In Our Time: History

BBC Radio 4

4.5 (1.8K)
HISTORY
UPDATED BIMONTHLY

Historical themes, events and key individuals from Akhenaten to Xenophon.

MAR 13

Catherine of Aragon

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), the youngest child of the newly dominant Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella. When she was 3, her parents contracted her to marry Arthur, Prince of Wales, the heir to the Tudor king Henry VII in order to strengthen Spain's alliances, since Henry's kingdom was a longstanding trade partner and an enemy of Spain's greatest enemy, France. For the next decade Catherine had the best humanist education available, preparing her for her expected life as queen and drawing inspiration from her warrior mother. She arrived in London to be married when she was 15 but within a few months she was widowed, her situation uncertain and left relatively impoverished for someone of her status. Rather than return home, Catherine stayed and married her late husband's brother, Henry VIII. In her view and that of many around her, she was an exemplary queen and, even after Henry VIII had arranged the annulment of their marriage for the chance of a male heir with Anne Boleyn, Catherine continued to consider herself his only queen. With Lucy Wooding Langford Fellow and Tutor in History at Lincoln College, University of Oxford and Professor of Early Modern History at Oxford Maria Hayward Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Southampton And Gonzalo Velasco Berenguer Lecturer in Global Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Bristol Producer: Simon Tillotson In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production Reading list: Michelle Beer, Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain: Catherine of Aragon and Margaret Tudor, 1503-1533 (Royal Historical Society, 2018) G. R. Bernard, The King's Reformation: Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church (Yale University Press, 2007) José Luis Colomer and Amalia Descalzo (eds.), Spanish Fashion at the Courts of Early Modern Europe (Centro de Estudios Europa Hispanica, 2014), especially vol 2, 'Spanish Princess or Queen of England? The Image, Identity and Influence of Catherine of Aragon at the Courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII' by Maria Hayward Theresa Earenfight, Catherine of Aragon: Infanta of Spain, Queen of England (Penn State University Press, 2022) John Edwards, Ferdinand and Isabella: Profiles In Power (Routledge, 2004) Garrett Mattingley, Catherine of Aragon (first published 1941; Random House, 2000) J. J. Scarisbrick, Henry VIII (first published 1968; Yale University Press, 1997) David Starkey, Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004) Giles Tremlett, Catherine of Aragon: Henry's Spanish Queen (Faber & Faber, 2011) Juan Luis Vives (trans. Charles Fantazzi), The Education of a Christian Woman: A Sixteenth-Century Manual (University of Chicago Press, 2000) Patrick Williams, Catherine of Aragon: The Tragic Story of Henry VIII's First Unfortunate Wife (Amberley Publishing, 2013) Lucy Wooding, Henry VIII (Routledge, 2009)

53 min
FEB 13

The Battle of Valmy

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most consequential battles of recent centuries. On 20th September 1792 at Valmy, 120 miles to the east of Paris, the army of the French Revolution faced Prussians, Austrians and French royalists heading for Paris to free Louis XVI and restore his power and end the Revolution. The professional soldiers in the French army were joined by citizens singing the Marseillaise and their refusal to give ground prompted their opponents to retreat when they might have stayed and won. The French success was transformative. The next day, back in Paris, the National Convention abolished the monarchy and declared the new Republic. Goethe, who was at Valmy, was to write that from that day forth began a new era in the history of the world. With Michael Rowe Reader in European History at King’s College London Heidi Mehrkens Lecturer in Modern European History at the University of Aberdeen And Colin Jones Professor Emeritus of History at Queen Mary, University of London Producer: Simon Tillotson Reading list T. C. W. Blanning, The French Revolutionary Wars, 1787-1802 (Hodder Education, 1996) Elizabeth Cross, ‘The Myth of the Foreign Enemy? The Brunswick Manifesto and the Radicalization of the French Revolution’ (French History 25/2, 2011) Charles J. Esdaile, The Wars of the French Revolution, 1792-1801 (Routledge, 2018) John A. Lynn, ‘Valmy’ (MHQ: Quarterly Journal of Military History, Fall 1992) Munro Price, The Fall of the French Monarchy: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and the baron de Breteuil (Macmillan, 2002) Simon Schama, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (Penguin Books, 1989) Samuel F. Scott, From Yorktown to Valmy: The Transformation of the French Army in an Age of Revolution (University Press of Colorado, 1998) Marie-Cécile Thoral, From Valmy to Waterloo: France at War, 1792–1815 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

