In Our Time

In Our Time

Get early access to new ideas, events and people

$6.99/month or $69.99/year

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 Melvyn Bragg 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 Nerfertiti. 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.

  1. 15 MAY • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    Typology

    To access this episode early and ad-free, subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts. The episode will be available for free with adverts on 15th May. Melvyn Bragg and guests explore typology, a method of biblical interpretation that aims to meaningfully link people, places, and events in the Hebrew Bible, what Christians call the Old Testament, with the coming of Christ in the New Testament. Old Testament figures like Moses, Jonah, and King David were regarded by Christians as being ‘types’ or symbols of Jesus. This way of thinking became hugely popular in medieval Europe, Renaissance England and Victorian Britain, as Christians sought to make sense of their Jewish inheritance - sometimes rejecting that inheritance with antisemitic fervour. It was a way of seeing human history as part of a divine plan, with ancient events prefiguring more modern ones, and it influenced debates about the relationship between metaphor and reality in the bible, in literature, and in art. It also influenced attitudes towards reality, time and history. With Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary, University of London Harry Spillane, Munby Fellow in Bibliography at Cambridge and Research Fellow at Darwin College And Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe, Associate Professor in Patristics at Cambridge. Producer: Eliane Glaser Reading list: A. C. Charity, Events and their Afterlife: The Dialectics of Christian Typology in the Bible and Dante (first published 1966; Cambridge University Press, 2010) Margaret Christian, Spenserian Allegory and Elizabethan Biblical Exegesis: The Context for 'The Faerie Queene' (Manchester University Press, 2016) Dagmar Eichberger and Shelley Perlove (eds.), Visual Typology in Early Modern Europe: Continuity and Expansion (Brepols, 2018) Tibor Fabiny, The Lion and the Lamb: Figuralism and Fulfilment in the Bible, Art and Literature (Palgrave Macmillan, 1992) Tibor Fabiny, ‘Typology: Pros and Cons in Biblical Hermeneutics and Literary Criticism’ (Academia, 2018) Northrop Frye, The Great Code: The Bible and Literature (first published 1982; Mariner Books, 2002) Leonhard Goppelt (trans. Donald H. Madvig), Typos: The Typological Interpretation of the Old Testament in the New (William B Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1982) Paul J. Korshin, Typologies in England, 1650-1820 (first published in 1983; Princeton University Press, 2014) Judith Lieu, Image and Reality: The Jews in the World of the Christians in the Second Century (T & T Clark International, 1999) Sara Lipton, Images of Intolerance: The Representation of Jews and Judaism in the Bible Moralisee (University of California Press, 1999) Montague Rhodes James and Kenneth Harrison, A Guide to the Windows of King's College Chapel (first published in 1899; Cambridge University Press, 2010) J. W. Rogerson and Judith M. Lieu (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies (Oxford University Press, 2008) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio production

    50 min
  2. 8 MAY • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    The Battle of Clontarf

