In Our Time-Logo

Talk

In Our Time

Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Misha Glenny and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world. History fans can learn about pivotal wars and societal upheavals, such as the rise and fall of Napoleon, the Sack of Rome in 1527, and the political intrigue of the Russian Revolution. Those fascinated by the lives of kings and queens can journey to Versailles to meet Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV the Sun King, or to Ancient Egypt to meet Cleopatra and Nefertiti. Or perhaps you're looking to explore the history of religion, from Buddhism's early teachings to the Protestant Reformation. If you're interested in the stories behind iconic works of art, music and literature, dive in to discussions on the artistic genius of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and Van Gogh's famous Sunflowers. From Gothic architecture to the works of Shakespeare, each episode of In Our Time offers new insight into humanity's cultural achievements. Those looking to enrich their scientific knowledge can hear episodes on black holes, the Periodic Table, and classical theories of gravity, motion, evolution and relativity. Learn how the discovery of penicillin revolutionised medicine, and how the death of stars can lead to the formation of new planets. Lovers of philosophy will find episodes on the big issues that define existence, from free will and ethics, to liberty and justice. In what ways did celebrated philosophers such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Karl Marx push forward radical new ideas? How has the concept of karma evolved from the ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism to today? What was Plato's concept of an ideal republic, and how did he explore this through the legend of the lost city of Atlantis? In Our Time celebrates the pursuit of knowledge and the enduring power of ideas.

Jetzt anhören
  • im Online-Player
  • im phonostar-Player
  • Was ist das?
    Radio hören mit phonostar Help layer phonostarplayer Um Radio anzuhören, stehen dir bei phonostar zwei Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung: Entweder hörst du mit dem Online-Player direkt in deinem Browser, oder du nutzt den phonostar-Player. Der phonostar-Player ist eine kostenlose Software für PC und Mac, mit der du Radio unabhängig von deinem Browser finden, hören und sogar aufnehmen kannst. ›››› phonostar-Player gratis herunterladen X