48 min
JAN 16

Plutarch's Parallel Lives

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Greek biographer Plutarch (c46 AD-c120 AD) and especially his work 'Parallel Lives' which has shaped the way successive generations see the Classical world. Plutarch was clear that he was writing lives, not histories, and he wrote these very focussed accounts in pairs to contrast and compare the characters of famous Greeks and Romans, side by side, along with their virtues and vices. This focus on the inner lives of great men was to fascinate Shakespeare, who drew on Plutarch considerably when writing his Julius Caesar, Coriolanus, Timon of Athens and Antony and Cleopatra. While few followed his approach of setting lives in pairs, Plutarch's work was to influence countless biographers especially from the Enlightenment onwards. With Judith Mossman Professor Emerita of Classics at Coventry University Andrew Erskine Professor of Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh And Paul Cartledge AG Leventis Senior Research Fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge Producer: Simon Tillotson Reading list: Mark Beck (ed.), A Companion to Plutarch (Wiley-Blackwell, 2014) Colin Burrow, Shakespeare and Classical Antiquity (Oxford University Press, 2013), especially chapter 6 Raphaëla Dubreuil, Theater and Politics in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives (Brill, 2023) Tim Duff, Plutarch’s Lives: Exploring Virtue and Vice (Oxford University Press, 1999) Noreen Humble (ed.), Plutarch’s Lives: Parallelism and Purpose (Classical Press of Wales, 2010) Robert Lamberton, Plutarch (Yale University Press, 2002) Hugh Liebert, Plutarch's Politics: Between City and Empire (Cambridge University Press, 2016) Christopher Pelling, Plutarch and History (Classical Press of Wales, 2002) Plutarch (trans. Robin Waterfield), Greek Lives (Oxford University Press, 2008) Plutarch (trans. Robin Waterfield), Roman Lives (Oxford University Press, 2008) Plutarch (trans. Robin Waterfield), Hellenistic Lives (Oxford University Press, 2016) Plutarch (trans. Ian Scott-Kilvert), The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives (Penguin, 2023) Plutarch (trans. Ian Scott-Kilvert), The Age of Alexander: Nine Greek Lives (Penguin, 2011) Plutarch (trans. Richard Talbert), On Sparta (Penguin, 2005) Plutarch (trans. Christopher Pelling), The Rise of Rome (Penguin, 2013) Plutarch (trans. Christopher Pelling), Rome in Crisis: Nine Lives (Penguin, 2010) Plutarch (trans. Rex Warner), The Fall of the Roman Republic: Six Lives (Penguin, 2006) Plutarch (trans. Thomas North, ed. Judith Mossman), The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (Wordsworth, 1998) Geert Roskam, Plutarch (Cambridge University Press, 2021) D. A. Russell, Plutarch (2nd ed., Bristol Classical Press, 2001) Philip A. Stadter, Plutarch and his Roman Readers (Oxford University Press, 2014) Frances B. Titchener and Alexei V. Zadorojnyi (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Plutarch (Cambridge University Press, 2023) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

57 min
12/26/2024

The Hanoverian Succession

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the intense political activity at the turn of the 18th Century, when many politicians in London went to great lengths to find a Protestant successor to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland and others went to equal lengths to oppose them. Queen Anne had no surviving children and, following the old rules, there were at least 50 Catholic candidates ahead of any Protestant ones and among those by far the most obvious candidate was James, the only son of James II. Yet with the passing of the Act of Settlement in 1701 ahead of Anne's own succession, focus turned to Europe and to Princess Sophia, an Electress of the Holy Roman Empire in Hanover who, as a granddaughter of James I, thus became next in line to be crowned at Westminster Abbey. It was not clear that Hanover would want this role, given its own ambitions and the risks, in Europe, of siding with Protestants, and soon George I was minded to break the rules of succession so that he would be the last Hanoverian monarch as well as the first. With Andreas Gestrich Professor Emeritus at Trier University and Former Director of the German Historical Institute in London Elaine Chalus Professor of British History at the University of Liverpool And Mark Knights Professor of History at the University of Warwick Producer: Simon Tillotson Reading list: J.M. Beattie, The English Court in the Reign of George I (Cambridge University Press, 1967) Jeremy Black, The Hanoverians: The History of a Dynasty (Hambledon Continuum, 2006) Justin Champion, Republican Learning: John Toland and the Crisis of Christian Culture 1696-1722 (Manchester University Press, 2003), especially his chapter ‘Anglia libera: Protestant liberties and the Hanoverian succession, 1700–14’ Linda Colley, Britons: Forging the Nation 1707 – 1837 (Yale University Press, 2009) Andreas Gestrich and Michael Schaich (eds), The Hanoverian Succession: Dynastic Politics and Monarchical Culture (‎Ashgate, 2015) Ragnhild Hatton, George I: Elector and King (Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1979) Mark Knights, Representation and Misrepresentation in Later Stuart Britain: Partisanship and Political Culture (Oxford University Press, 2005) Mark Knights, Faction Displayed: Reconsidering the Impeachment of Dr Henry Sacheverell (Blackwell, 2012) Joanna Marschner, Queen Caroline: Cultural Politics at the Early Eighteenth-Century Court (Yale University Press, 2014) Ashley Marshall, ‘Radical Steele: Popular Politics and the Limits of Authority’ (Journal of British Studies 58, 2019) Paul Monod, Jacobitism and the English People, 1688-1788 (Cambridge University Press, 1989) Hannah Smith, Georgian Monarchy: Politics and Culture 1714-1760 (Cambridge University Press, 2006) Daniel Szechi, 1715: The Great Jacobite Rebellion (Yale University Press, 2006) A.C. Thompson, George II : King and Elector (Yale University Press, 2011) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

