In Our Time With Melvyn Bragg

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Trojan War, one of the best known events of Greek mythology. According to the traditional story, the war began when a Trojan prince, Paris, eloped with the Spartan queen Helen. A Greek army besieged Troy for ten years before the city was finally overrun and destroyed. But does the Trojan War story have any basis in fact? And why has it proved such an enduring legend? Melvyn Bragg is joined by Edith Hall, Professor of Classics at King's College London; Ellen Adams, Lecturer in Classical Art and Archaeology at King's College London and Susan Sherratt, Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Sheffield.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the celebrated Venetian explorer Marco Polo. In 1271 Polo set off on an epic journey through Asia and he was away for more than twenty years. When he returned, he told extraordinary tales of his adventures. The Travels of Marco Polo was one of the most popular books produced in the age before printing. For centuries it was seen as the first and best account of life in the mysterious East, but today the accuracy and even truth of Marco Polo's work is often disputed. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Frances Wood, Lead Curator of Chinese Collections at the British Library; Joan Pau Rubies, Reader in International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Debra Higgs Strickland, Senior Lecturer in the History of Art at the University of Glasgow.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss On War, a treatise on the theory and practice of warfare written by the Prussian soldier and intellectual Carl von Clausewitz. First published in 1832, Clausewitz's magnum opus is commonly regarded as the most important book about military theory ever written. Its influence is felt today not just on the battlefield but also in politics and business. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Saul David, Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham; Hew Strachan, Chichele Professor of the History of War at the University of Oxford and Beatrice Heuser, Professor of International Relations at the University of Reading.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss game theory, the mathematical study of decision-making. Some of the games studied in game theory have become well known outside academia - they include the Prisoner's Dilemma, an intriguing scenario popularised in novels and films. Today game theory is seen as an important tool in evolutionary biology, economics, computing and philosophy. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Ian Stewart, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick; Andrew Colman, Professor of Psychology at the University of Leicester and Richard Bradley, Professor of Philosophy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Voltaire's novel Candide. First published in 1759, the novel follows the adventures of a young man, Candide, and his mentor, the philosopher Pangloss. Often uproariously funny, the novel is a biting satire whose targets include bad literature, extremist religion and the vanity of kings and politicians. It captivated contemporary readers and has proved one of French literature's most enduring classics. Melvyn Bragg is joined by David Wootton, Professor of History at the University of York; Nicholas Cronk, Professor of French Literature and Director of the Voltaire Foundation at the University of Oxford and Caroline Warman, Lecturer in French and Fellow of Jesus College at the University of Oxford.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Bosworth Field, the celebrated encounter between Lancastrian and Yorkist forces in August 1485, which resulted in the death of Richard III. Henry Tudor's victory established the Tudor dynasty which was to rule for over a century. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Anne Curry, Professor of Medieval History and Dean of Humanities at the University of Southampton; Steven Gunn, Tutor and Fellow in Modern History at Merton College, Oxford and David Grummitt, Lecturer in British History at the University of Kent.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Neoplatonism, the school of thought founded in the 3rd century AD by the philosopher Plotinus. The Neoplatonists brought a new religious sensibility to bear on Plato's thought, outlining a complex cosmology which linked the human with the divine, headed by a mysterious power called the One. Neoplatonism shaped early Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious scholarship, and remained a dominant force in European thought until the Renaissance. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Angie Hobbs, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Senior Fellow in the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Warwick; Peter Adamson, Professor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at King's College London and Anne Sheppard, Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the emergence of geology - the study of the Earth, its history and composition. Although geology only emerged as a separate area of study in the late 18th century, many earlier thinkers had studied rocks, fossils and the materials from which the Earth is made. But how did such haphazard study of rocks and fossils develop into a rigorous scientific discipline? Melvyn Bragg is joined by Stephen Pumfrey, Senior Lecturer in the History of Science at Lancaster University; Andrew Scott, Professor of Applied Palaeobotany at Royal Holloway, University of London and Leucha Veneer, Research Associate at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of Manchester.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the origins of Quakerism. In the mid-17th century an itinerant preacher, George Fox, became the central figure of the Religious Society of Friends. Persecuted for many years, particularly after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the Quakers survived to become an influential religious group, known for their pacifism and philanthropy. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Justin Champion, Professor of the History of Early Modern Ideas at Royal Holloway, University of London; John Coffey, Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Leicester and Kate Peters, Fellow in History at Murray Edwards College at the University of Cambridge.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the measurement of time. Early civilisations used the movements of heavenly bodies to tell the time, then mechanical clocks emerged in Europe in the medieval period. For hundreds of years clocks were inaccurate but now atomic clocks are capable of keeping time to a second in 15 million years. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Kristen Lippincott, Former Director of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich; Jim Bennett, Director of the Museum of the History of Science at the University of Oxford and Jonathan Betts, Senior Curator of Horology at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work and influence of the 18th-century philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. Moses's learning earned him the sobriquet of the 'German Socrates' and he is considered to be one of the principal architects of the Haskala, the Jewish Enlightenment. Today, he is perhaps best remembered for his efforts to bring Jewish and German culture closer together and for his plea for religious toleration. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Christopher Clark, Professor of Modern European History at the University of Cambridge; Abigail Green, Tutor and Fellow in History at the University of Oxford and Adam Sutcliffe, Senior Lecturer in European History at King's College, London.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Vitruvius' De Architectura. Written 2000 years ago, Vitruvius' treatise is a ten-volume work on Roman engineering and architecture, the only surviving text on the subject from the ancient world. The rediscovery of this work in the 15th century provided the impetus for the neoclassical architectural movement, and Vitruvius exerted a significant influence on the work of Renaissance architects including Palladio, Brunelleschi and Alberti. It remains a hugely important text today. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Serafina Cuomo, Reader in Roman History at Birkbeck, University of London; Robert Tavernor, Emeritus Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the London School of Economics and Alice Koenig, Lecturer in Latin and Classical Studies at the University of St Andrews.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Lyrical Ballads, the collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge first published in 1798, which attempted to cast off the stultifying conventions of formal 18th-century poetry. Lyrical Ballads contains some of the best-known work by Coleridge and Wordsworth, including The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Tintern Abbey - and is today seen as a point of radical departure for poetry in English. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Judith Hawley, Professor of Eighteenth-Century Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London; Jonathan Bate, Provost of Worcester College, Oxford and Peter Swaab, Reader in English Literature at University College London.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Benjamin Franklin. A printer, statesman, diplomat, writer and scientist, Franklin was one of the most remarkable individuals of the 18th century. As the only Founding Father to have signed all three of the fundamental documents of the United States of America, including its Declaration of Independence and Constitution, Benjamin Franklin occupies a unique position in the history of the nation. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Simon Middleton, Senior Lecturer in American History at the University of Sheffield; Simon Newman, Sir Denis Brogan Professor of American History at the University of Glasgow and Patricia Fara, Senior Tutor at Clare College, University of Cambridge.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the physics of electrical conduction. In investigating electrical conduction scientists discovered two new classes of material. Semiconductors have given us the transistor, the solar cell and the silicon chip, and have revolutionised telecommunications. And superconductors, remarkable materials first observed in 1911, are used in medical imaging and at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Frank Close, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford; Jenny Nelson, Professor of Physics at Imperial College London and Lesley Cohen Professor of Solid State Physics at Imperial College London.