    To access this episode early and ad-free, subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts. The episode will be available for free with adverts on 8th May. Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the best known events and figures in Irish history. In 1014 Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, defeated the Hiberno-Norse forces of Sigtrygg Silkbeard and allies near their Dublin stronghold, with Brian losing his life on the day of battle. Soon chroniclers in Ireland and abroad were recording and retelling the events, raising the status of Brian Boru as one who sacrificed himself for Ireland, Christ-like, a connection reinforced by the battle taking place on Good Friday. While some of the facts are contested, the Battle of Clontarf became a powerful symbol of what a united Ireland could achieve by force against invaders. With Seán Duffy Professor of Medieval Irish and Insular History at Trinity College Dublin Máire Ní Mhaonaigh Professor of Celtic and Medieval Studies at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge And Alex Woolf Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of St Andrews Producer: Simon Tillotson Reading list: Howard B. Clarke, Sheila Dooley and Ruth Johnson, Dublin and the Viking World (O'Brien Press Ltd, 2018) Howard B. Clarke and Ruth Johnson (ed.), The Vikings in Ireland and Beyond: Before and After Clontarf (Four Courts Press, 2015) Clare Downham, ‘The Battle of Clontarf in Irish History and Legend’ (History Ireland 13, No. 5, 2005) Seán Duffy, Brian Boru and the Battle of Clontarf (Gill & Macmillan, 2014) Seán Duffy (ed.), Medieval Dublin XVI: Proceedings of Clontarf 1014–2014: National Conference Marking the Millennium of the Battle of Clontarf (Four Courts Press, 2017) Colmán Etchingham, ‘North Wales, Ireland and the Isles: The Insular Viking Zone’ (Peritia 15, 2001) Colmán Etchingham, Jón Viðar Sigurðsson, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh and Elizabeth Ashman Rowe, Norse-Gaelic Contacts in a Viking World (Brepols N.V., 2019) David Griffiths, Vikings of the Irish Sea (The History Press, 2nd ed., 2025) James Henthorn Todd (ed. and trans.), Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh: The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, or, the Invasions of Ireland by the Danes and other Norsemen (first published 1867; Cambridge University Press, 2012) Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Brian Boru: Ireland's greatest king? (The History Press, 2006) Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, ‘Tales of Three Gormlaiths in Medieval Irish Literature’ (Ériu 52, 2002) Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, ‘Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib: Some Dating Consierations’ (Peritia 9, 1995) Brendan Smith, The Cambridge History of Ireland, vol. 1, 600–1550 (Cambridge University Press, 2018), especially ‘The Scandinavian Intervention’ by Alex Woolf In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

    51 min
  3. 1 MAY • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    The Gracchi

    To access this episode early and ad-free, subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts. The episode will be available for free with adverts on 1st May. Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus whose names are entwined with the end of Rome's Republic and the rise of the Roman Emperors. As tribunes, they brought popular reforms to the Roman Republic at the end of the 2nd century BC. Tiberius (c163-133BC) brought in land reform so every soldier could have his farm, while Gaius (c154-121BC) offered cheap grain for Romans and targeted corruption among the elites. Those elites saw the reforms as such a threat that they had the brothers killed: Tiberius in a shocking murder led by the Pontifex Maximus, the high priest, in 133BC and Gaius 12 years later with the senate's approval. This increase in political violence was to destabilise the Republic, forever tying the Gracchi to the question of why Rome’s Republic gave way to the Rome of Emperors. With Catherine Steel Professor of Classics at the University of Glasgow Federico Santangelo Professor of Ancient History at Newcastle University And Kathryn Tempest Lecturer in Roman History at the University of Leicester Producer: Simon Tillotson Reading list: Appian (trans. John Carter), The Civil Wars (Penguin Classics, 2005) Valentina Arena, Jonathan R. W. Prag and Andrew Stiles, A Companion to the Political Culture of the Roman Republic (Wiley-Blackwell, 2022), especially the chapter by Lea Beness and Tom Hillard R. Cristofoli, A. Galimberti and F. Rohr Vio (eds.), Costruire la Memoria: Uso e abuso della storia fra tarda repubblica e primo principato (L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2017), especially ‘The 'Tyranny' of the Gracchi and the Concordia of the Optimates: An Ideological Construct.’ by Francisco Pina Polo Suzanne Dixon, Cornelia: Mother of the Gracchi, (Routledge, 2007) Peter Garnsey and Dominic Rathbone, ‘The Background to the Grain Law of Gaius Gracchus’ (Journal of Roman Studies 75, 1985) O. Hekster, G. de Kleijn and D. Slootjes (eds.), Crises and the Roman Empire (Brill, 2007), especially ‘Tiberius Gracchus, Land and Manpower’ by John W. Rich Josiah Osgood, Rome and the Making of a World State, 150 BCE-20 CE (Cambridge University Press, 2018) Plutarch (trans. Ian Scott-Kilvert and Christopher Pelling), Rome in Crisis (Penguin Classics, 2010) Plutarch (trans. Robin Waterfield, ed. Philip A. Stadter), Roman Lives (Oxford University Press, 2008) Nathan Rosenstein, ‘Aristocrats and Agriculture in the Middle and Late Republic’ (Journal of Roman Studies 98, 2008) A. N. Sherwin-White, ‘The Lex Repetundarum and the Political Ideas of Gaius Gracchus’ (Journal of Roman Studies 72, 1982) Catherine Steel, The End of the Roman Republic, 146 to 44 BC: Conquest and Crisis (Edinburgh University Press, 2013) David Stockton, The Gracchi (Oxford University Press, 1979) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