51 min
12/12/2024

The Antikythera Mechanism

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 2000-year-old device which transformed our understanding of astronomy in ancient Greece. In 1900 a group of sponge divers found the wreck of a ship off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. Among the items salvaged was a corroded bronze object, the purpose of which was not at first clear. It turned out to be one of the most important discoveries in marine archaeology. Over time, researchers worked out that it was some kind of astronomical analogue computer, the only one to survive from this period as bronze objects were so often melted down for other uses. In recent decades, detailed examination of the Antikythera Mechanism using the latest scientific techniques indicates that it is a particularly intricate tool for showing the positions of planets, the sun and moon, with a complexity and precision not surpassed for over a thousand years. With Mike Edmunds Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics at Cardiff University Jo Marchant Science journalist and author of 'Decoding the Heavens' on the Antikythera Mechanism And Liba Taub Professor Emerita in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and Visiting Scholar at the Deutsches Museum, Munich Producer: Simon Tillotson In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production Reading list: Derek de Solla Price, Gears from the Greeks: The Antikythera Mechanism (American Philosophical Society Press, 1974) M. G. Edmunds, ‘The Antikythera mechanism and the mechanical universe’ (Contemp. Phys. 55, 2014) M.G. Edmunds, ’The Mechanical Universe’ (Astronomy & Geophysics, 64, 2023) James Evans and J. Lennart Berggren, Geminos's Introduction to the Phenomena: A Translation and Study of a Hellenistic Survey of Astronomy (Princeton University Press, 2006) T. Freeth et al., ‘Calendars with Olympiad display and eclipse prediction on the Antikythera mechanism’ (Nature 454, 2008) Alexander Jones, A Portable Cosmos: Revealing the Antikythera Mechanism, Scientific Wonder of the Ancient World (Oxford University Press, 2017) Jo Marchant, Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World’s First Computer (Windmill Books, 2009) J.H. Seiradakis and M.G. Edmunds, ‘Our current knowledge of the Antikythera Mechanism’ (Nature Astronomy 2, 2018) Liba Taub, Ancient Greek and Roman Science: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2022)

