Carlo Rovelli is an internationally acclaimed writer whose books, including Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, Helgoland and White Holes, have been number one bestsellers around the world and translated into over forty languages. As a theoretical physicist, he has made significant contributions to the physics of space and time and he is currently directing the quantum gravity research group of the Centre de physique théorique in Marseille, France.

Carlo Rovelli

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Melvyn Bragg

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. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
Produced by Victoria Brignell, Thomas Morris, John Goudie and Simon Tillotson 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
The Scientist 24 October 2002 
Johannes Kepler 29 December 2016 
Pascal 19 September 2013 
Robert Boyle 12 June 2014 
Emilie du Châtelet 4 February 2021 
Lamarck and Natural Selection 26 December 2003 
William and Caroline Herschel 11 November 2021 
Pierre-Simon Laplace 8 April 2021 
John Dalton 27 October 2016 
Humboldt 28 September 2006 
Carl Friedrich Gauss 30 November 2017 
George and Robert Stephenson 12 April 2018 
Michael Faraday 24 December 2015 
Ada Lovelace 6 March 2008 
Maxwell 2 October 2003 
Darwin: On the Origins of Charles Darwin 5 January 2009 
Darwin: The Voyage of the Beagle 6 January 2009 
Darwin: On the Origin of Species 7 January 2009 
Darwin: Life After Origins 8 January 2009 
Louis Pasteur 18 May 2017 
Pitt-Rivers 28 February 2013 
Thomas Edison 9 December 2010 
Rutherford 19 February 2004 
Emmy Noether 24 January 2019 
The Curies 26 March 2015 
Alan Turing 15 October 2020 
Rosalind Franklin 22 February 2018 
Paul Dirac 5 March 2020 
Dorothy Hodgkin 3 October 2019 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

In Our Time: 25 Pioneers in the History of Science

A BBC Radio 4 Collection

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 25 major leaders, thinkers and writers of the classical world 
 
'The best thing on Radio 4, possibly the best thing on the radio full stop' 
The Spectator 
 
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 thematic collection focusses on some of the most important rulers, philosophers and writers of ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt. Across 25 episodes, presenter Melvyn Bragg and a panel of top-class academics engage in lively and eloquent conversation as they explore the lives, reputations and impact of these pivotal figures. Their subjects include emperors, statesmen, military leaders, authors, poets, playwrights, fabulists and theorists - among them Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, Socrates, Pythagoras, Ovid, Aesop and Sappho. 
 
Whether you're a long-standing In Our Time fan or a new listener, a student of ancient history or simply keen to expand your knowledge; this thoughtfully curated compilation of illuminating, accessible discussions is sure to enlighten and entertain. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
Produced by Thomas Morris, Simon Tillotson, Victoria Brignell, Natalia Fernandez and Luke Mulhall 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Part I: Leaders of Ancient Rome 
 
Julius Caesar 2 October 2014 
With Christopher Pelling, Catherine Steel and Maria Wyke 
 
Cleopatra 2 December 2010 
With Catharine Edwards, Maria Wyke and Susan Walker 
 
Cicero 25 January 2018 
With Melissa Lane, Catherine Steel and Valentina Arena 
 
Agrippina the Younger 31 March 2016 
With Catharine Edwards, Alice König and Matthew Nicholls 
 
Nero 25 April 2019 
With Maria Wyke, Matthew Nicholls and Shushma Malik 
 
Constantine the Great 5 October 2017 
With Christopher Kelly, Lucy Grig and Greg Woolf 
 
Marcus Aurelius 25 February 2021 
With Simon Goldhill, Angie Hobbs and Catharine Edwards 
 
Pliny the Younger 12 December 2013 
With Catharine Edwards, Roy Gibson and Alice König 
 
Queen Zenobia 30 May 2013 
With Edith Hall, Kate Cooper and Richard Stoneman 
 
Part II: Leaders of Ancient Greece 
 
Pericles 17 September 2020 
With Edith Hall, Paul Cartledge and Peter Liddel 
 
Alexander the Great 1 October 2015 
With Paul Cartledge, Diana Spencer and Rachel Mairs 
 
Part III: Thinkers of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece 
 
Galen 10 October 2013 
With Vivian Nutton, Helen King and Caroline Petit 
 
Thucydides 29 January 2015 
With Paul Cartledge, Katherine Harloe and Neville Morley 
 
