sharpe and Jacqueline Pearson.
Masculinity in Literature
Thu, 20 Jan 00
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg investigates the changing ideals of masculinity in 20th century literature. With guests Martin Amis and Cora Kaplan.
Tragedy
Thu, 2 Dec 99
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines whether the ancient genre of tragedy has a place in our own time. With George Steiner and Catherine Belsey.
The Novel
Thu, 11 Nov 99
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests consider the development and the future of the novel. With D.J. Taylor, Gillian Beer
Maths and Storytelling
Thu, 30 Sep 99
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines whether it is possible to apply mathematical logic to literature. With Marina Warner and John Allen Paulos.
Truth, Lies and Fiction
Thu, 15 Jul 99
Duration:
28 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss whether it matters if memoirs aren’t entirely truthful. With Elena Lappin and Nick Groom.
Capitalism
Thu, 24 Jun 99
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of capitalism from Marx to the collapse of Communism. With Anatole Kaletsky and Edward Luttwak.
The Monarchy
Thu, 10 Jun 99
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the enduring strengths and the current role of the British monarchy. With Bea Campbell and David Cannadine.
Memory and Culture
Thu, 27 May 99
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines how our collective and individual ways of remembering have changed. With Malcolm Bowie and Nancy Wood.
Multiculturalism
Thu, 13 May 99
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 20th century’s vast population and cultural shifts. With Avtar Brah and Stuart Hall.
Writing and Political Oppression
Thu, 8 Apr 99
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines whether writers have a political role in modern society. With writers Nadine Gordimer and Ariel Dorfman.
Architecture in the 20th Century
Thu, 25 Mar 99
Duration:
28 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests consider what the architecture of the 20th century says about the age. With Daniel Libeskind and Richard Weston.
Shakespeare and Literary Criticism
Thu, 4 Mar 99
Duration:
28 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the enduring popular and academic appeal of Shakespeare. With Harold Bloom and Jacqueline Rose.
The Avant Garde's Decline and Fall in the 20th Century
Thu, 25 Feb 99
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the history and legacy of 20th Century Avant Garde painting. With Frances Morris and Eric Hobsbawm.
Language and the Mind
Thu, 11 Feb 99
Duration:
28 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss whether the formation of language is innate or cultural. With Steven Pinker and Jonathan Miller.
Modern Culture
Thu, 28 Jan 99
Duration:
28 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the definition and state of modern culture in the 20th century. With Roger Scruton and Will Self.
Feminism
Thu, 7 Jan 99
Duration:
29 minsMelvyn Bragg and guests examine the development of the empowerment of women in the 20th century. With Germaine Greer and Helena Cronin.
The American Century
Thu, 17 Dec 98
Duration:
28 minsMelvyn Bragg examines how legitimate it is to call the 20th century the American century. With Harry Evans and John Lloyd.
Work in the 20th Century
Thu, 26 Nov 98
Duration:
28 minsMelvyn Bragg examines the changing ideas about the function of work in the 20th century. With Theodore Zeldin, Melanie Philips and Richard Sennett.
The City in the 20th Century
Thu, 12 Nov 98
Duration:
28 minsMelvyn Bragg looks at the innovative developments of the city in the 20th century. With Doreen Massey and Peter Hall.
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Play episodes
- In Memoriam
- The Anatomy of Melancholy
- The Medieval University
- Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
- Metaphor
- The Unicorn
- Sturm und Drang
- Al-Biruni
- Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists
- Roman Satire
- Munch and The Scream
- Silas Marner
- Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
- Elizabethan Revenge
- The Whale: A History
- Brave New World
- The Wasteland and Modernity
- The Brothers Grimm
- Swift’s A Modest Proposal
- The Baroque Movement
- Dante’s Inferno
- Music of the Spheres
- The Metaphysical Poets
- The Riddle of the Sands
- The Library at Nineveh
- Yeats and Irish Politics
- The Greek Myths
- Lear
- The Fisher King
- Camus
- The Prelude
- Taste
- The Arabian Nights
- Madame Bovary
- Siegfried Sassoon
- Victorian Pessimism
- Greek and Roman Love Poetry
- Epistolary Literature
- Heart of Darkness
- Jorge Luis Borges
- Pope
- The Encyclopédie
- Comedy in Ancient Greek Theatre
- Pastoral Literature
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin
- Mathematics and Music
- Fairies
- Goethe
- Don Quixote
- Chaucer
- Seventeenth Century Print Culture
- The Oresteia
- Johnson
- Marlowe
- Merlin
- The Scriblerus Club
- Abelard and Heloise
- The Aeneid
- John Ruskin
- Modernist Utopias
- Faust
- Sartre
- Politeness
- The Odyssey
- The Later Romantics
- The Norse Gods
- The Sublime
- Sensation
- Robin Hood
- Bohemianism
- Youth
- Proust
- Originality
- The Epic
- Victorian Realism
- Cultural Imperialism
- Wagner
- The Grand Tour
- Tolstoy
- The Artist
- Marriage
- Milton
- Yeats and Mysticism
- Sensibility
- Food
- Oscar Wilde
- Surrealism
- Dickens
- Existentialism
- The Sonnet
- Literary Modernism
- Shakespeare's Life
- Gothic
- Psychoanalysis and Literature
- The Romantics
- London
- Biography
- Inspiration and Genius
- The Renaissance
- The American Ideal
- Shakespeare's Work
- Death
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