    48 min
  4. 24 APR • SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS

    Maurice Merleau-Ponty

    To access this episode early and ad-free, subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts. The episode will be available for free with adverts on 24th April. Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961), who was part of the movement known as phenomenology. While less well-known than his contemporaries Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, his popularity has increased among philosophers in recent years. Merleau-Ponty rejected Rene Descartes’ division between body and mind, arguing that the way we perceive the world around us cannot be separated from our experience of inhabiting a physical body. Merleau-Ponty was interested in the down-to-earth question of what it is actually like to live in the world. While performing actions as simple as brushing our teeth or patting a dog, we shape the world and, in turn, the world shapes us. With Komarine Romdenh-Romluc Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Sheffield Thomas Baldwin Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of York And Timothy Mooney Associate Professor of Philosophy at University College, Dublin Produced by Eliane Glaser Reading list: Peter Antich, Motivation and the Primacy of Perception: Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Knowledge (Ohio University Press, 2021) Dimitris Apostolopoulos, Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Language (Rowman and Littlefield, 2019) Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails (Chatto and Windus, 2016) Thomas Baldwin (ed.), Maurice Merleau-Ponty: Basic Writings (Routledge, 2004) Thomas Baldwin (ed.), Reading Merleau-Ponty (Routledge, 2007) Renaud Barbaras (trans. Ted Toadvine and Leonard Lawlor), The Being of the Phenomenon: Merleau-Ponty’s Ontology (Indiana University Press, 2004). Anya Daly, Merleau-Ponty and the Ethics of Intersubjectivity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) M. C. Dillon, Merleau-Ponty’s Ontology (Northwestern University Press, 1998, 2nd ed.) Maurice Merleau-Ponty (trans. Alden L. Fisher), The Structure of Behavior (first published 1942; Beacon Press, 1976) Maurice Merleau-Ponty (trans. Donald Landes), Phenomenology of Perception (first published 1945; Routledge, 2011) Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Sense and Non-Sense (first published 1948; Northwestern University Press, 1964) Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Signs (first published 1960; Northwestern University Press, 1964) Maurice Merleau-Ponty, The Visible and the Invisible (first published 1964; Northwestern University Press, 1968) Maurice Merleau-Ponty (trans. Oliver Davis with an introduction by Thomas Baldwin), The World of Perception (Routledge, 2008) Ariane Mildenberg (ed.), Understanding Merleau-Ponty, Understanding Modernism (Bloomsbury, 2019) Timothy Mooney, Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception: On the Body Informed (Cambridge University Press, 2023) Katherine J. Morris, Starting with Merleau-Ponty (Continuum, 2012) Komarine Romdenh-Romluc, Merleau-Ponty and Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge, 2011) Komarine Romdenh-Romluc, The Routledge Guidebook to Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge, 2011) Jean-Paul Sartre (trans. Benita Eisler), Situations (Hamish Hamilton, 1965) Hilary Spurling, The Girl from the Fiction Department (Penguin, 2003) Jon Stewart (ed.), The Debate Between Sartre and Merleau-Ponty (Northwestern University Press, 1998) Ted Toadvine, Merleau-Ponty’s Philosophy of Nature (Northwestern University Press, 2009) Kerry Whiteside, Merleau-Ponty and the Foundation of an Existential Politics (Princeton University Press, 1988) Iris Marion Young, On Female Body Experience: “Throwing Like a Girl” and Other Essays (Oxford University Press, 2005) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

