In Our Time Podcast
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’s 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.
Episodes to download
-
![]()
-
![]()
-
![]()
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.
-
![]()
-
![]()
-
![]()
-
![]()
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.
-
![]()
-
![]()
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.
-
![]()
Sensibility
Thu 3 Jan 2002
Melvyn Bragg examines the ideas behind the 18th century literary cult of sensibility.
-
![]()
-
![]()
Rome and European Civilization
Thu 20 Dec 2001
Melvyn Bragg and guests assess the role that Rome has played in European civilization.
-
![]()
Genetics
Thu 13 Dec 2001
Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the development of the science of genetics.
-
![]()
Oscar Wilde
Thu 6 Dec 2001
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Oscar Wilde, his literary legacy and the Aesthetes.
-
![]()
Third Crusade
Thu 29 Nov 2001
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the highs and lows of the Third Crusade.
-
![]()
Oceanography
Thu 22 Nov 2001
Melvyn Bragg explores what science has revealed, and we still don't know, about the sea.
-
![]()
-
![]()
The British Empire
Thu 8 Nov 2001
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ethos and legacy of the British Empire.
In Our Time podcasts
Download episodes from the huge In Our Time archive.
The In Our Time Listeners' Top 10
If you’re new to In Our Time, this is a good place to start.
