Twitter: @BBCInOurTime
Site: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01gyd7j
283 episodes
1998 to present
Average episode: 41 minutes
Open in Apple Podcasts • RSS
Categories: Broadcast Radio Programs • Panel-Style
Podcaster's summary: Scientific principles, theory, and the role of key figures in the advancement of science.
| Episodes |
| 2024-Mar-28 • 58 minutes Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Heisenberg's key role at the outset of quantum mechanics |
| 2024-Mar-07 • 50 minutes Hormones Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the chemical signals that control the ways our bodies work |
| 2023-Nov-02 • 49 minutes Plankton Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the tiny lifeforms that sustain so much life on earth. |
| 2023-Oct-12 • 49 minutes Albert Einstein Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Einstein's astonishing impact on theoretical physics. |
| 2023-Jul-27 • 53 minutes Jupiter Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the largest planet in our solar system. |
| 2023-Jun-29 • 52 minutes Mitochondria Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the power-packs within cells in all complex life on Earth. |
| 2023-May-18 • 50 minutes Linnaeus Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas and legacy of the pioneering Swedish botanist. |
| 2023-Mar-23 • 51 minutes Paul Erdős Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of the prolific Hungarian mathematician. |
| 2023-Mar-02 • 54 minutes Tycho Brahe Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 16th-century astronomer, renowned for his accuracy. |
| 2023-Feb-23 • 51 minutes Superconductivity Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why some materials lose all electrical resistance. |
| 2022-Dec-22 • 51 minutes The Challenger Expedition 1872-1876 Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great global Victorian voyage of scientific discovery. |
| 2022-Nov-17 • 56 minutes The Fish-Tetrapod Transition Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the great stages in the evolution of life on Earth. |
| 2022-Oct-27 • 50 minutes The Electron Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the atomic particle that's proved a gateway to modernity. |
| 2022-Jul-07 • 58 minutes The Death of Stars Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how the ends of stars can lead to new planets and new life |
| 2022-May-12 • 51 minutes Homo erectus Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the two-million-year span of our most adaptable ancestor. |
| 2022-Apr-07 • 50 minutes Seismology Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how the study of earthquakes helps reveal Earth's secrets. |
| 2022-Mar-04 • 1 minutes In Our Time is now first on BBC Sounds New episodes will now be available first on Sounds for 28 days before other podcast apps. |
| 2021-Nov-11 • 51 minutes William and Caroline Herschel Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the siblings at the forefront of 18th-century astronomy |
| 2021-Oct-28 • 52 minutes Corals Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the simple animals which form the now-threatened reefs. |
| 2021-Oct-07 • 48 minutes The Manhattan Project Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the race to build an atom bomb before anyone else in WW2 |
| 2021-Sep-16 • 53 minutes The Evolution of Crocodiles Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the land animals of the Triassic that dominated dinosaurs. |
| 2021-May-13 • 50 minutes Longitude Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the idea of longitude and the race to calculate it at sea. |
| 2021-Apr-08 • 48 minutes Pierre-Simon Laplace Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great French mathematician behind metrication. |
| 2021-Mar-11 • 49 minutes The Late Devonian Extinction Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the five major extinction events on Earth so far. |
| 2021-Feb-04 • 50 minutes Emilie du Châtelet Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss an astonishing mathematician of the French Enlightenment. |
| 2020-Dec-31 • 51 minutes Eclipses Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the scientific advances gained from studying eclipses. |
| 2020-Oct-15 • 53 minutes Alan Turing Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the short, brilliant life of computer science's founder. |
| 2020-Mar-05 • 51 minutes Paul Dirac Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the greatest theoretical physicists who ever lived. |
| 2020-Feb-27 • 50 minutes The Evolution of Horses Discussion of the origin, migration, extinction and domestication of horses. |
| 2020-Jan-23 • 55 minutes Solar Wind Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss solar wind, from auroras to the edge of the solar system. |
