In Our Time

In Our Time is one of BBC Radio's most successful and best-loved programmes, with a weekly listenership of over two million. Since 1998, it has 'transformed the landscape for serious ideas at peak listening time' (The Times), introducing its audience to an astonishing array of intriguing topics, from the epic of Gilgamesh to the gin craze.

This special themed collection provides a focussed, wide-ranging introduction to 25 of the ideas and events that shaped the Islamic world, highlighting the numerous connections between Islamdom and the West throughout history. We learn the origins of Sharia law, and how prophets became important to Islam, Judaism and Christianity alike; discover how the Translation Movement introduced the Arabic world to Greek philosophy, medicine, engineering and maths; and find out how settlers and invaders from both East and West transformed and refashioned the civilisations they touched, from the Arab Conquest, Muslim Spain and the Volga Vikings to the Third Crusade and the Siege of Vienna. Here, too, are key scholars and writers, among them al-Kindi, the first significant thinker to reconcile philosophy and Islam; Averroes, who worked to integrate Islamic theology with the rationality of Aristotle; Maimonides, a titan of Jewish intellectual history who was much influenced by the Islamic world; and Rumi, the Persian poet and Sufi mystic whose work transcends borders of time, faith, language and geography.

In 1998, a brand new culture show was launched on Radio 4, featuring Melvyn Bragg and a panel of leading academics discussing the ideas, individuals and events that have shaped our world. In Our Time rapidly became one of radio's most well-loved programmes, regularly attracting over 2 million listeners eager to learn more about the topic of the week - which could be asteroids, Zoroastrianism or anything in between. This specially curated collection charts the evolution of the novel as a literary form throughout the past four centuries, analysing 25 works ranging from Cervantes' 17th century epic Don Quixote to George Orwell's 1945 political fable Animal Farm. Some of the best books of all time are examined and elucidated here, including Robinson Crusoe, Tristram Shandy, Emma, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Crime and Punishment, Ulysses and Mrs Dalloway. Three additional programmes, on 'The Novel', 'Victorian Realism' and 'Literary Modernism', set these masterpieces in their historical context.

First aired in 1998, In Our Time has become one of Radio 4's most beloved and enduring shows, regularly attracting an audience of over 2 million. Each week, Melvyn Bragg and his panel of guest experts take part in an erudite, stimulating discussion on subjects ranging from the Peasants' Revolt to plate tectonics, taking the listener on a fascinating tour through a wonderland of ideas. Collected in this special thematic anthology are 25 episodes showcasing notable individuals from Renaissance times to the present day who have transformed the way we think about the world. Included are philosophers such as Descartes, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and Karl Marx, authors Albert Camus, Iris Murdoch, Mary Wollstonecraft and Simone de Beauvoir, psychoanalyst Carl Jung and many other celebrated thinkers. Also featured are programmes on key philosophical themes, traditions and theories, among them existentialism, empiricism and feminism.

Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the history of the Islamic world through its religion thinkers poetry empire and rulers 'An ever-growing library of wisdom' The Economist Since 1998 In Our Time has been the go-to radio programme for knowledge seekers and inquiring minds. Tackling big topics with a light touch it has introduced weekly audiences of over 2 million to subjects ranging from Romulus and Remus to the Renaissance.

This special themed collection provides a focussed wide-ranging introduction to 25 of the ideas and events that shaped the Islamic world highlighting the numerous connections between Islamdom and the West throughout history. We learn the origins of Sharia law and how prophets became important to Islam Judaism and Christianity alike; discover how the Translation Movement introduced the Arabic world to Greek philosophy medicine engineering and maths; and find out how settlers and invaders from both East and West transformed and refashioned the civilisations they touched from the Arab Conquest Muslim Spain and the Volga Vikings to the Third Crusade and the Siege of Vienna. Here too are key scholars and writers among them al-Kindi the first significant thinker to reconcile philosophy and Islam; Averroes who worked to integrate Islamic theology with the rationality of Aristotle; Maimonides a titan of Jewish intellectual history who was much influenced by the Islamic world; and Rumi the Persian poet and Sufi mystic whose work transcends borders of time faith language and geography.

Eclectic, erudite and entertaining, In Our Time is one of Radio 4's most successful programmes, regularly attracting an audience of over 2 million for its discussions on every subject under the sun: from oceanography to Ovid. In this special themed collection, Melvyn Bragg is joined by guest experts including Simon Schaffer, John Gribbin, Jim Al-Khalili and Sir Martin Rees to discuss 25 of the key laws, principles and problems of physics.