51 min
11/28/2024

The Venetian Empire

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the remarkable rise of Venice in the eastern Mediterranean. Unlike other Italian cities of the early medieval period, Venice had not been settled during the Roman Empire. Rather, it was a refuge for those fleeing unrest after the fall of Rome who settled on these boggy islands on a lagoon and developed into a power that ran an empire from mainland Italy, down the Adriatic coast, across the Peloponnese to Crete and Cyprus, past Constantinople and into the Black Sea. This was a city without walls, just one of the surprises for visitors who marvelled at the stability and influence of Venice right up to the 17th Century when the Ottomans, Spain, France and the Hapsburgs were to prove too much especially with trade shifting to the Atlantic. With Maartje van Gelder Professor in Early Modern History at the University of Amsterdam Stephen Bowd Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Edinburgh And Georg Christ Senior Lecturer in Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Manchester Producer: Simon Tillotson Reading list: Michel Balard and Christian Buchet (eds.), The Sea in History: The Medieval World (Boydell & Brewer, 2017), especially ‘The Naval Power of Venice in the Eastern Mediterranean’ by Ruthy Gertwagen Stephen D. Bowd, Venice's Most Loyal City: Civic Identity in Renaissance Brescia (Harward University Press, 2010) Frederic Chapin Lane, Venice: A Maritime Republic (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973) Georg Christ and Franz-Julius Morche (eds.), Cultures of Empire: Rethinking Venetian rule 1400–1700: Essays in Honour of Benjamin Arbel (Brill, 2020), especially ‘Orating Venice's Empire: Politics and Persuasion in Fifteenth Century Funeral Orations’ by Monique O'Connell Eric R. Dursteler, A Companion to Venetian History, 1400-1797 (Brill, 2013), especially ‘Venice's Maritime Empire in the Early Modern Period’ by Benjamin Arbel Iain Fenlon, The Ceremonial City: History, Memory and Myth in Renaissance Venice (Yale University Press, 2007) Joanne M. Ferraro, Venice: History of the Floating City (Cambridge University Press, 2012) Maria Fusaro, Political Economies of Empire: The Decline of Venice and the Rise of England 1450-1700 (Cambridge University Press, 2015) Maartje van Gelder, Trading Places: The Netherlandish Merchant Community in Early Modern Venice, 1590-1650 (Brill, 2009) Deborah Howard, The Architectural History of Venice (Yale University Press, 2004) Kristin L. Huffman (ed.), A View of Venice: Portrait of a Renaissance City (Duke University Press, 2024) Peter Humfrey, Venice and the Veneto: Artistic Centers of the Italian Renaissance (Cambridge University Press, 2008) John Jeffries Martin and Dennis Romano (eds.), Venice Reconsidered: The History and Civilization of an Italian City-State, 1297-1797 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000) Erin Maglaque, Venice’s Intimate Empire: Family Life and Scholarship in the Renaissance Mediterranean (Cornell University Press, 2018) Michael E Mallett and John Rigby Hale, The Military Organization of a Renaissance State Venice, c.1400 to 1617 (Cambridge University Press, 1984) William Hardy McNeill, Venice: The Hinge of Europe (The University of Chicago Press, 1974) Jan Morris, The Venetian Empire: A Sea Voyage (Faber & Faber, 1980) Monique O'Connell, Men of Empire: Power and Negotiation in Venice’s Maritime State (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009) Dennis Romano, Venice: The Remarkable History of the Lagoon City (Oxford University Press, 2023) David Rosand, Myths of Venice: The Figuration of a State (University of North Carolina Press, 2001) David Sanderson Chambers, The Imperial Age of Venice, 1380-1580 (Thames and Hudson, 1970) Sandra Toffolo, Describing the City, Describing the State: Representations of Venice and the Venetian Terraferma in the Renaissance (Brill, 2020) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production .

51 min
10/31/2024

The Haymarket Affair

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the notorious attack of 4th of May 1886 at a workers rally in Chicago when somebody threw a bomb that killed a policeman, Mathias J. Degan. The chaotic shooting that followed left more people dead and sent shockwaves across America and Europe. This was in Haymarket Square at a protest for an eight hour working day following a call for a general strike and the police killing of striking workers the day before, at a time when labour relations in America were marked by violent conflict. The bomber was never identified but two of the speakers at the rally, both of then anarchists and six of their supporters were accused of inciting murder. Four of them, George Engel, Adolph Fischer, Albert Parsons, and August Spies were hanged on 11th November 1887 only to be pardoned in the following years while a fifth, Louis Ling, had killed himself after he was convicted. The May International Workers Day was created in their memory. With Ruth Kinna Professor of Political Theory at Loughborough University Christopher Phelps Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Nottingham And Gary Gerstle Paul Mellon Professor of American History Emeritus at the University of Cambridge Producer: Simon Tillotson Reading list: Paul Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy (Princeton University Press, 1984) Henry David, The History of the Haymarket Affair (Collier Books, 1963) James Green, Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing that Divided Gilded Age America (Pantheon, 2006) Carl Levy and Matthew S. Adams (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), especially 'Haymarket and the Rise of Syndicalism' by Kenyon Zimmer Franklin Rosemont and David Roediger, Haymarket Scrapbook: 125th Anniversary Edition (AK Press, 2012) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