| 2019-Oct-31 • 51 minutes Hybrids Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how parents from different species can reproduce |
| 2019-Oct-03 • 52 minutes Dorothy Hodgkin Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry |
| 2019-May-23 • 52 minutes Kinetic Theory Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how we know gas molecules move rather than keep still. |
| 2019-Apr-11 • 49 minutes The Evolution of Teeth Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how teeth evolved in our toothless ancestors - and why. |
| 2019-Feb-21 • 49 minutes Pheromones A discussion of the chemicals that animals use in order to affect others of their species. |
| 2019-Feb-07 • 50 minutes Aristotle's Biology Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the scientific study of life, originated by Aristotle. |
| 2019-Jan-24 • 48 minutes Emmy Noether Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas of one of the great 20th-century mathematicians. |
| 2018-Dec-27 • 50 minutes Venus Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the planet closest to Earth, sometimes called Earth's twin |
| 2018-Nov-01 • 51 minutes Free Radicals Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the molecules linked to cell functioning and ageing |
| 2018-Sep-20 • 52 minutes Automata Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of machines imitating living beings. |
| 2018-Jun-21 • 51 minutes Echolocation Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how some animals sense their world with sound not sight. |
| 2018-Apr-26 • 49 minutes The Proton Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Proton, found in the nuclei of all elements. |
| 2018-Apr-12 • 50 minutes George and Robert Stephenson Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss George and Robert Stephenson and the birth of railways. |
| 2018-Feb-22 • 50 minutes Rosalind Franklin Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the pioneering scientist Rosalind Franklin. |
| 2018-Feb-15 • 49 minutes Fungi Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss fungi. |
| 2018-Feb-01 • 47 minutes Cephalopods Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the biology of squid, octopus, cuttlefish and nautilus. |
| 2017-Nov-30 • 49 minutes Carl Friedrich Gauss Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Gauss, one of the great mathematicians. |
| 2017-Oct-26 • 48 minutes Feathered Dinosaurs Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss which dinosaurs were feathered, and their links to birds. |
| 2017-Jul-06 • 51 minutes Bird Migration Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how birds navigate and the risks and benefits of migration |
| 2017-Jun-01 • 49 minutes Enzymes Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss enzymes, the catalysts essential for life. |
| 2017-May-18 • 51 minutes Louis Pasteur Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Louis Pasteur, known as a founder of microbiology. |
| 2017-Apr-06 • 48 minutes Pauli's Exclusion Principle Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Wolfgang Pauli and the Pauli Exclusion Principle. |
| 2017-Mar-16 • 50 minutes The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the highest global temperatures in the last 65m years. |
| 2017-Mar-02 • 48 minutes The Kuiper Belt Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the icy Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune, home to Pluto. |
| 2017-Feb-16 • 49 minutes Maths in the Early Islamic World Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the flourishing of maths in the Islamic world from C8th. |
| 2017-Jan-26 • 46 minutes Parasitism Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Parasitism, where one species gains at the cost of another |
| 2016-Dec-29 • 49 minutes Johannes Kepler Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss astronomer Johannes Kepler. |
| 2016-Oct-27 • 46 minutes John Dalton Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss scientist John Dalton. |
| 2016-Oct-13 • 46 minutes Plasma Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss plasma, one of the fundamental states of matter. |
| 2016-Sep-22 • 47 minutes Zeno's Paradoxes Does an arrow in flight move and could Achilles overtake a tortoise? Not according to Zeno |
| 2016-Jul-07 • 49 minutes The Invention of Photography Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the invention of photography. |
| 2016-Jun-09 • 47 minutes Penicillin Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the discovery of penicillin. |
| 2016-Apr-28 • 46 minutes Euclid's Elements Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Elements of Euclid. |
| 2016-Apr-21 • 46 minutes 1816, the Year Without a Summer Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 1816, known as the year without a summer. |