Here are examinations of major concepts including plasma, radiation, matter and antimatter and the Second Law of Thermodynamics, as well as discourses on historical theories such as Zeno's paradoxes, the speed of light and relativity. Also featured are analyses of modern developments in physics, including the discovery and growing understanding of the proton, neutron and electron, the controversial breakthrough of nuclear technology, and the search for the holy grail of 20th century physics: the Grand Unified Theory. 

In Our Time is a linchpin of the Radio 4 schedule, attracting over 2 million listeners a week since its launch in 1998. Erudite, edifying and enlightening, it tackles serious ideas succinctly, providing fascinating insight into subjects ranging from the Fibonacci Sequence to Frida Kahlo. 

In this special thematic anthology, we traverse the solar system, the galaxies and the multiverse, voyaging across space to explore 25 celestial objects and phenomena. Included are programmes on the universe, the sun, the moon, the stars and the planets - among them our near neighbours, Venus and Mars.

In Our Time has been the cornerstone of broadcasting on BBC Radio 4 since its launch in 1998. Presented by one of Britain's greatest champions of the arts, Melvyn Bragg, the show explores ideas across history, religion, philosophy, science and culture.

With a vast array of contributors from the world of academia, such as Mary Beard, Angie Hobbs and Diarmaid MacCulloch, it is one of Radio 4's most successful programmes. 

Collected in this thematic anthology are 25 episodes focusing on notable events and individuals in Christian history, from the third century AD to the founding of Methodism, that have transformed the history of the world.

Since its debut in 1998, In Our Time has amassed a dedicated following of more than 2 million listeners. Hosted by Melvyn Bragg, with a panel of guest experts, each show features a plethora of fascinating facts and inspirational discourse on topics ranging from democracy to dark matter. 

This specially curated collection celebrates the rich diversity of poetry in English, focussing on 25 major works and writers from the mediaeval era to the 20th Century. Opening with a programme on Geoffrey Chaucer, often called the father of English literature, it encompasses some of the greatest poets of all time, including John Donne, Pope, Milton, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, W B Yeats and Wilfred Owen.

Radio 4's In Our Time has established itself at the pinnacle of essential conversation on a wide range of subjects from science, history, philosophy and the arts. The programme, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023, is presented by Melvyn Bragg with contributors from the diverse worlds of academia. 

Opening with four contextual episodes - The Artist, Imagination, The Muses, and Architecture and Power - this thematic anthology contains 25 programmes on the history of visual art. Included are artistic styles and movements, from Avant Garde to Bohemianism, and great cultural figures such as Hans Holbein the Younger, Katsushika Hokusai, Frida Kahlo, Michelangelo and William Morris.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 25 scientific pioneers who have shaped the development of science over 500 years 'Exemplifies what Radio 4 is all about and what makes it world class' The Guardian One of the bedrocks of Radio 4 In Our Time has entertained and fascinated millions of listeners since it was first broadcast in 1998. Each week Melvyn Bragg and a panel of leading academics discuss the big ideas that form the intellectual agenda of our age traversing an eclectic spectrum of topics from the alphabet to Absolute Zero.

This specially curated collection introduces us to 25 of the best minds who have shaped the fields of science over the past five centuries. Beginning with an introductory episode 'The Scientist' it encompasses pioneers such as mathematicians Blaise Pascal Carl Friedrich Gauss Ada Lovelace and Emmy Noether; astronomers Johannes Kepler and William and Caroline Herschel; chemists Rosalind Franklin and Dorothy Hodgkin; and physicists Ernest Rutherford and Paul Dirac. Among the other famous names featured are Michael Faraday Louis Pasteur Thomas Edison Alan Turing and the Curies as well as the great naturalist Charles Darwin who is the subject of a 4-part special devoted to his life and work. Science students In Our Time fans and lovers of learning will relish these captivating wide-ranging discussions giving us unparalleled insight into the remarkable individuals whose ideas and inventions have transformed our world.

In Our Time is a Radio 4 phenomenon, a knowledge juggernaut that has informed and entertained over 2 million listeners each week since its first broadcast in 1998. In its 25 years on air, it has covered an astonishing array of topics, from the Second Law of Thermodynamics to the Sistine Chapel. 

Beginning with three introductory episodes, this specially curated collection explores 25 of the most important individuals, ideas and discoveries that have transformed our understanding of mathematics over the past 5,000 years. We learn how Indian mathematics provided the foundations for much of our modern thinking, discover why Euclid's Elements is the most influential textbook ever written and hear of the epic feud between Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz over who invented calculus.