Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Veblen on conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure.
Published on Thursday, 14th December 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact of North African privateers on law and language
Published on Thursday, 7th December 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Hamilton, Madison and Jay's urgings for a US Constitution.
Published on Thursday, 9th November 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Keynes' influential attack on the Treaty of Versailles
Published on Thursday, 26th October 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and reign of the French king who built Versailles
Published on Thursday, 22nd June 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1637-8 Christian uprising in Japan.
Published on Thursday, 8th June 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1346 conflict between the armies of France and England
Published on Thursday, 11th May 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Dane who became a powerful King of England in 1016.
Published on Thursday, 4th May 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the idea which dominated European economies for 300 years.
Published on Thursday, 13th April 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss what we know about ancient stones placed in the landscape.
Published on Thursday, 30th March 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 19th-century campaign for greater democracy.
Published on Thursday, 9th March 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 16th-century astronomer, renowned for his accuracy.
Published on Thursday, 2nd March 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1858 crisis from the flow of sewage into the Thames.
Published on Thursday, 26th January 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the causes and early consequences of the 1798 rebellion.
Published on Thursday, 5th January 2023.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the speeches that set the standard for political attacks.
Published on Thursday, 15th December 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the events in Jamaica in 1865 and their consequences.
Published on Thursday, 1st December 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise and abrupt fall of the famous military order.
Published on Thursday, 3rd November 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great Cambodian temple complex, begun 900 years ago.
Published on Thursday, 21st July 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 17th-century Czech educator committed to toleration.
Published on Thursday, 16th June 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the lasting impact of David I, King of Scotland c1084-1153
Published on Thursday, 2nd June 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the author of The Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791
Published on Thursday, 19th May 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the two-million-year span of our most adaptable ancestor.
Published on Thursday, 12th May 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ancient Indian Sanskrit text the Arthashastra.
Published on Thursday, 31st March 2022.
New episodes will now be available first on Sounds for 28 days before other podcast apps.
Published on Friday, 4th March 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the prominent Russian anarchist and his idea of Mutual Aid
Published on Thursday, 24th February 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the enthusiasm in Britain for abstaining from alcohol.
Published on Thursday, 3rd February 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss what happened when world currencies were tied to gold
Published on Thursday, 20th January 2022.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the great powers of the Late Bronze Age.
Published on Thursday, 23rd December 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas and protests in 1919 that shaped modern China.
Published on Thursday, 9th December 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Nelson's famous victory and death on 21 October 1805.
Published on Thursday, 2nd December 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Europe's largest republic, before its partition in 1772.
Published on Thursday, 14th October 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the race to build an atom bomb before anyone else in WW2
Published on Thursday, 7th October 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Greek writer known as the father of history.
Published on Thursday, 23rd September 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the author of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Published on Thursday, 17th June 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Charles Booth's landmark survey of London's poor and rich.
Published on Thursday, 10th June 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the upheavals of 1649-60 in the British Isles
Published on Thursday, 27th May 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Simon de Montfort's fatal struggle with Henry III's forces
Published on Thursday, 6th May 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most influential poets of Rome's Augustan Age.
Published on Thursday, 29th April 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the French fight against Britain in America and its impact
Published on Thursday, 22nd April 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great French mathematician behind metrication.
Published on Thursday, 8th April 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1904-5 clash of Japanese and Russian empires.
Published on Thursday, 1st April 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Ricardo's argument on free trade after the Napoleonic wars
Published on Thursday, 25th March 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and meditations of 'the last good Roman emperor'.
Published on Thursday, 25th February 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the scale and impact of the plague that raged in 541AD.
Published on Thursday, 21st January 2021.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Mao's uprising against his own party from 1966-76
Published on Thursday, 17th December 2020.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the infamous drowning of enslaved Africans in 1781.
Published on Thursday, 26th November 2020.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the woman who ruled Austria, shaking up the European order
Published on Thursday, 22nd October 2020.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how and why Stone Age people decorated caves with images.
Published on Thursday, 24th September 2020.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the celebrated Athenian statesman and orator.
Published on Thursday, 17th September 2020.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Presbyterian solidarity in C17th Scotland and its impact.
Published on Thursday, 12th March 2020.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the dispute in 1550 over enslavement of native Americans.
Published on Thursday, 20th February 2020.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Germanic tribes' destruction of three Roman legions.