| 2016-Apr-14 • 46 minutes The Neutron Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the neutron. |
| 2016-Feb-18 • 48 minutes Robert Hooke Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 17th-century scientist Robert Hooke. |
| 2016-Feb-04 • 47 minutes Chromatography Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the origins, development and uses of chromatography. |
| 2016-Jan-14 • 47 minutes Saturn Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the planet Saturn. |
| 2015-Dec-24 • 46 minutes Michael Faraday Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the scientist Michael Faraday. |
| 2015-Dec-17 • 48 minutes Circadian Rhythms Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss circadian rhythms. |
| 2015-Nov-05 • 46 minutes P v NP Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the mathematical problem of P versus NP. |
| 2015-Sep-24 • 46 minutes Perpetual Motion Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss perpetual motion. |
| 2015-Jun-25 • 46 minutes Extremophiles Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss extremophiles and astrobiology. |
| 2015-May-28 • 46 minutes The Science of Glass Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the puzzling science of glass. |
| 2015-Apr-30 • 47 minutes The Earth's Core Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Earth's core. |
| 2015-Mar-26 • 47 minutes The Curies Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the scientific achievements of the Curie family. |
| 2015-Mar-12 • 46 minutes Dark Matter Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss dark matter, the 'missing mass' of the universe. |
| 2015-Feb-12 • 45 minutes The Photon Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the photon, the fundamental particle of light. |
| 2014-Dec-11 • 46 minutes Behavioural Ecology Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss behavioural ecology. |
| 2014-Nov-13 • 45 minutes Brunel Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Isambard Kingdom Brunel. |
| 2014-Oct-30 • 47 minutes Nuclear Fusion Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the history and science of nuclear fusion. |
| 2014-Sep-25 • 45 minutes e Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Euler's number, e. |
| 2014-Jul-10 • 47 minutes The Sun Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the science of the sun, source of all our energy. |
| 2014-Jun-12 • 47 minutes Robert Boyle Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work of the pioneering scientist Robert Boyle. |
| 2014-May-15 • 47 minutes Photosynthesis Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss photosynthesis. |
| 2014-Apr-03 • 47 minutes States of Matter Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the states of matter, from solids to plasmas. |
| 2014-Feb-27 • 42 minutes The Eye Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of ideas about the eye and how it works. |
| 2014-Feb-20 • 42 minutes Social Darwinism Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Social Darwinism. |
| 2014-Jan-30 • 42 minutes Catastrophism Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the geological theory of Catastrophism. |
| 2013-Dec-19 • 42 minutes Complexity Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss complexity theory. |
| 2013-Nov-28 • 42 minutes The Microscope Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the development of the microscope. |
| 2013-Oct-10 • 42 minutes Galen Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Roman physician and medical theorist Galen. |
| 2013-Oct-03 • 42 minutes Exoplanets Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. |
| 2013-Sep-19 • 42 minutes Pascal Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of the French thinker Blaise Pascal. |
| 2013-Jul-04 • 42 minutes The Invention of Radio Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the invention of radio. |
| 2013-Jun-06 • 42 minutes Relativity Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Einstein's theory of relativity. |
| 2013-May-16 • 42 minutes Cosmic Rays Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss cosmic rays. |
| 2013-Mar-28 • 39 minutes Water Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss water, one of the most remarkable of all molecules. |
| 2013-Mar-07 • 42 minutes Absolute Zero Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss absolute zero, the lowest possible temperature. |
| 2013-Feb-28 • 42 minutes Pitt-Rivers Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Victorian archaeologist Augustus Pitt-Rivers. |
| 2013-Jan-17 • 42 minutes Comets Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss comets, the 'dirty snowballs' of the solar system. |
| 2012-Nov-28 • 42 minutes Crystallography Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the history and achievements of crystallography. |
| 2012-Oct-25 • 42 minutes Fermat's Last Theorem Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Fermat's Last Theorem. |
