In Our Time

BBC Radio 4

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.

Play

Open in

40 episodes
a few times a week
Avg 49 min
English

Episodes 40

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

July 30 · 53 min
Seashells
The familiar sight in the sand that reveals the diversity and intricacy of marine life.
July 23 · 56 min
Vigée Le Brun
The woman who became Marie Antoinette's official portraitist and won fame across Europe.
July 16 · 54 min
The Delian League
The ancient alliance initially formed to protect Greek city states from the Persian Empire
July 9 · 53 min
Machado de Assis
The great Brazilian novelist, whose satires of slave owners transcend time and place.
July 3 · 27 min
The Global Story - The soft power superpower, with Roman Mars
As 4th July approaches, we think you’ll like this episode of The Global Story.
July 2 · 54 min
The Evolution of Trees
How trees first arose from small plants and changed the world, and why new trees emerge.
June 25 · 52 min
The Welsh Marches
How the Norman invasion of Britain created semi-independent warlord territories in Wales.
June 18 · 55 min
The Levellers
The political movement during the English Civil War committed to a new idea of equality.
June 11 · 57 min
The Garamantes
The ancient civilisation which thrived in the Sahara Desert over 2,000 years ago.
June 4 · 55 min
Joseph Roth
One of the great writers on Central Europe after WW1 and author of Radetzky March.
May 28 · 52 min
Cybernetics
The origins and lasting influences of the study of communication in animals and machines.
May 21 · 51 min
Indian Indentured Labour
How slavery's abolition led to Indian workers being recruited to work in British colonies.
May 14 · 55 min
M.C. Escher
The graphic artist's amazing paradoxical world, and the interplay between maths and art.
May 7 · 54 min
Handel's Messiah
The origin and development of Handel's great sacred oratorio, premiered in Dublin in 1742.
April 30 · 55 min
The Spanish-American War 1898
How a war that began in Cuba saw the US acquire the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico.
April 23 · 52 min
Silicon
The role of silicon from chips to glass to the balance of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere
April 16 · 50 min
Dadaism
How, in 1916 in Zurich, artists responded to the absurdity of war by creating absurd art.
April 9 · 53 min
Archaea
How a discovery in the 1970s changed the theory of the origin of complex life on earth.
April 2 · 54 min
Margaret Beaufort
How one woman helped her son survive the Wars of the Roses to become the first Tudor king.
March 26 · 52 min
The Columbian Exchange
The impact of the spread of animals, crops and diseases between continents after 1492.

Showing 21–40 of 40 episodes