Published on Thursday, 13th February 2020.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the scholar who revived learning for its own sake in C8th
Published on Thursday, 30th January 2020.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Paris under Prussian siege and then under the Commune
Published on Thursday, 16th January 2020.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb and what that revealed
Published on Thursday, 26th December 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of coffee and its impact
Published on Thursday, 12th December 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Lawrence of Arabia for this year's Listener Week
Published on Thursday, 5th December 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the heights of medical knowledge under the Ming dynasty
Published on Thursday, 28th November 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the most powerful woman in the C12th Kingdom of Jerusalem
Published on Thursday, 21st November 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the treaty ending the Williamite War in Ireland in 1691
Published on Thursday, 7th November 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why Napoleon's apparent victory turned to defeat in 1812.
Published on Thursday, 19th September 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Stone Age human habitats now covered by the North Sea.
Published on Thursday, 27th June 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Athenians' change of mind in the Peloponnesian War.
Published on Thursday, 20th June 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the advanced Andean empire, dominant until Pizarro arrived
Published on Thursday, 13th June 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Grant's role in reconstructing the USA after the Civil War
Published on Thursday, 30th May 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the causes of the violence of June 1780 and repercussions.
Published on Thursday, 2nd May 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most notorious rulers of ancient Rome.
Published on Thursday, 25th April 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the causes and consequences of the Famine of 1845-49.
Published on Thursday, 4th April 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Danish impact on England in 9th and 10th centuries.
Published on Thursday, 28th March 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the most powerful man in the court of Elizabeth I.
Published on Thursday, 7th March 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the poetry and context of this pre-Islamic Arabian knight
Published on Thursday, 28th February 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the fight for Welsh independence in the early 15th century
Published on Thursday, 31st January 2019.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Poor Law of 1834 and the rise of the workhouse
Published on Thursday, 20th December 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the devastating war across the Holy Roman Empire 1618-1648
Published on Thursday, 6th December 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Red Army's retreat across China, from October 1934
Published on Thursday, 29th November 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Roman poet Horace, who flourished under Augustus.
Published on Thursday, 15th November 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Austrian princess, guillotined as Queen of France.
Published on Thursday, 8th November 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Mandeville's work on the public benefit of private vices.
Published on Thursday, 25th October 2018.
Melvyn Bragg discusses the impact of Shakespeare's approach to history (programme 2 of 2).
Published on Thursday, 18th October 2018.
Melvyn Bragg discusses the impact of Shakespeare's approach to history (programme 1 of 2)
Published on Thursday, 11th October 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1846-48 war that cost Mexico half its territory.
Published on Thursday, 28th June 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss republicanism, despotism and the separation of powers.
Published on Thursday, 14th June 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Achaemenid Empire's great ceremonial capital.
Published on Thursday, 7th June 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Queen of England at the start of the Wars of the Roses
Published on Thursday, 24th May 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the freeing of a third of Russians from serfdom in 1861.
Published on Thursday, 17th May 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the great empires of the Islamic west.
Published on Thursday, 3rd May 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the relationship between slavery and the power of Rome.
Published on Thursday, 5th April 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Alexis de Tocqueville's analysis of American democracy.
Published on Thursday, 22nd March 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss evictions and migrations in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Published on Thursday, 8th March 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the influential ancient Chinese work on military strategy.
Published on Thursday, 1st March 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and ideas of Frederick Douglass, born to slavery.
Published on Thursday, 8th February 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Ottoman attack on the Knights Hospitaller in Malta.
Published on Thursday, 11th January 2018.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life, murder and impact of Thomas Becket (c 1118-1170)
Published on Thursday, 14th December 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Greek city of Thebes in myth, drama and history.
Published on Thursday, 23rd November 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss history and culture of the Picts.
Published on Thursday, 9th November 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the events behind and impact of Picasso's iconic work.
Published on Thursday, 2nd November 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Congress of Vienna, 1814-15.
Published on Thursday, 19th October 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Roman emperor Constantine the Great.
Published on Thursday, 5th October 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rural protest movement in America's Gilded Age.
Published on Thursday, 15th June 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the fight for the English crown at the Battle of Lincoln.
Published on Thursday, 4th May 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ancient Egyptian funerary text, The Book of the Dead.
Published on Thursday, 27th April 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the medieval scholar Roger Bacon.
Published on Thursday, 20th April 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and times of Rosa Luxemburg, revolutionary.