Xenophon 26 May 2011 
With Paul Cartledge, Edith Hall and Simon Goldhill 
 
Heraclites 8 December 2011 
With Angie Hobbs, Peter Adamson and James Warren 
 
Socrates 27 September 2007 
With Angie Hobbs, David Sedley and Paul Millett 
 
Archimedes 25 January 2007 
With Jackie Stedall, Serafina Cuomo and George Phillips 
 
Pythagoras 10 December 2009 
With Serafina Cuomo, John O'Connor and Ian Stewart 
 
Part IV: Writers of Ancient Rome 
 
Seneca the Younger 23 February 2017 
With Catharine Edwards, Mary Beard and Alessandro Schiesaro 
 
Josephus 21 May 2015 
With Tessa Rajak, Philip Alexander and Martin Goodman 
 
Ovid 29 April 2021 
With Maria Wyke, Gail Trimble and Dunstan Lowe 
 
Horace 15 November 2018 
With Emily Gowers, William Fitzgerald and Ellen O'Gorman 
 
Part V: Writers of Ancient Greece 
 
Aesop 20 November 2014 
With Pavlos Avlamis, Simon Goldhill and Lucy Grig 
 
Herodotus 23 September 2021 
With Tom Harrison, Esther Eidinow and Paul Cartledge 
 
Sappho 9 April 2015 
With Edith Hall, Margaret Reynolds and Dirk Obbink 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

In Our Time: 25 Key Figures in Ancient History

Melvyn Bragg and guests chart 500 years of Western philosophy through its most influential ideas and theorists 
 
'Listen to this and you'll never regret it' The Independent 
 
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. 
 
Both an essential resource for philosophy students and a treasure trove for knowledge-seekers, this wonderfully curated collection of thought-provoking programmes will captivate longtime fans of the flagship BBC show, and surprise and delight those who are coming to it for the first time. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
Produced by Natalia Fernandez, Thomas Morris, Simon Tillotson and Victoria Brignell 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Part I: Modern Philosophical Traditions 
 
The Continental-Analytic Split 10 November 2011 
 
Part II: Rationalism and Empiricism 
 
Consciousness 25 November 1999 
Empiricism 10 June 2004 
Cogito Ergo Sum 28 April 2011 
Spinoza 3 May 2007 
Bishop Berkeley 20 March 2014 
David Hume 6 October 2011 
 
Part III: Existentialism 
 
Existentialism 28 June 2001 
Schopenhauer 29 October 2009 
Kierkegaard 20 March 2008 
Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morality 12 January 2017 
Camus 3 January 2008 
 
Part IV: Logic, Language and Science 
 
Ordinary Language Philosophy 7 November 2013 
Jung 2 December 2004 
Bertrand Russell 6 December 2012 
Wittgenstein 4 December 2003 
Bergson and Time 9 May 2019 
Popper 8 February 2007 
 
Part V: Moral Philosophy 
 
Virtue 28 February 2002 
Kant's Categorical Imperative 21 September 2017 
Mill 18 May 2006 
Simone Weil 15 November 2012 
Iris Murdoch 21 October 2021 
 
Part VI: Political Philosophy 
 
The Social Contract 7 February 2008 
Machiavelli and the Italian City States 9 December 2004 
Hobbes 1 December 2005 
Rousseau on Education 10 October 2019 
Marx 14 July 2005 
Hannah Arendt 2 February 2017 
 
Part VII: Feminist Philosophy 
 
Feminism 7 January 1999 
Mary Astell 5 November 2020 
Mary Wollstonecraft 31 December 2009 
Simone de Beauvoir 22 October 2015 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

In Our Time: 25 Thinkers Who Shaped Modern Philosophy

Melvyn Bragg and guests chart 1,500 years of Christianity through its most influential movements, events and historical figures 
 
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. Included are saints such as St Paul, Mary Magdalene, St Augustine, St Hilda, St Cuthbert, the Venerable Bede and St Thomas Aquinas, and other notable Christian figures, such as John Wyclif, William Cecil, John Foxe, Titus Oates and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Also featured are programmes on key religious movements, among them Catharism, the Jesuits, Greyfriars and Blackfriars, as well as major historical events including the Schism, the Spanish Inquisition, the Diet of Worms and the Dissolution of the Monasteries. 
 