    58 min
  5. 6 DAYS AGO

    Thomas Middleton

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most energetic, varied and innovative playwrights of his time. Thomas Middleton (1580-1627) worked across the London stages both alone and with others from Dekker and Rowley to Shakespeare and more. Middleton’s range included raucous city comedies such as A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and chilling revenge tragedies like The Changeling and The Revenger’s Tragedy, some with the main adult companies and some with child actors playing the scheming adults. Middleton seemed to be everywhere on the Jacobean stage, mixing warmth and cruelty amid laughter and horror, and even Macbeth’s witches may be substantially his work. With Emma Smith Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College, University of Oxford Lucy Munro Professor of Shakespeare and Early Modern Literature at Kings College London And Michelle O’Callaghan Professor of Early Modern Literature at the University of Reading Producer: Simon Tillotson Reading list: Swapan Chakravorty, Society and Politics in the Plays of Thomas Middleton (Clarendon Press, 1996) Suzanne Gossett (ed.), Thomas Middleton in Context (Cambridge University Press, 2011) R.V. Holdsworth (ed.), Three Jacobean Revenge Tragedies: A Selection of Critical Essays (Macmillan, 1990), especially ‘Calvinist Psychology in Middleton’s Tragedies’ by John Stachniewski Mark Hutchings and A. A. Bromham, Middleton and His Collaborators (Northcote House, 2007) Gordon McMullan and Kelly Stage (eds.), The Changeling: The State of Play (The Arden Shakespeare, 2022) Lucy Munro, Shakespeare in the Theatre: The King's Men (The Arden Shakespeare, 2020) David Nicol, Middleton & Rowley: Forms of Collaboration in the Jacobean Playhouse (University of Toronto Press, 2012) Michelle O’Callaghan, Thomas Middleton: Renaissance Dramatist (Edinburgh University Press, 2009) Gary Taylor and Trish Thomas Henley (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Thomas Middleton (Oxford University Press, 2012) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

    56 min
  6. 10 APR

    Cyrus the Great

    Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the history and reputation of the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great. Cyrus the Second of Persia as he was known then was born in the sixth century BCE in Persis which is now in Iran. He was the founder of the first Persian Empire, the largest empire at that point in history, spanning more than two million square miles. His story was told by the Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon, and in the Hebrew bible he is praised for freeing the Jewish captives in Babylon. But the historical facts are intertwined with fiction. Cyrus proclaimed himself ‘king of the four corners of the world’ in the famous Cyrus Cylinder, one of the most admired objects in the British Museum. It’s been called by some the first bill of human rights, but that’s a label which has been disputed by most scholars today. With Mateen Arghandehpour, a researcher for the Invisible East Project at Oxford University, Lindsay Allen, Senior Lecturer in Ancient Greek and Near Eastern History at King’s College London, And Lynette Mitchell, Professor Emerita in Classics and Ancient History at Exeter University. Producer: Eliane Glaser Reading list: Pierre Briant (trans. Peter T. Daniels), From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire (Eisenbrauns, 2002) John Curtis and Nigel Tallis (eds.), Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia (The British Museum Press, 2005) Irving Finkel (ed.), The Cyrus Cylinder: The King of Persia’s Proclamation from Ancient Babylon (I.B.Tauris, 2013) Lisbeth Fried, ‘Cyrus the Messiah? The Historical Background to Isaiah 45:1’ (Harvard Theological Review 95, 2002) M. Kozuh, W.F. Henkelman, C.E. Jones and C. Woods (eds.), Extraction and Control: Studies in Honour of Matthew W. Stolper (Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 2014), especially the chapter ‘Cyrus the Great, exiles and foreign gods: A comparison of Assyrian and Persian policies in subject nations’ by R. J. van der Spek Lynette Mitchell, Cyrus the Great: A Biography of Kingship (Routledge, 2023) Michael Roaf, Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East (Facts On File, 1990) Vesta Sarkosh Curtis and Sarah Stewart (eds.), Birth of the Persian Empire (I.B.Tauris, 2005), especially the chapter ‘Cyrus the Great and the kingdom of Anshan’ by D.T. Potts Matt Waters, King of the World: The Life of Cyrus the Great (Oxford University Press, 2022) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio production