| 2012-Sep-13 • 42 minutes The Cell Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the biology and origins of the cell. |
| 2012-May-10 • 42 minutes Game Theory Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss game theory, the mathematical study of decision-making |
| 2012-Apr-12 • 42 minutes Early Geology Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the emergence of geology as a scientific discipline. |
| 2012-Mar-29 • 42 minutes The Measurement of Time Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the measurement of time. |
| 2012-Feb-23 • 42 minutes Conductors and Semiconductors Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the physics of electrical conduction. |
| 2012-Jan-26 • 42 minutes The Scientific Method Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Scientific Method. |
| 2011-Dec-29 • 42 minutes Macromolecules Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the giant molecules that underpin all life. |
| 2011-Sep-15 • 42 minutes The Hippocratic Oath Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Hippocratic Oath. |
| 2011-Jun-08 • 42 minutes The Origins of Infectious Disease Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the origins of infectious disease. |
| 2011-Apr-14 • 42 minutes The Neutrino Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the neutrino, the so-called 'ghost particle'. |
| 2011-Mar-03 • 42 minutes The Age of the Universe Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the age of the Universe. |
| 2011-Feb-10 • 42 minutes The Nervous System Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the nervous system. |
| 2011-Jan-13 • 42 minutes Random and Pseudorandom Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss mathematical randomness and pseudorandomness. |
| 2010-Dec-09 • 42 minutes Thomas Edison Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the American technological pioneer Thomas Edison. |
| 2010-Nov-04 • 42 minutes Women and Enlightenment Science Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the role played by women in Enlightenment science. |
| 2010-Oct-21 • 42 minutes Logic Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the history of logic. |
| 2010-Sep-23 • 42 minutes Imaginary Numbers Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss imaginary numbers. |
| 2010-Jul-08 • 42 minutes Pliny's Natural History Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Pliny's Natural History, one of the first encyclopedias. |
| 2010-Jun-24 • 42 minutes Antarctica Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of the Antarctic and its exploration. |
| 2010-Jun-17 • 42 minutes The Neanderthals Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the evolution and characteristics of the Neanderthals. |
| 2010-May-20 • 42 minutes The Cavendish Family in Science Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the scientific achievements of the Cavendish family. |
| 2010-May-06 • 42 minutes The Cool Universe Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Cool Universe. |
| 2010-Mar-04 • 42 minutes The Infant Brain Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss what new research reveals about the infant brain. |
| 2010-Feb-11 • 42 minutes Mathematics' Unintended Consequences Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the unintended consequences of mathematical discoveries. |
| 2010-Jan-07 • 42 minutes The Royal Society and British Science: Episode 4 The more discreet role played by the Society in the 20th century. |
| 2010-Jan-06 • 42 minutes The Royal Society and British Science: Episode 3 The 19th century blooms scientifically with numerous alternative, specialist societies. |
| 2010-Jan-05 • 42 minutes The Royal Society and British Science: Episode 2 How Newton tested the lines between government-funded research and public access. |
| 2010-Jan-04 • 42 minutes The Royal Society and British Science: Episode 1 Melvyn Bragg travels to Oxford, where the young Christopher Wren and friends experimented. |
| 2009-Dec-10 • 42 minutes Pythagoras Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas of Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans. |
| 2009-Nov-12 • 42 minutes Radiation Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the discovery of radiation, from radio waves to gamma rays |
| 2009-Oct-22 • 42 minutes The Geological Formation of Britain Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the geological formation of Britain. |
| 2009-Sep-24 • 42 minutes Calculus The dispute between Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz over who invented calculus. |
| 2009-Jul-09 • 42 minutes Ediacara Biota Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Ediacara Biota. |
| 2009-Jul-02 • 42 minutes Logical Positivism Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the radical philosophy of the Vienna Circle. |
| 2009-May-21 • 42 minutes The Whale - A History Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the evolutionary history of the whale. |
| 2009-Apr-30 • 42 minutes The Vacuum of Space Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Vacuum of Space. |
| 2009-Apr-02 • 42 minutes Baconian Science Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Jacobean thinker Francis Bacon and Baconian Science. |
| 2009-Mar-12 • 42 minutes The Library of Alexandria Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Library of Alexandria. |
| 2009-Mar-05 • 42 minutes The Measurement Problem in Physics Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the measurement problem in physics. |
| 2009-Feb-19 • 42 minutes The Observatory at Jaipur Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the observatory at Jaipur. |
| 2009-Jan-08 • 42 minutes Darwin: Life After Origins Melvyn visits Darwin's home at Down House in Kent. |
| 2009-Jan-07 • 42 minutes Darwin: On the Origin of Species How Darwin was eventually persuaded to publish On the Origin of Species in November 1859. |
| 2009-Jan-06 • 43 minutes Darwin: The Voyage of the Beagle How Darwin's work during the Beagle expedition influenced his theories. |
| 2009-Jan-05 • 43 minutes Darwin: On the Origins of Charles Darwin Darwin's early life in Shropshire and his three years at Cambridge. |
| 2008-Dec-18 • 42 minutes The Physics of Time Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the physics of time. |
| 2008-Dec-04 • 42 minutes Heat Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of scientific ideas about Heat. |
| 2008-Nov-13 • 42 minutes Neuroscience Melvyn Bragg examines neuroscience, the relationship between the mind and the brain. |
| 2008-Oct-16 • 42 minutes Vitalism Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 18th and 19th century quest for the spark of life. |
| 2008-Oct-09 • 42 minutes Godel's Incompleteness Theorems Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the mathematician Kurt Godel and his work. |
| 2008-Jun-19 • 42 minutes The Music of the Spheres Melvyn Bragg explores the ancient astrological idea of the music of the spheres. |
| 2008-Jun-05 • 42 minutes Lysenkoism Melvyn Bragg examines the destructive career of the Soviet geneticist Trofim Lysenko. |
| 2008-May-29 • 42 minutes Probability Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the strange mathematics of probability. |
| 2008-May-08 • 42 minutes The Brain The history of cultural, medical, artistic and philosophical ideas about the human brain. |
| 2008-Apr-03 • 42 minutes The Laws of Motion Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Isaac Newton’s Laws of Motion. |
| 2008-Mar-06 • 42 minutes Ada Lovelace Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Ada Lovelace - the Victorian ‘enchantress of numbers’. |
| 2008-Feb-21 • 42 minutes The Multiverse Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the Multiverse. |
| 2008-Jan-24 • 42 minutes Plate Tectonics Melvyn Bragg examines plate tectonics, a theory that transformed our idea of the earth. |
| 2007-Dec-20 • 42 minutes The Four Humours Melvyn Bragg discusses the four humours in medical history. |
| 2007-Dec-06 • 42 minutes Genetic Mutation Melvyn Bragg discusses mutation in genetics and evolution. |
| 2007-Nov-29 • 42 minutes The Fibonacci Sequence Melvyn Bragg discusses the mathematical and cultural mysteries of the Fibonacci Sequence. |
| 2007-Nov-15 • 42 minutes Oxygen Melvyn Bragg discusses the discovery of Oxygen by Joseph Priestley and Antoine Lavoisier. |
| 2007-Oct-04 • 28 minutes Antimatter Melvyn Bragg discusses Antimatter in particle physics and cosmology. |
| 2007-Jun-28 • 42 minutes The Permian-Triassic Boundary Melvyn Bragg discusses the Permian-Triassic boundary in evolutionary history. |
| 2007-Jun-14 • 28 minutes Renaissance Astrology Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Renaissance Astrology. |
| 2007-May-17 • 42 minutes Gravitational Waves Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the physics of Gravitational Waves. |
| 2007-Apr-19 • 42 minutes Symmetry Melvyn Bragg discusses the idea of symmetry in art and nature. |
| 2007-Mar-29 • 42 minutes Anaesthetics Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of anaesthetics. |
| 2007-Mar-08 • 42 minutes Microbiology Melvyn Bragg discusses the history of microbiology, the study of microscopic life. |
| 2007-Mar-01 • 28 minutes Optics Melvyn Bragg discusses the history of the science of optics |
| 2007-Feb-08 • 42 minutes Popper Melvyn Bragg discusses the Anglo-Austrian philosopher Karl Popper. |
| 2007-Jan-25 • 42 minutes Archimedes Melvyn Bragg discusses the Greek mathematician Archimedes and his famous cry of “eureka!” |
| 2007-Jan-18 • 42 minutes The Jesuits Melvyn Bragg discusses the Jesuits, “the school masters of Europe”. |
| 2007-Jan-11 • 42 minutes Mars Melvyn Bragg discusses the planet Mars, a source of endless fascination in human history |
| 2006-Dec-14 • 42 minutes Indian Mathematics Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 5000 year long story of Indian Maths. |
| 2006-Nov-30 • 42 minutes The Speed of Light Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the speed of light, lynchpin of Einstein’s universe. |
| 2006-Nov-02 • 42 minutes The Poincaré Conjecture Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss a puzzle that may explain the shape of the universe. |
| 2006-Oct-19 • 42 minutes The Needham Question Melvyn Bragg examines the Needham Question; why Europe, not China made modern technology. |
| 2006-Sep-28 • 42 minutes Humboldt Melvyn Bragg examines the Prussian naturalist and explorer, Alexander Von Humboldt. |
| 2006-Jun-29 • 42 minutes Galaxies Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the creation and destruction of galaxies. |
| 2006-Jun-15 • 42 minutes Carbon Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss carbon, which forms the basis of all organic life. |
| 2006-Jun-01 • 42 minutes The Heart Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of ideas about the heart. |
| 2006-May-04 • 42 minutes Astronomy and Empire Melvyn Bragg examines the relationship between astronomy and British Imperial expansion. |
| 2006-Apr-20 • 42 minutes Immunisation Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the search for immunisation and its impact on society. |
| 2006-Mar-23 • 42 minutes The Royal Society The history of the formation of the Royal Society, the oldest scientific academy. |
| 2006-Mar-09 • 42 minutes Negative Numbers Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss negative numbers, a history of mystery and suspicion. |
| 2006-Feb-16 • 28 minutes Human Evolution Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the six million year old story of human evolution. |
| 2006-Jan-19 • 28 minutes Relativism Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss relativism; a philosophy with no absolute truths. |
| 2006-Jan-12 • 28 minutes Prime Numbers Melvyn Bragg examines prime numbers and their mysterious role in the universe of numbers. |
| 2005-Dec-08 • 40 minutes Artificial Intelligence Melvyn Bragg investigates artificial intelligence; can a computer imitate the human mind? |
| 2005-Nov-24 • 42 minutes The Graviton Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the search for the Graviton particle in physics. |
| 2005-Nov-03 • 28 minutes Asteroids Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the unique properties of asteroids. |
| 2005-Oct-13 • 42 minutes Mammals Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise of the mammals which began 65 million years ago. |
| 2005-Sep-29 • 42 minutes Magnetism Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history and mysterious force of magnetism. |
| 2005-Jun-23 • 42 minutes The KT Boundary Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the KT Boundary and the extinction of the dinosaurs. |
| 2005-Jun-02 • 42 minutes Renaissance Maths Melvyn Bragg explores Renaissance Mathematics, when maths moved from an art to a science. |
| 2005-Apr-28 • 28 minutes Perception and the Senses Melvyn Bragg examines perception: how the brain reacts to the mass of data crowding it. |
| 2005-Mar-17 • 42 minutes Dark Energy Melvyn Bragg examines recently discovered 'dark energy' and its effect on the universe. |
| 2005-Feb-24 • 42 minutes Alchemy Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Alchemy, the ancient science of transformations. |
| 2005-Feb-17 • 42 minutes The Cambrian Period Melvyn Bragg examines the Cambrian period, when there was an explosion of life on Earth. |
| 2005-Jan-13 • 42 minutes The Mind/Body Problem Melvyn Bragg examines the history of thought about the mind/body problem in philosophy. |
| 2004-Dec-16 • 28 minutes The Second Law of Thermodynamics Melvyn Bragg examines the Second Law of Thermodynamics from steam to the Big Bang. |
| 2004-Dec-02 • 28 minutes Jung The extraordinary mind and theories of the psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. |
| 2004-Nov-18 • 42 minutes Higgs Boson The history of the quest to find the Higgs Boson, also known as the 'God Particle'. |
| 2004-Nov-04 • 42 minutes Electrickery Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the dawn of the age of electricity. |
| 2004-Sep-23 • 28 minutes The Origins of Life Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss when and how life on earth originated. |
| 2004-Sep-02 • 28 minutes Pi Melvyn Bragg examines the history of the longest and most detailed number in nature. |
| 2004-Jun-17 • 28 minutes Renaissance Magic Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Renaissance obsession with Magic. |
| 2004-May-27 • 28 minutes The Planets Melvyn Bragg examines our knowledge of the planets in both our and other solar systems. |
| 2004-May-13 • 42 minutes Zero Melvyn Bragg examines the number between 1 and -1, once denounced as the devil's work. |
| 2004-Apr-22 • 28 minutes Hysteria Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how emotional experiences can become physical symptoms. |
| 2004-Mar-25 • 42 minutes Theories of Everything Melvyn Bragg explores the 30 year search to solve all the biggest questions in physics. |
| 2004-Mar-04 • 28 minutes Dreams Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the function and interpretation of dreams. |
| 2004-Feb-19 • 28 minutes Rutherford Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Ernest Rutherford, the father of nuclear science. |
| 2004-Jan-29 • 42 minutes Cryptography Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the origins and history of codes. |
| 2003-Dec-24 • 57 minutes Lamarck and Natural Selection Melvyn Bragg discusses Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the 18th century French precursor to Darwin. |
| 2003-Nov-20 • 28 minutes Ageing the Earth Melvyn Bragg examines the age of the Earth and its division into four great Eons. |
| 2003-Oct-23 • 42 minutes Infinity Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the nature and existence of mathematical infinity. |
| 2003-Oct-02 • 42 minutes Maxwell The work and legacy of the often overlooked 19th century scientist James Clerk Maxwell. |
| 2003-Jul-10 • 42 minutes Nature Melvyn Bragg examines the attempt to define humanity’s part in the natural world. |
| 2003-Jul-03 • 42 minutes Vulcanology Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the formation and eruption of volcanoes. |
| 2003-Jun-05 • 28 minutes The Lunar Society Melvyn Bragg examines an 18th century group of pioneering scientists and engineers. |
| 2003-May-29 • 28 minutes Memory Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the function and significance of memory. |
| 2003-May-22 • 42 minutes Blood Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss blood, from medical progress to the link to the divine. |
| 2003-Mar-27 • 28 minutes The Life of Stars Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life cycle of stars. |
| 2003-Mar-06 • 28 minutes Meteorology Melvyn Bragg explores the fascinating and mystifying science of meteorology. |
| 2003-Feb-13 • 28 minutes Chance and Design Melvyn Bragg explores the question and theories of a grand design in the universe. |
| 2002-Dec-19 • 42 minutes The Calendar Melvyn Bragg explores the ancient origins of our Gregorian calendar. |
| 2002-Dec-12 • 28 minutes Man and Disease Melvyn Bragg examines how humans have understood and fought disease throughout history. |
| 2002-Nov-28 • 28 minutes Imagination Melvyn Bragg investigates the creatives forces of the imagination. |
| 2002-Nov-07 • 42 minutes Human Nature Melvyn Bragg examines whether our natures are innate or defined by unbringing. |
| 2002-Oct-24 • 28 minutes The Scientist Melvyn Bragg explores the origin of the concept and the historical role of the scientist. |
| 2002-Jul-11 • 29 minutes Psychoanalysis and Democracy Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact of politics on psychoanalysis. |
| 2002-May-23 • 28 minutes Drugs Melvyn Bragg examines the role of narcotics and stimulants in the history of medicine. |
| 2002-May-16 • 42 minutes Chaos Theory Melvyn Bragg examines how Chaos Theory has affected our understanding of the universe. |
| 2002-May-02 • 28 minutes The Physics of Reality Melvyn Bragg examines the attempt to reconcile Quantum Theory and classical physics. |
| 2002-Apr-04 • 28 minutes Extra Terrestrials Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss our chances of ever discovering life on another planet. |
| 2002-Feb-14 • 28 minutes Anatomy The 2000 year old history of mankind's quest to understand the human body. |
| 2002-Feb-07 • 28 minutes The Universe's Shape Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the shape, size and topology of the universe. |
| 2002-Jan-10 • 28 minutes Nuclear Physics Melvyn Bragg examines the 20th century development of nuclear physics as a science. |
| 2001-Dec-13 • 28 minutes Genetics Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the development of the science of genetics. |
| 2001-Nov-22 • 28 minutes Oceanography Melvyn Bragg explores what science has revealed, and we still don't know, about the sea. |
| 2001-Jul-05 • 28 minutes The Earth's Origins Melvyn Bragg discusses the origins of the Earth. |
| 2001-Apr-12 • 28 minutes Black Holes Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Black Holes, the ghosts of massive stars. |
| 2001-Mar-22 • 42 minutes Fossils The significance of fossils in history and the impact of techniques in understanding them. |
| 2001-Feb-22 • 28 minutes Quantum Gravity Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 20th century attempts to understand the Quantum world. |
| 2001-Feb-01 • 28 minutes Imperial Science Melvyn Bragg examines whether agriculture or trade drove 19th century British imperialism. |
| 2001-Jan-11 • 28 minutes Mathematics and Platonism Melvyn Bragg examines whether mathematics is a process of invention or of discovery. |
| 2000-Nov-09 • 42 minutes Psychoanalysis and Literature Melvyn Bragg assesses the role of Freudian analysis in understanding literature. |
| 2000-Nov-02 • 28 minutes Evolutionary Psychology Melvyn Bragg explores the basis and context for the ideas of Evolutionary Psychology. |
| 2000-Oct-19 • 28 minutes Laws of Nature Melvyn Bragg considers whether what is true in physics is true in all areas of existence. |
| 2000-Jun-29 • 43 minutes Imagination and Consciousness Melvyn Bragg investigates how neuroscience can explain the enigmas of consciousness. |
| 2000-May-25 • 28 minutes Chemical Elements Melvyn Bragg explores chemistry's ongoing mission to understand irreducible substances. |
| 2000-Apr-27 • 28 minutes Human Origins Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the evolution of the human species. |
| 2000-Apr-06 • 28 minutes The Natural Order Melvyn Bragg examines the science of taxonomy; the classification of the natural world. |
| 2000-Feb-24 • 28 minutes Grand Unified Theory The 20th century pursuit in physics for the ultimate theory of everything. |
| 2000-Feb-10 • 28 minutes Goethe and the Science of the Enlightenment Melvyn Bragg assesses the scientific legacy of the 18th century German poet Goethe. |
| 2000-Jan-13 • 28 minutes Information Technology Melvyn Bragg explores the social and economic consequences of the information revolution. |
| 2000-Jan-06 • 28 minutes Climate Change Melvyn Bragg examines predictions and solutions for global warming and rising sea levels. |
| 1999-Dec-30 • 28 minutes Time Melvyn Bragg examines the history of mankind’s attempt to understand the nature of time. |
| 1999-Dec-16 • 28 minutes Medical Ethics Melvyn Bragg examines the technological advances and ethics of modern medicine. |
| 1999-Nov-25 • 28 minutes Consciousness Melvyn Bragg examines why ideas about consciousness preoccupy philosophers and scientists. |
| 1999-Sep-23 • 28 minutes Genetic Determinism Melvyn Bragg explores the part genes play in our personalities. |
| 1999-Jul-22 • 28 minutes Pain Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the causes and our mechanisms of coping with pain. |
| 1999-Jul-01 • 28 minutes Intelligence Melvyn Bragg explores the origins, manifestations and possibilities of intelligence. |
| 1999-Jun-17 • 28 minutes The Great Disruption Melvyn Bragg looks at the 20th century shift from industrial to information society. |
| 1999-May-27 • 28 minutes Memory and Culture Melvyn Bragg examines how our collective and individual ways of remembering have changed. |
| 1999-May-20 • 28 minutes The Universe's Origins Melvyn Bragg examines the history of what we know about the origins of the universe. |
| 1999-May-06 • 28 minutes Mathematics Melvyn Bragg examines the importance of mathematics in relation to other sciences. |
| 1999-Apr-29 • 28 minutes Artificial Intelligence Melvyn Bragg examines whether we are near to achieving the thinking, feeling computer. |
| 1999-Apr-15 • 28 minutes Evolution Melvyn Bragg examines the future of gene therapy and advances in evolutionary biology. |
| 1999-Mar-18 • 28 minutes Animal Experiments and Rights Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the role of animals in humankind’s search for knowledge. |
| 1999-Feb-18 • 28 minutes Space in Religion and Science Melvyn Bragg looks at how cyberspace has introduced a new concept of space in our world. |
| 1999-Feb-11 • 28 minutes Language and the Mind Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss whether the formation of language is innate or cultural. |
| 1999-Feb-04 • 28 minutes Psychoanalysis and its Legacy Melvyn Bragg examines the relevance of psychoanalysis at the end of the 20th century. |
| 1999-Jan-28 • 28 minutes Ageing Melvyn Bragg looks at the ethical, economic and biological implications of living longer. |
| 1999-Jan-14 • 28 minutes Genetic Engineering Melvyn Bragg examines the implications of the developments in genetic engineering. |
| 1998-Dec-24 • 28 minutes Neuroscience in the 20th century Melvyn Bragg examines the little we know and what we don’t yet know about the brain. |
| 1998-Nov-19 • 28 minutes The Brain and Consciousness Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss our knowledge of memory and the functioning of the brain. |
| 1998-Nov-05 • 28 minutes Science in the 20th century Melvyn Bragg examines how perceptions of science have changed in the 20th century. |
| 1998-Oct-29 • 28 minutes Science's Revelations Melvyn Bragg examines whether science has ruined our sense of poetic wonder at the world. |