Folgen von In Our Time

1087 Folgen
  • Folge vom 01.04.2004
    China's Warring States period
    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the astonishing productivity of the Chinese Golden Age. 400 BC to 200 AD is known as the Axial Age, when great civilisations in Asia and the Mediterranean forged the ideas that dominated the next two thousand years. In China the equivalent to the Golden Age in Greece was the Warring States Period. It was a time of political turmoil, economic change and intellectual ferment that laid the foundations for the first Chinese Empire. Astronomy was systematised, the principles of Yin and Yang were invented, Confucianism grew and Taoism emerged, as a hundred schools of thought are reputed to have vied for the patronage of rival kings.Why was a period of war such a fertile age for culture and thought, what kinds of ideas were developed and how do they still inform the thinking of nearly a fifth of the world’s population?With Dr Chris Cullen, Director of the Needham Research Institute at Cambridge University; Dr Vivienne Lo, Lecturer at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine; Carol Michaelson, Assistant Keeper of Chinese Art in the Department of Oriental Antiquities at the British Museum.
    Jetzt anhören
    • im Online-Player
    • im phonostar-Player
    • Was ist das?
      Radio hören mit phonostar Help layer phonostarplayer Um Radio anzuhören, stehen dir bei phonostar zwei Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung: Entweder hörst du mit dem Online-Player direkt in deinem Browser, oder du nutzt den phonostar-Player. Der phonostar-Player ist eine kostenlose Software für PC und Mac, mit der du Radio unabhängig von deinem Browser finden, hören und sogar aufnehmen kannst. ›››› phonostar-Player gratis herunterladen X
  • Folge vom 25.03.2004
    Theories of Everything
    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 30 year search to solve all the biggest questions in physics. At the end of the last century, brave voices were predicting that all the big questions of physics were on the verge of being answered by a Theory of Everything. The disparity between the physics of the very small would finally be reconciled with the very large, and the four forces of nature would finally be united with a single set of equations. It was suggested that with such a theory we might solve the riddle of black holes, unlock the secrets of the Big Bang, probe other universes and even uncover the mystery of travelling through time. But Stephen Hawking, who once said that with a Theory of Everything “we would know the mind of God”, has changed his mind and now says that it may not be possible after all. So what are the prospects for a Theory of Everything? Why do we need one? How do we get one? And what would it mean if we did? With Brian Greene, Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Columbia University and author of The Fabric of the Cosmos; John Barrow, Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge and author of The Constants of Nature; Dr Val Gibson, particle physicist from the Cavendish Laboratory and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
    Jetzt anhören
    • im Online-Player
    • im phonostar-Player
    • Was ist das?
      Radio hören mit phonostar Help layer phonostarplayer Um Radio anzuhören, stehen dir bei phonostar zwei Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung: Entweder hörst du mit dem Online-Player direkt in deinem Browser, oder du nutzt den phonostar-Player. Der phonostar-Player ist eine kostenlose Software für PC und Mac, mit der du Radio unabhängig von deinem Browser finden, hören und sogar aufnehmen kannst. ›››› phonostar-Player gratis herunterladen X
  • Folge vom 11.03.2004
    The Norse Gods
    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Vikings’ myths. Thor’s huge hammer, the wailing Valkyrie, howling wolves and fierce elemental giants give a rowdy impression of the Norse myths. But at the centre of their cosmos stands a gnarled old Ash tree, from which all distances are measured and under which Valhalla lies. In the first poem of The Poetic Edda, where the stories of the Norse Gods are laid down in verse, the Seeress describes it in her prophesy: “I know that an ash-tree stands called Yggdrasil,a high tree soaked with shining loamfrom there come the dews which fall in the valley, ever green, it stands over the well of fate.” It is from this tree that the father of the Gods, Odin, will ultimately hang himself: an image of divine sacrifice so problematic for thirteenth century Christians that they left it out when they wrote the myths down.What was the theology that inspired the Vikings and what role did their myths and religion play in their daily lives?With Carolyne Larrington, Tutor in Medieval English at St John’s College, Oxford; Heather O’Donoghue, Vigfusson Rausing Reader in Ancient Icelandic Literature in the Department of English at Oxford University; John Hines, Professor of Archaeology at Cardiff University.
    Jetzt anhören
    • im Online-Player
    • im phonostar-Player
    • Was ist das?
      Radio hören mit phonostar Help layer phonostarplayer Um Radio anzuhören, stehen dir bei phonostar zwei Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung: Entweder hörst du mit dem Online-Player direkt in deinem Browser, oder du nutzt den phonostar-Player. Der phonostar-Player ist eine kostenlose Software für PC und Mac, mit der du Radio unabhängig von deinem Browser finden, hören und sogar aufnehmen kannst. ›››› phonostar-Player gratis herunterladen X
  • Folge vom 04.03.2004
    Dreams
    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the interpretation of dreams. Over a hundred years ago, Sigmund Freud declared confidently, “The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind”. He was writing in his famous volume, The Interpretation of Dreams and his ideas made a huge impact on the century that was to follow. However, despite the cultural influence of his work, there is still no agreement in neuroscience as to the function or mechanism of dreaming; this is partly because for much of the century the prevailing wisdom was that there was no meaning to dreams at all.What is the mental circuitry that creates our dreams? If they have no meaning, why do we dream them? And why is the tide turning with neuroscientists starting to find reasons to take dreams seriously again?With Professor V S Ramachandran, Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego; Mark Solms, Professor of Neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town; Martin Conway, Professor of Psychology at the University of Durham.
    Jetzt anhören
    • im Online-Player
    • im phonostar-Player
    • Was ist das?
      Radio hören mit phonostar Help layer phonostarplayer Um Radio anzuhören, stehen dir bei phonostar zwei Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung: Entweder hörst du mit dem Online-Player direkt in deinem Browser, oder du nutzt den phonostar-Player. Der phonostar-Player ist eine kostenlose Software für PC und Mac, mit der du Radio unabhängig von deinem Browser finden, hören und sogar aufnehmen kannst. ›››› phonostar-Player gratis herunterladen X