    51 min
  7. 3 APR

    Pollination

    Since plants have to mate and produce offspring while rooted to the spot, they have to be pollinated – by wind, water, or animals – most commonly insects. They use a surprising array of tricks to attract pollinators: striking colours, iridescent light effects, and enticing scents, to name but a few. Insects, on the other hand, do not seek to pollinate plants – they are looking for food; so plants make sure it’s worth their while. Insects are also remarkably sophisticated in their ability to find, recognise and find their way inside flowers. So pollination has evolved as a complex dance between plants and pollinators that is essential for life on earth to continue. With Beverley Glover, Director of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden Jane Memmott, Professor of Ecology at the University of Bristol And Lars Chittka, Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary, University of London. Producer: Eliane Glaser Reading list: Stephen L Buchmann and Gary Paul Nabhan, The Forgotten Pollinators (Island Press, 1997) Lars Chittka, The Mind of a Bee (Princeton University Press, 2023) Steven Falk, Field Guide to the Bees of Britain and Ireland (British Wildlife Publishing, 2015) Francis S. Gilbert (illustrated by Steven J. Falk), Hoverflies: Naturalists' Handbooks vol. 5 (Pelagic Publishing, 2015) Dave Goulson, A Sting in the Tale: My Adventures with Bumblebees (Vintage, 2014) Edwige Moyroud and Beverley J. Glover, ‘The evolution of diverse floral morphologies’ (Current Biology vol 11, 2017) Jeff Ollerton, Birds and Flowers: An Intimate 50 Million Year Relationship (Pelagic Publishing, 2024) Alan E. Stubbs and Steven J. Falk, British Hoverflies (‎British Entomological & Natural History Society, 2002) Timothy Walker, Pollination: The Enduring Relationship Between Plant and Pollinator (Princeton University Press, 2020) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

    50 min
  8. 27 MAR

    Kali

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Hindu goddess Kali, often depicted as dark blue, fierce, defiant, revelling in her power, and holding in her four or more arms a curved sword and a severed head with a cup underneath to catch the blood. She may have her tongue out, to catch more blood spurting from her enemies, be wearing a garland of more severed heads and a skirt of severed hands and yet she is also a nurturing mother figure, known in West Bengal as ‘Maa Kali’ and she can be fiercely protective. Sometimes she is shown as young and conventionally beautiful and at other times as old, emaciated and hungry, so defying any narrow definition. With Bihani Sarkar Senior Lecturer in Comparative Non-Western Thought at Lancaster University Julius Lipner Professor Emeritus of Hinduism and the Comparative Study of Religion at the University of Cambridge And Jessica Frazier Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the University of Oxford and fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies During this discussion, Julius Lipner reads a translation of a poem by Kamalakanta (c.1769–1821) "Is my black Mother Syama really black?" This translation is by Rachel Fell McDermott and can be found in her book Singing to the Goddess, Poems to Kali and Uma from Bengal (Oxford University Press, 2001) Producer: Simon Tillotson Reading list: Mandakranta Bose (ed.), The Goddess (Oxford University Press, 2018) John S. Hawley and Donna M. Wulff (eds.), Devi: Goddesses of India (University of California Press, 1996) Knut A. Jacobsen (ed.), Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism, vol 1 (Brill, 2025) David Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition (University of California Press, 1986), especially chapter 8 Rachel Fell McDermott and Jeffrey J. Kripal (eds.), Encountering Kālī in the margins, at the center, in the west (University of California Press, 2003) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

    58 min

Shows with Subscription Benefits

  • At 25, Hannah’s life begins falling apart. An anonymous intruder has made her phone her enemy. Aided by the technology we all rely on, this intruder is watching Hannah, threatening her, even pretending to be her. Feeling increasingly unsafe, Hannah goes to the police, but they can’t stop it. Worse, they don’t even recognise it for what it is: stalking. Hannah doesn’t know for sure who is behind it all, but she suspects an older man she met more than two years earlier at London Fashion Week. Initially, he claimed to have been hacked. Even today, he disputes stalking her. To make sense of what’s happening Hannah turns to a woman she’s known since she was seven years-old, and who also happens to be an investigative journalist. Together with her “ex-step mum” Carole Cadwalladr, they set out to piece together something the police couldn’t: the true identity of Hannah’s stalker. Doing so means untangling a web of deception spanning continents. On her suspected stalker’s trail, Hannah realises nothing about them is as she first thought.