Packed with thought-provoking facts and informed debate, this fascinating collection of specially collated programmes will captivate In Our Time fans, students of religion and anyone with an interest in theology and the Christian church. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
Produced by Victoria Brignell, Julia Johnson, Thomas Morris and Simon Tillotson 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Part I: Saints 
St Paul 28 May 2009 
Mary Magdalene 25 February 2016 
Augustine's Confessions 15 March 2018 
St Hilda 5 April 2007 
Saint Cuthbert 28 January 2021 
The Venerable Bede 25 November 2004 
St Thomas Aquinas 17 September 2009 
 
Part II: Other Christian Figures 
Wyclif and the Lollards 16 June 2011 
William Cecil 7 March 2019 
Foxe's Book of Martyrs 18 November 2010 
Robert Boyle 12 June 2014 
Titus Oates and his 'Popish Plot' 12 May 2016 
Dietrich Bonhoeffer 27 September 2018 
 
Part III: Religious Movements 
Arianism 15 April 2021 
Catharism 17 January 2022 
Greyfriars and Blackfriars 10 November 2005 
Covenanters 12 March 2020 
The Jesuits 18 January 2007 
John Wesley and Methodism 10 December 2020 
 
Part IV: Historical Events 
Early Christian Martyrdom 28 April 2022 
The Pelagian Controversy 21 April 2011 
The Schism 16 October 2003 
The Spanish Inquisition 22 June 2006 
The Diet of Worms 12 October 2006 
The Dissolution of the Monasteries 27 March 2008 
 
© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

In Our Time: 25 Figures and Events in Christian History

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 25 explorations of the visual arts, including artistic and architectural styles, historic movements, notable artworks and visual artists 
 
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 celebrates 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. Also featured are episodes on Baroque, Bauhaus and Surrealism, as well as such iconic artworks as Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, Turner's The Fighting Temeraire, Munch's The Scream and Picasso's Guernica. 
 
How did the artist become a special kind of human being? Why is architecture such a powerful form of expression? These, and many other topics, are discussed in this release. Whether you're an arts student or simply want to broaden your horizons, this enlightening and entertaining compilation will provoke thoughts and debate long after you have finished listening to it. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
Produced by Natalia Fernandez, John Goudie, Thomas Morris, Luke Mulhall and Simon Tillotson 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Part I: Context 
The Artist 28 March 2002 
Imagination 28 November 2002 
The Muses 19 May 2016 
Architecture and Power 31 October 2002 
 
Part II: Styles and Movements 
Cave Art 24 September 2020 
Vitruvius and De Architectura 15 March 2012 
The Baroque Movement 20 November 2008 
Bohemianism 9 October 2003 
The Decadent Movement 18 November 2021 
Bauhaus 10 November 2022 
Surrealism 15 November 2001 
The Avant Garde's Decline and Fall in the 20th Century 25 February 1999 
 
Part III: Visual Artists 
Albrecht Dürer 12 November 2020 
Holbein at the Tudor Court 15 October 2015 
Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists 27 May 2010 
Hokusai 30 March 2017 
Berthe Morisot 13 October 2022 
Frida Kahlo 9 July 2015 
William Morris 5 July 2018 
 
Part IV: Art and Architecture 
The Lindisfarne Gospels 20 February 2003 
Judith beheading Holofernes 14 February 2019 
Angkor Wat 23 June 2022 
The Sistene Chapel 31 March 2022 
The School of Athens 26 March 2009 
Bruegel's The Fight Between Carnival and Lent 15 January 2015 
Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People 20 October 2011 
The Fighting Temeraire 10 November 2016 
Munch and The Scream 18 March 2010 
Picasso's Guernica 2 November 2017 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

In Our Time: 25 Perspectives on the Visual Arts

Melvyn Bragg and guests chart the development of Christian thought, looking at 25 fundamental concepts that emerged throughout history 
 
'In Our Time is a digital Library of Alexandria, a rich seam of commute-enhancing, dinner-party-reviving wisdom' The Economist 
 
Launched into the Thursday morning 'death slot' in 1988, In Our Time defied expectations to become one of Radio 4's best-loved and most popular programmes. In the 25 years it has been on air, it has built up an audience of over 2 million listeners and covered over 1,000 topics, from the Berlin Conference to bird migration. 
 
This specially curated collection sees Melvyn Bragg and his panel of experts considering some of the central tenets of the Christian faith. Its wide-ranging scope incorporates key concepts including Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, angels and devils, prayers and miracles, the Fall of Man, the Apocalypse, the Trinity and the Nicene Creed. Also discussed are the most significant historical developments that shaped and influenced Christianity today, among them Gnosticism, Deism, Calvinism and Fundamentalism, the ontological argument, The Book of Common Prayer, papal infallibility and the Rapture. 
 