52 min
10/17/2024

Benjamin Disraeli

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the major figures in Victorian British politics. Disraeli (1804 -1881) served both as Prime Minister twice and, for long periods, as leader of the opposition. Born a Jew, he was only permitted to enter Parliament as his father had him baptised into the Church of England when he was twelve. Disraeli was a gifted orator and, outside Parliament, he shared his views widely through several popular novels including Sybil or The Two Nations, which was to inspire the idea of One Nation Conservatism. He became close to Queen Victoria and she mourned his death with a primrose wreath, an event marked for years after by annual processions celebrating his life in politics. With Lawrence Goldman Emeritus Fellow in History at St Peter's College, University of Oxford Emily Jones Lecturer in Modern British History at the University of Manchester And Daisy Hay Professor of English Literature and Life Writing at the University of Exeter Producer: Simon Tillotson Reading list: Robert Blake, Disraeli (first published 1966; Faber & Faber, 2010) M. Dent, ‘Disraeli and the Bible’ (Journal of Victorian Culture 29, 2024) Benjamin Disraeli (ed. N. Shrimpton), Sybil; or, The Two Nations (Oxford University Press, 2017) Daisy Hay, Mr and Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance (Chatto & Windus, 2015) Douglas Hurd and Edward Young, Disraeli: or, The Two Lives (W&N, 2014) Emily Jones, ‘Impressions of Disraeli: Mythmaking and the History of One Nation Conservatism, 1881-1940’ (French Journal of British Studies 28, 2023) William Kuhn, The Politics of Pleasure: A Portrait of Benjamin Disraeli (Simon & Schuster, 2007) Robert O'Kell, Disraeli: The Romance of Politics (University of Toronto Press, 2013) J.P. Parry, ‘Disraeli and England’ (Historical Journal 43, 2000) J.P. Parry, ‘Disraeli, the East and Religion: Tancred in Context’ (English Historical Review 132, 2017) Cecil Roth, Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield (New York Philosophical library, 1952) Paul Smith, Disraelian Conservatism and Social Reform (Routledge & Kegan Paul PLC, 1967) John Vincent, Disraeli (Oxford University Press, 1990) P.J. Waller (ed.), Politics and Social Change in Modern Britain (Prentice Hall / Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1987), especially the chapter ‘Style and Substance in Disraelian Social Reform’ by P. Ghosh In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

51 min

See All (217)

4.5

out of 5

1,792 Ratings

So informative!

07/31/2024

Cenizo99

I always enjoy this ram. The range of topics and the incisive interview questions are two important reasons. Sometimes the questioning is a bit brusque, but the topics are thoroughly explored and well explained.,
Poor host

11/30/2024

Bandboxxer

The interesting guests would be more engaging if Torquemada wasn't conducting the interview.
Almost

09/08/2024

JustMakeSomethingUp

The questions asked and topics chosen are brilliant, the guests are wonderful. The only problem is the host won’t let them answer a question. Just when the guest begins a fascinating answer, he interrupts with another question. Very frustrating! This would be one of my favorite podcasts were it not for that.
Highly inquisitive

03/25/2024

BjornEinarsson

I much appreciate the probing questions Mr Bragg is able to ask of his guests. They no doubt need to be well studied up
Great guests. Bad host.

04/25/2024

kyleesi

Very informative with excellent guest contributors. However couldn't get through one whole episode because the host is so arrogant and rude. He interrupts constantly and refuses to distribute anything valuable himself. When one of the guests tried to hear his thoughts on something because he knew the host had relevant experience in the topic, he rudely refused to contribute to the conversation and changed the topic. Unfortunate because the podcast seems rather informative
Insufferable host

04/02/2024

mickten13

Incredibly intelligent guests and wonderful information, but borderline unlistenable due to the host’s rude interruptions which throw these smart people off their thoughts and audibly confuses them. Not to mention the host mumbles horribly and is extremely hard to understand when he inevitably inserts himself.
Good, but…

03/28/2024

Fergie V.

There are great guests on the show, very knowledgeable and content is top quality. However, I took a star away because the moderator Bragg’s manner comes across as rather brusque at times. I realise his role is to guide and probe the speakers, to come to the point in the shortest time, but he lacks a softer touch, zero humour, and seems a little too intense.
King Cnut had a name that will live on.

12/22/2023

kidports

Lots of letters got returned by the humor- free postal service.
The place to listen for great history.

11/12/2023

Almuderas

This is THE podcast for history lovers. The selection and depth of the topics means that you can find pretty much any thing you want to learn about and get a solid understanding in under an hour. I know that some commentators have mentioned Melvin Brag’s at time seemingly brash interruptions, but I rationalize that as just being a man of his time and perhaps a British sensibility? Overall, really great.
Great information, but the host!

10/15/2023

Chrisbman

It’s hard to absorb information when the host interrupts the guests so often! He asks questions in a snarky way, then talks over the guests as they attempt an answer. I had to turn it off. Too bad. It seems like the guests had a lot of info to offer if the host would get out of the way.