  • The breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Hear the most important global stories from the BBC, the most trusted name in international news. With reporters on the ground in every country, we’re always where the story is. We bring you unparalleled access and exclusive updates that you won’t get anywhere else. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. From Trump’s White House to Putin’s Kremlin, from the Ukraine War to the Israel-Gaza conflict. From Damascus to Delhi, from Silicon Valley to Singapore, from Washington DC to Wuhan. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Subscribe now and never miss a moment. Also listen to The Happy Pod, every Saturday, for the best global good news. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

  • The comedy podcast that takes history seriously. In each episode of You’re Dead to Me from BBC Radio 4, Greg Jenner is joined by a comedian and an expert historian to learn and laugh about the past. History isn’t just about dates and textbooks – it’s about extraordinary characters, amazing stories, and some very questionable fashion choices. How long did it take to build an Egyptian pyramid? What does the Bayeux Tapestry reveal about medieval life? Why did it take nearly half a millennium for Joan of Arc to become a saint? And was Catherine the Great really all that great? Whether you want to explore ancient landmarks like Stonehenge and Machu Picchu, dance through the history of Broadway and Bollywood, or find out how the Tudors rose to power, Greg and his guests promise to teach you something new that you won’t have heard in history lessons. Previous episodes of You’re Dead To Me have covered everything from royals to revolutionaries, actors to activists and divas to dictators. Take a stroll through the history of high-heeled shoes or get the scoop on the history of ice cream. Maybe you’d like to paint like the cave artists of the Palaeolithic era, work out like a Victorian bodybuilder, or fight like a Spartan? We’ve even hosted a special, live episode with the BBC Concert Orchestra to explore the dramatic life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Whatever your historical interests, Greg and his guests make even the trickiest topics easy to follow. Join them for a history lesson that’s as entertaining as it is enlightening - with no homework required.

  • Season 7: World of Secrets presents: The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam. Also: Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods. Women accuse Mohamed Al Fayed of rape. And: The Abercrombie Guys. Investigating sexual exploitation claims against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch. Delve into a World of Secrets: the global investigations podcast from the BBC. Uncovering stories around the world and telling them, episode by episode, with gripping storytelling. Latest season: World of Secrets presents, The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam. It was the biggest gold discovery in history…until it wasn’t. In 1995, Canadian mining company Bre-X announced to the world it had found a significant amount of gold deep in the jungles of Indonesia. Stock prices soared as investors worldwide fought to stake their claim. But when Bre-X’s chief geologist mysteriously fell from a helicopter over the jungle, the story of the billion dollar discovery began to unravel. Nearly three decades later, no one has ever been held accountable. Now, host Suzanne Wilton takes listeners from the jungles of Indonesia to small town Alberta, Canada, to investigate what really happened and find out more about the man behind the biggest goldmine fraud of all time. Produced for the BBC World Service and CBC by BBC Scotland Productions. The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam was first published in May 2024. Previous seasons of World of Secrets: Season 6: The Bad Guru. A yoga school in London. A guru running from the police. How did Miranda get sucked in? Journalist Cat McShane investigates the international yoga movement headed by Gregorian Bivolaru, the spiritual guide arrested by French police in November 2023 and charged with human trafficking, organised kidnapping, rape and organised abuse of weakness by members of a sect. Season 5: Finding Mr Fox. Investigating a plot to smuggle around a hundred millions of dollars’ worth of drugs from Brazil to Europe and the miscarriage of justice that followed. But where is the man Brazilian police believe to be at the centre of it all? Season 4: Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods. Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed – then owner of Harrods, one of the most famous shops in the world – is accused of rape and attempted rape by women who worked for him. Now they refuse to be silenced any longer. Season 3: The Apartheid Killer. All the victims were black and the youngest was just 12 years old. Some relatives are still searching for the graves. They were killed during a three-year bloodbath in the 1980s, in the South African city of East London – by one person. He killed so many, he lost count. In piecing together this story, we expose the disturbed past and racial injustices of South Africa itself. Season 2: The Disciples. The cult of Nigerian prophet TB Joshua. A story of miracles, faith and manipulation, told by people from around the world, who gave up everything for one of the most powerful religious figures of the century. Lured by TB Joshua’s claimed healing powers, they live as disciples in a guarded Lagos compound, cut off from family and friends. Season 1: The Abercrombie Guys. An investigation into claims of sexual exploitation made against the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch. He and his British partner were accused by several men, recruited for sex events they hosted around the world.