Full of fascinating ideas and lively, accessible discussions, this comprehensive compendium will delight religious scholars, theologians and autodidacts alike. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
Produced by Thomas Morris, Simon Tillotson, Julia Johnson 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Part I: Key Concepts 
The Trinity 13 March 2014 
With Janet Soskice, Martin Palmer and Graham Ward 
 
Heaven 22 December 2005 
With Valery Rees, Martin Palmer and John Carey 
 
Angels 24 March 2005 
With Martin Palmer, Valery Rees and John Haldane 
 
The Devil 11 December 2003 
With Martin Palmer, Alison Rowlands and David Wootton 
 
Hell 21 December 2006 
With Martin Palmer, Margaret Kean and Neil MacGregor 
 
The Fall 8 April 2004 
With Martin Palmer, Griselda Pollock and John Carey 
 
Prayer 23 December 1999 
With Russell Stannard and Andrew Samuels 
 
Miracles 25 September 2008 
With Martin Palmer, Janet Soskice and Justin Champion 
 
Redemption 13 March 2003 
With Richard Harries, Janet Soskice and Stephen Mulhall 
 
Duty 13 November 2003 
With Angie Hobbs, Annabel Brett and Anthony Grayling 
 
The Apocalypse 17 July 2003 
With Martin Palmer, Marina Benjamin and Justin Champion 
 
The Nicene Creed 27 December 2007 
With Martin Palmer, Caroline Humfress and Andrew Louth 
 
Purgatory 25 May 2017 
With Laura Ashe, Matthew Treherne and Helen Foxhall Forbes 
 
Part II: Historical Developments 
 
Gnosticism 2 May 2013 
With Martin Palmer, Caroline Humfress and Alastair Logan 
 
The Ontological Argument 27 September 2012 
With John Haldane, Peter Millican and Clare Carlisle 
 
Medieval Pilgrimage 18 February 2021 
With Miri Rubin, Kathryn Rudy and Anthony Bale 
 
The Book of Common Prayer 17 October 2013 
With Diarmaid MacCulloch, Alexandra Walsham and Martin Palmer 
 
Deism 8 October 2020 
With Richard Serjeantson, Katie East and Thomas Ahnert 
 
Calvinism 25 February 2010 
With Justin Champion, Susan Hardman Moore and Diarmaid MacCulloch 
 
Papal Infallibility 10 January 2019 
With Tom O'Loughlin, Rebecca Rist and Miles Pattenden 
 
The Rapture 26 September 2019 
With Elizabeth Phillips, Crawford Gribben and Nicholas Guyatt 
 
The Oxford Movement 13 April 2006 
With Sheridan Gilley, Frances Knight and Simon Skinner 
 
The Age of Doubt 9 March 2000 
With A N Wilson and Victoria Glendinning 
 
Science and Religion 25 January 2001 
With Stephen Jay Gould, John Haldane and Hilary Rose 
 
Fundamentalism 22 April 1999 
With Karen Armstrong and Tariq Ali 
 
&copy; 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

In Our Time: 25 Defining Ideas of Christianity

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. 
 
Hosted by Melvyn Bragg with a panel of experts including Mona Siddiqui, Jim Al-Khalili, Tariq Ali and Amira Bennison, these enlightening, accessible discussions will illuminate, inspire and surprise. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
Produced by Thomas Morris, Simon Tillotson, Victoria Brignell 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Part I: Religion 
Islamic Law and its Origins 5 May 2011 
Sunni and Shia Islam 25 June 2009 
Prophecy 13 June 2013 
 
Part II: History of Ideas 
Maths in the Early Islamic World 16 February 2017 
The Translation Movement 2 October 2008 
Al-Kindi 28 June 2012 
al-Biruni 10 June 2010 
Avicenna 8 November 2007 
Al-Ghazali 19 March 2015 
Averroes 5 October 2006 
Maimonides 17 February 2011 
Ibn Khaldun 4 February 2010 
 
Part III: Literature 
Antarah ibn Shaddad 28 February 2019 
Rumi's Poetry 11 February 2016 
 
Part IV: Empire 
The Sassanid Empire 13 December 2007 
The Arab Conquests 26 June 2008 
Muslim Spain 21 November 2002 
The Battle of Tours 16 January 2014 
The Volga Vikings 11 November 2010 
The Almoravid Empire 3 May 2018 
Third Crusade 29 November 2001 
The Siege of Vienna 14 May 2009 
 
Part V: Rulers 
The Abbasid Caliphs 2 February 2006 
The Mamluks 26 September 2013 
The Safavid Dynasty 12 January 2012 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

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