Published on Thursday, 13th April 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the significance of The Battle of Salamis, 480BC.
Published on Thursday, 23rd March 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the works, life and times of Seneca the Younger.
Published on Thursday, 23rd February 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Published on Thursday, 19th January 2017.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss astronomer Johannes Kepler.
Published on Thursday, 29th December 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the cause and impact of the gin craze in the 18th century.
Published on Thursday, 15th December 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and works of Harriet Martineau, writer.
Published on Thursday, 8th December 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Garibaldi and the Risorgimento, for our Listener Week.
Published on Thursday, 1st December 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss crusades against Baltic pagans from 12th Century onwards.
Published on Thursday, 24th November 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great impact of legal changes under emperor Justinian.
Published on Thursday, 17th November 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss JMW Turner's The Fighting Temeraire.
Published on Thursday, 10th November 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Gilgamesh, the great epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia.
Published on Thursday, 3rd November 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss scientist John Dalton.
Published on Thursday, 27th October 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss a period of great change in western Europe.
Published on Thursday, 20th October 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Bronze Age collapse.
Published on Thursday, 16th June 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Margery Kempe, the medieval English mystic.
Published on Thursday, 2nd June 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, 1863.
Published on Thursday, 26th May 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Titus Oates and his fictitious Popish Plot.
Published on Thursday, 12th May 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 1816, known as the year without a summer.
Published on Thursday, 21st April 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Empire.
Published on Thursday, 7th April 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Roman empress Agrippina the Younger.
Published on Thursday, 31st March 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the early history of Bethlehem Hospital, known as Bedlam.
Published on Thursday, 17th March 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Maya civilization in central America.
Published on Thursday, 10th March 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Dutch East India Company.
Published on Thursday, 3rd March 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most powerful woman of her time.
Published on Thursday, 28th January 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense, published in 1776.
Published on Thursday, 21st January 2016.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Salem witch trials.
Published on Thursday, 26th November 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Battle of Lepanto, 1571.
Published on Thursday, 12th November 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the empire of Mali.
Published on Thursday, 29th October 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Holbein at the court of Henry VIII.
Published on Thursday, 15th October 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and legacy of Alexander the Great.
Published on Thursday, 1st October 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Frederick II, king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786.
Published on Thursday, 2nd July 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the legend of Prester John.
Published on Thursday, 4th June 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Flavius Josephus, author of The Jewish War.
Published on Thursday, 21st May 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Lancashire cotton famine during the American Civil War
Published on Thursday, 14th May 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Rabindranath Tagore.
Published on Thursday, 7th May 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Matteo Ricci's 16th-century travels in Ming China.
Published on Thursday, 16th April 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the California Gold Rush of the 1850s.
Published on Thursday, 2nd April 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the scientific achievements of the Curie family.
Published on Thursday, 26th March 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the history and significance of eunuchs.
Published on Thursday, 26th February 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Adam Smith's economic treatise The Wealth of Nations.
Published on Thursday, 19th February 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Indian ruler Ashoka the Great.
Published on Thursday, 5th February 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the ancient Greek historian Thucydides.
Published on Thursday, 29th January 2015.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Published on Thursday, 13th November 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the female Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut.
Published on Thursday, 6th November 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804.
Published on Thursday, 23rd October 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Talas in AD751.
Published on Thursday, 9th October 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and reputation of Julius Caesar.
Published on Thursday, 2nd October 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval writer and mystic Hildegard of Bingen.
Published on Thursday, 26th June 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the 18th-century Bluestocking Society.
Published on Thursday, 5th June 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Published on Thursday, 8th May 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Domesday Book.
Published on Thursday, 17th April 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Strabo's Geographica, an early work of geography.
Published on Thursday, 10th April 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
Published on Thursday, 27th March 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Roman gladiator and rebel leader Spartacus.
Published on Thursday, 6th March 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss medieval chivalry.
Published on Thursday, 13th February 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Phoenicians of the ancient Mediterranean.
Published on Thursday, 6th February 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the sources for early Chinese history.
Published on Thursday, 23rd January 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Tours of 732.
Published on Thursday, 16th January 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Plato's Symposium.
Published on Thursday, 2nd January 2014.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Medici family, rulers of Renaissance Florence.
Published on Thursday, 26th December 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Roman letter-writer Pliny the Younger.
Published on Thursday, 12th December 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life of the Native American Pocahontas.
Published on Thursday, 21st November 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Berlin Conference and the Scramble for Africa.
Published on Thursday, 31st October 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Corn Laws of the 19th century.
Published on Thursday, 24th October 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Mamluks, medieval rulers of Egypt and Syria.
Published on Thursday, 26th September 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Physiocrats, important French economic thinkers.
Published on Thursday, 20th June 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Queen Zenobia, who led a rebellion against Ancient Rome.
Published on Thursday, 30th May 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Putney Debates of 1647.
Published on Thursday, 18th April 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work of the biologist Alfred Russel Wallace.
Published on Thursday, 21st March 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss ice ages.
Published on Thursday, 14th February 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the War of 1812 between America and Great Britain.
Published on Thursday, 31st January 2013.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the South Sea Bubble of the early 18th century.
Published on Thursday, 20th December 2012.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Borgias, the most infamous family in Renaissance Italy
Published on Thursday, 22nd November 2012.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the remarkable Carthaginian general Hannibal.
Published on Thursday, 11th October 2012.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval scholar Gerald of Wales.
Published on Thursday, 4th October 2012.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Druids of ancient Europe.
Published on Thursday, 20th September 2012.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Hadrian's Wall.
Published on Thursday, 12th July 2012.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the 19th-century writer and campaigner Annie Besant.
Published on Thursday, 21st June 2012.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the An Lushan Rebellion.
Published on Thursday, 16th February 2012.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss 1848, the year that saw Europe engulfed in revolution.
Published on Thursday, 19th January 2012.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Ming Voyages of discovery.
Published on Thursday, 13th October 2011.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Minoan Civilisation of Bronze Age Crete.
Published on Thursday, 7th July 2011.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
Published on Thursday, 2nd June 2011.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the ancient Greek historian and soldier Xenophon.
Published on Thursday, 26th May 2011.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Custer's Last Stand.
Published on Thursday, 19th May 2011.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Victorian social reformer Octavia Hill.
Published on Thursday, 7th April 2011.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the dawn of the Iron Age.
Published on Thursday, 24th March 2011.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the foundation of the medieval universities.
Published on Thursday, 17th March 2011.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Taiping Rebellion.
Published on Thursday, 24th February 2011.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Bannockburn.
Published on Wednesday, 2nd February 2011.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Mexican Revolution of 1910.
Published on Thursday, 20th January 2011.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the influence of the Industrial Revolution.
Published on Thursday, 30th December 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Industrial Revolution.
Published on Wednesday, 22nd December 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Cleopatra, the famed last pharaoh of Egypt.
Published on Thursday, 2nd December 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Volga Vikings.
Published on Thursday, 11th November 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Spanish Armada.
Published on Thursday, 7th October 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Delphic Oracle.
Published on Thursday, 30th September 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Pliny's Natural History, one of the first encyclopedias.
Published on Thursday, 8th July 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the reign of Athelstan, the first king of all England.
Published on Thursday, 1st July 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the evolution and characteristics of the Neanderthals.
Published on Thursday, 17th June 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the philosopher, politician and writer Edmund Burke.
Published on Thursday, 3rd June 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss The Great Wall of China.
Published on Thursday, 29th April 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise and fall of the Zulu Nation.
Published on Thursday, 15th April 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of the city.
Published on Thursday, 1st April 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise of the city, from its Bronze Age origins to 1800.
Published on Thursday, 25th March 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and mythologisation of Boudica.
Published on Thursday, 11th March 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and the rebellion which followed
Published on Thursday, 18th February 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 14th-century Arab philosopher of history Ibn Khaldun.
Published on Thursday, 4th February 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Glencoe Massacre of 1692.
Published on Thursday, 21st January 2010.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft.
Published on Thursday, 31st December 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history and myth of the Samurai.
Published on Thursday, 24th December 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Silk Road, the trade routes which spanned Asia.
Published on Thursday, 3rd December 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Ancient Greek city-state of Sparta.
Published on Thursday, 19th November 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Siege of Munster in 1534-35.
Published on Thursday, 5th November 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the death of Queen Elizabeth I.
Published on Thursday, 15th October 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Dreyfus Affair, which tore France apart in the 1890s.
Published on Thursday, 8th October 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Pharaoh Akhenaten.
Published on Thursday, 1st October 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Augustan Age in Rome.
Published on Thursday, 11th June 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the trial of Charles I.
Published on Thursday, 4th June 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1683 siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Army.
Published on Thursday, 14th May 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Magna Carta.
Published on Thursday, 7th May 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the building of St Petersburg.
Published on Thursday, 23rd April 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss suffragism, the movement for women's voting rights.
Published on Thursday, 16th April 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Boxer Rebellion in the summer of 1900.
Published on Thursday, 19th March 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Library of Alexandria.
Published on Thursday, 12th March 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Destruction of Carthage
Published on Thursday, 12th February 2009.
Melvyn Bragg examines how the writing of history has changed over the years.
Published on Thursday, 22nd January 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the philosopher and naturalist Henry David Thoreau.
Published on Thursday, 15th January 2009.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Great Reform Act of 1832.
Published on Thursday, 27th November 2008.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Great Fire of London and the rebuilding of the city.
Published on Tuesday, 11th November 2008.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Simon Bolivar, the liberator of South America.
Published on Thursday, 30th October 2008.
Melvyn Bragg examines the life and chronicles of the the Roman historian Tacitus.
Published on Thursday, 10th July 2008.
Melvyn Bragg examines the Arab conquests which helped communicate Islam to the world.
Published on Thursday, 26th June 2008.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the prescient thriller about Anglo-German relations.
Published on Thursday, 12th June 2008.
Melvyn Bragg and guests examine the Black Death and its effect on medieval society.
Published on Thursday, 22nd May 2008.
Melvyn Bragg examines the enclosure movement that fenced in the British countryside.
Published on Thursday, 1st May 2008.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss ‘the Norman Yoke'.
Published on Thursday, 10th April 2008.
Melvyn Bragg examines Henry VIII's policy of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Published on Thursday, 27th March 2008.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Statue of Liberty. .
Published on Thursday, 14th February 2008.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Rudolph II and his Renaissance Court in Prague.
Published on Thursday, 31st January 2008.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Charge of the Light Brigade.
Published on Thursday, 10th January 2008.
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Sassanian Empire in Persia from the 3rd to the 7th century AD.
Published on Thursday, 13th December 2007.
Melvyn Bragg discusses the idea that kingly authority derives from God.
Published on Thursday, 11th October 2007.
Melvyn Bragg discusses what the Pilgrim Fathers and the Mayflower mean to Americans.
Published on Thursday, 5th July 2007.
Melvyn Bragg discusses Joan of Arc's role in the 1428 Siege of Orléans.
Published on Thursday, 24th May 2007.
Melvyn Bragg discusses the 19th century Opium Wars between Britain and China.
Published on Thursday, 12th April 2007.
Melvyn Bragg discusses the original Iron Chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck.
Published on Thursday, 22nd March 2007.
Melvyn Bragg discusses Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire.
Published on Thursday, 1st February 2007.
Melvyn Bragg examines the 1453 siege of Constantinople which ended the Byzantine Empire.
Published on Thursday, 28th December 2006.
Melvyn Bragg examines the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, a pivotal moment in England’s history.
Published on Thursday, 16th November 2006.
Melvyn Bragg examines the Needham Question; why Europe, not China made modern technology.
Published on Thursday, 19th October 2006.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the events that helped trigger the European Reformation.
Published on Thursday, 12th October 2006.
Melvyn Bragg examines the Spanish Inquisition, defenders of medieval orthodoxy.
Published on Thursday, 22nd June 2006.
Melvyn Bragg examines the relationship between astronomy and British Imperial expansion.
Published on Thursday, 4th May 2006.
Melvyn Bragg examines the exhibition that showcased Victorian Britain's industrial might.
Published on Thursday, 27th April 2006.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Emperor Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance.
Published on Thursday, 30th March 2006.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Empress who transformed and modernized Russia.
Published on Thursday, 23rd February 2006.
Melvyn Bragg examines the Abbasid Caliphs, rulers of the Islamic world for 200 years.
Published on Thursday, 2nd February 2006.
Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the importance of the oath in the Classical World.
Published on Thursday, 5th January 2006.
Melvyn Bragg examines the 1819 Peterloo Massacre and the brutality of the British state.
Published on Thursday, 15th December 2005.
Melvyn Bragg looks at the religious orders of the Dominicans and the Franciscans.
Published on Thursday, 10th November 2005.
Melvyn Bragg examines the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and Tudor conspicuous consumption.
Published on Thursday, 6th October 2005.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the reign of terror during the French Revolution.
Published on Thursday, 26th May 2005.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the link between archaeology and imperialism.
Published on Thursday, 14th April 2005.
Melvyn Bragg examines King Alfred and the defeat of the Vikings at Battle of Edington.
Published on Thursday, 7th April 2005.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881.
Published on Thursday, 6th January 2005.
The rise and eventual downfall of the Roman Republic which survived for 500 years.
Published on Thursday, 30th December 2004.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli.
Published on Thursday, 9th December 2004.
The history and legacy of the English army's defeat of the French at Agincourt in 1415.
Published on Thursday, 16th September 2004.
Melvyn Bragg examines the first President of the US and what drove him to revolution.
Published on Thursday, 24th June 2004.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the truth behind the empire of Babylon.
Published on Thursday, 3rd June 2004.
Melvyn Bragg explores what defines a hero, and their place in classical society.
Published on Thursday, 6th May 2004.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss tea, the first truly global commodity.
Published on Thursday, 29th April 2004.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the astonishing productivity of the Chinese Golden Age.
Published on Thursday, 1st April 2004.
Melvyn Bragg examines the myths and theology that inspired the Vikings.
Published on Thursday, 11th March 2004.
Melvyn Bragg and guests examine how much the British Raj owed to the Mughal Emperors.
Published on Wednesday, 25th February 2004.
Melvyn Bragg examines the Battle of Thermopylae, a defining clash between East and West.
Published on Thursday, 5th February 2004.
Melvyn Bragg investigates how sounds turned into signs and signs became the alphabet.
Published on Thursday, 18th December 2003.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the infamous St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572.
Published on Thursday, 27th November 2003.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the centuries old myth of the most romantic noble outlaw.
Published on Thursday, 30th October 2003.
Melvyn Bragg examines events surrounding the medieval division of the Christian Church.
Published on Thursday, 16th October 2003.
The history of the private trading company that helped forge the British Empire.
Published on Monday, 23rd June 2003.
Melvyn Bragg examines the origins, power and eventual decline of the British aristocracy.
Published on Thursday, 19th June 2003.
The history and philosophy of warfare throughout the ages.
Published on Thursday, 12th June 2003.
Melvyn Bragg examines the Stuart dynasty's final attempt to reclaim the throne of England.
Published on Thursday, 8th May 2003.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 400 year history of the Romans in Britain.
Published on Thursday, 1st May 2003.
Melvyn Bragg examines the causes, events and repercussions of the Spanish Civil War.
Published on Thursday, 3rd April 2003.
Melvyn Bragg examines the creation, power and legacy of the Aztec Empire.
Published on Thursday, 27th February 2003.
Melvyn Bragg examines the emergence and impact of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Published on Thursday, 5th December 2002.
Melvyn Bragg explores the ideas architecture expresses about our past and identity.
Published on Thursday, 31st October 2002.
Melvyn Bragg examines British imperialism and its captives, both slaves and Britons.
Published on Thursday, 17th October 2002.
Melvyn Bragg explores the relationship between heritage culture and the study of history.
Published on Thursday, 18th July 2002.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact of politics on psychoanalysis.
Published on Thursday, 11th July 2002.
Melvyn Bragg examines how a dominant power can exert a cultural influence on its empire.
Published on Thursday, 27th June 2002.
Melvyn Bragg explores the myths and harsh reality of the 19th century American pioneers.
Published on Thursday, 13th June 2002.
The history of the ancient kingdom and its religious, national and ethnic ideologies.
Published on Thursday, 11th April 2002.
The history of marriage from ancient Greek and Babylonian times to today.
Published on Thursday, 21st March 2002.
Melvyn Bragg examines what we really know about the Celts of pre-Roman Britain.
Published on Thursday, 21st February 2002.
The cultural history of food in Modern Europe since the Renaissance.
Published on Thursday, 27th December 2001.
Melvyn Bragg and guests assess the role that Rome has played in European civilization.
Published on Thursday, 20th December 2001.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the highs and lows of the Third Crusade.
Published on Thursday, 29th November 2001.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ethos and legacy of the British Empire.
Published on Thursday, 8th November 2001.
Melvyn Bragg and guests examine the chinese philosophy of Confucianism.
Published on Thursday, 1st November 2001.
The comparative histories of two titans of 19th century history.
Published on Thursday, 25th October 2001.
Melvyn Bragg examines the origins of the most cherished form of government in the world.
Published on Thursday, 18th October 2001.
The culture, history and legacy of the eastern Byzantine Empire.
Published on Thursday, 19th July 2001.
The impact and legacy of the French Revolution on European culture and politics.
Published on Thursday, 14th June 2001.
Melvyn Bragg considers whether the events of 1688 were really glorious or revolutionary.
Published on Thursday, 19th April 2001.
The causes and events of the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century.
Published on Thursday, 5th April 2001.
Melvyn Bragg examines whether economic factors really are behind all historical events.
Published on Thursday, 1st March 2001.
Melvyn Bragg looks at the reign of Charles II and the consequences of the Restoration.
Published on Thursday, 15th February 2001.
The history and legacy of classical Humanism, invented by Cicero.
Published on Thursday, 8th February 2001.
Melvyn Bragg examines the role of British thinkers in the 18th century Enlightenment.
Published on Thursday, 18th January 2001.
Melvyn Bragg looks at the re-shaping of England as a modern state by the Tudor dynasty.
Published on Thursday, 26th October 2000.
Melvyn Bragg examines Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany though historiographical theories.
Published on Thursday, 5th October 2000.
The history of London from its Neolithic origin to the digitalised capital city of today.
Published on Thursday, 28th September 2000.
Melvyn Bragg examines why the public is fascinated with the private lives of individuals.
Published on Thursday, 22nd June 2000.
The 15th century wars of the royal Houses of Lancaster and York.
Published on Thursday, 18th May 2000.
Melvyn Bragg examines whether we are in a new era in the history of modern warfare.
Published on Thursday, 13th April 2000.
Melvyn Bragg examines whether we can ever predict the future by understanding the past.
Published on Thursday, 30th March 2000.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the development and future of material culture.
Published on Thursday, 23rd March 2000.
Melvyn Bragg investigates what drove the Soviet leader Lenin, and enabled his successes.
Published on Thursday, 16th March 2000.
Melvyn Bragg examines how English republicanism has developed from Cromwell to today.
Published on Thursday, 3rd February 2000.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the relationship between democracy and capitalism.
Published on Thursday, 27th January 2000.
Melvyn Bragg looks at how perceptions of childhood have changed over the last 100 years.
Published on Thursday, 9th December 1999.
Melvyn Bragg examines whether mankind has made as much moral as material progress.
Published on Thursday, 18th November 1999.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history and the modern purpose of education.
Published on Thursday, 4th November 1999.
Melvyn Bragg examines the widespread and chilling inhumanity of the 20th century.
Published on Saturday, 23rd October 1999.
Melvyn Bragg explores the concept of the individual from the Renaissance to today.
Published on Thursday, 21st October 1999.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss whether it is appropriate to think of the UK as a nation.
Published on Thursday, 14th October 1999.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why we are as enthralled as ever by the idea of a Utopia.
Published on Thursday, 7th October 1999.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the roots of Africa's current political and social crises.
Published on Thursday, 8th July 1999.
Melvyn Bragg examines the history of capitalism from Marx to the collapse of Communism.
Published on Thursday, 24th June 1999.
Melvyn Bragg looks at the 20th century shift from industrial to information society.
Published on Thursday, 17th June 1999.
Melvyn Bragg examines the enduring strengths and current role of the British monarchy.
Published on Thursday, 10th June 1999.
Melvyn Bragg examines where the idea of a just war originated and if it can still exist.
Published on Thursday, 3rd June 1999.
Melvyn Bragg examines the importance of geography and ecology in shaping world history.
Published on Thursday, 11th March 1999.
Melvyn Bragg examines the impact of Britain’s colonial past on its current identity.
Published on Thursday, 31st December 1998.
Melvyn Bragg examines how legitimate it is to call the 20th century the American century.
Published on Thursday, 17th December 1998.
Melvyn Bragg considers the relevance of the study of history in the 20th century.
Published on Thursday, 3rd December 1998.
Melvyn Bragg examines the changing ideas about the function of work in the 20th century.
Published on Thursday, 26th November 1998.
Melvyn Bragg looks at the innovative developments of the city in the 20th century.
Published on Thursday, 12th November 1998.
Melvyn Bragg discusses politics and morality with Gore Vidal and Alan Clarke.
Published on Thursday, 22nd October 1998.
Melvyn Bragg explores ideas that have influenced 20th century human rights and warfare.
Published on Thursday, 15th October 1998.