  • How did the planet's richest people make their billions? From iconic celebrities and secretive CEOs to sporting legends and titans of technology, Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng find out, and then decide whether they think they’re good, bad, or just another billionaire. Ever wondered how Taylor Swift went from country singer to money-spinner? How Amazon boss Jeff Bezos came to launch one of the biggest corporations of the internet age? And how six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan made his fortune with Nike? Good Bad Billionaire is here to analyse the minds, motives and money of some of the world's wealthiest individuals. Simon and Zing explore the lives of the super-rich and famous, tracking their wealth, philanthropy, business ethics and success. In Season three, find out how Selena Gomez went from a child Disney star to a mega-magnate of makeup and how Martha Stewart, the “original lifestyle influencer” became one of the most successful women in business. We explore the life of British inventor James Dyson, and learn about some of the big names behind Minecraft, Marvel, WWE and the ultimate reality TV show – Big Brother. Join us on a global journey, discovering all we can about some of the richest people on the planet. In the United States, there are leaders who made their money in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and in high street fashion. Trawl through the archives to hear about billionaires in Russia, China, New Zealand, India, Nigeria and the UK. Exploring the lives of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, El Chapo, Narayana Murthy and Kim Kardashian, this podcast paints a vivid picture of business, entrepreneurship, capitalism and how our world really works. Discover how the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Peter Jackson, Doris Fisher and George Soros came to join the billionaires' club. Learn how Tiger Woods went from a child golfing prodigy to the world’s highest paid athlete, how a communist mime artist became the boss of fashion house Prada and how Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich came to buy an English football club. Find out how Mukesh Ambani became Asia’s richest person, and how Patrice Motsepe became the first black billionaire in a post-apartheid South Africa. Plus, we examine some of the biggest names behind the technology shaping our world – the founders of TikTok, Google, ChatGPT, Alibaba and Bumble. But it's not just how these billionaires made their money; it's what they did with it next. Ultimately, Simon and Zing consider whether they think these people are a force for good, bad, or somewhere in between. Join Simon Jack, the business editor for BBC News, and journalist and author Zing Tsjeng as this podcast unravels tales of fortune, power, economics, ambition and moral responsibility, ultimately inviting you to make up your own mind: are they good, bad, or just another billionaire? We’d love to hear your feedback. Email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176. To find out more about the show and read our privacy notice, visit www.bbcworldservice.com/goodbadbillionaire

  • Ben Lewis unravels the tangled story of a Christian billionaire family, stolen relics, fake treasures and the scholar turned sleuth who exposed the scandal of biblical proportions. Intrigue: 'Jaw-dropping', 'gripping', 'bingeable,' 'thrilling' - dramatic true stories and investigations that reveal how the world really works.

Get early access to new ideas, events and people

$6.99/month or $69.99/year

4.4
out of 5
1,099 Ratings

About

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 Melvyn Bragg 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 Nerfertiti. 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.

More From BBC

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign-in or sign-up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada