In Our Time With Melvyn Bragg Folgen

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss one of the simplest and most remarkable of all molecules: water. Water is among the most abundant substances on Earth, covering more than two-thirds of the planet. Consisting of just three atoms, the water molecule is superficially simple in its structure but extraordinary in its properties. It is a rare example of a substance that can be found on Earth in gaseous, liquid and solid forms, and thanks to its unique chemical behaviour is the basis of all known life. Scientists are still discovering new things about it, such as the fact that there are at least fifteen different forms of ice.Hasok Chang Hans Rausing Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of CambridgeAndrea Sella Professor of Chemistry at University College LondonPatricia Hunt Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at Imperial College London.Producer: Thomas Morris.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work of Alfred Russel Wallace, a pioneer of evolutionary theory. Born in 1823, Wallace travelled extensively, charting the distribution of animal species throughout the world. This fieldwork in the Amazon and later the Malay Archipelago led him to formulate a theory of evolution through natural selection. In 1858 he sent the paper he wrote on the subject to Charles Darwin, who was spurred into the writing and publication of his own masterpiece On the Origin of Species. Wallace was also the founder of the science of biogeography and made important discoveries about the nature of animal coloration. But despite his visionary work, Wallace has been overshadowed by the greater fame of his contemporary Darwin.With:Steve Jones Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College LondonGeorge Beccaloni Curator of Cockroaches and Related Insects and Director of the Wallace Correspondence Project at the Natural History MuseumTed Benton Professor of Sociology at the University of EssexProducer: Thomas Morris.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Anton Chekhov. Born in 1860, Chekhov trained as a doctor and for most of his adult life divided his time between medicine and writing. Best known for plays including The Cherry Orchard and Three Sisters, he is also celebrated today as one of the greatest of short story writers. His works are often powerful character studies and chronicle the changing nature of Russian society in the late nineteenth century.With:Catriona Kelly Professor of Russian at the University of OxfordCynthia Marsh Emeritus Professor of Russian Drama and Literature at the University of NottinghamRosamund Bartlett Founding Director of the Anton Chekhov Foundation and former Reader in Russian at the University of Durham.Producer: Thomas Morris.