Undoubtedly my favourite weekly download…
☆
☆
☆
☆
☆
“Where to begin? The format is simple. Melvyn Bragg and three experts in their field – two female / one male or vice versa – expound upon a chosen theme for forty minutes. The subjects on any particular week might be historical, philosophical, cultural, literary, religious or scientific. They are pitched at the level that anyone with an inquiring mind and an interest in the history of ideas can understand. The length of time is perfect – forty minutes allows for a meaty, information-laden discussion whilst providing enough of a constraint to keep the narrative cantering along and preventing too many tangential asides. Melvyn Bragg, for his part, is the ideal host. He has a great breadth of knowledge, is naturally inquisitive and is able to pick out the key points for the listener which might otherwise get trampled in the discursive stampede. He also has enough humility to ask for points to get explained again if he hasn’t grasped the concept initially (especially in the more esoteric science debates – e.g. the Higgs Boson, Antimatter and the Second Law of Thermodynamics). He is also experienced enough to keep any unruly guests on the straight and narrow if they stray too far off-topic (I’m thinking particularly of The Terror episode). Who wouldn’t want to party with the faylasufic bon-viveur Avicenna, wish they could join the Scriblerus Club or sample some of the halcyon-era opulence of the Mughal Dynasty after listening to this podcast? Although it’s difficult to pick any highlights from such a consistent standard, among my own favourite episodes are: Jorge Luis Borges, Genghis Khan, Lamarck and Natural Selection, Socrates, The Siege of Constantinople and Heart of Darkness. One final note: to all those who are eagerly awaiting the back-catalogue on iTunes, don’t hold your breath. I spoke with a BBC source who informs me there are no immediate plans to release the archive, possibly due to licensing and rights issues. However, they are all available to listen to on the BBC website and if anyone wants them as an mp3 file, there is a handy little tool called Audacity which is free to download from the web. You can then directly record the audio stream as it is playing and export as an mp3. Hope that helps!”
Plasticjock via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
12/05/07
More reviews of In Our Time
☆
☆
☆
☆
☆
“I can only endorse and support other reviewers that this is one of the best radio series ever - the subjects are always a surprise and delight. Please make the archives available thro' iPod ! Malcolm”Read full review »
Epom via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
04/19/07
☆
☆
☆
☆
☆
“yep.this program is so good in helping us 'ordinary people' of the street to understand the great historic things and have some insight into the lives of great inventors 'of our time' please give us access to these past progs which will keep pace with ever increasing ipod and...”Read full review »
Dimpington via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
11/21/07
Do you host a podcast?
Track your ranks and reviews from Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more.
See hourly chart positions and more than 30 days of history.
Get Chartable Analytics »
See hourly chart positions and more than 30 days of history.
Listen now
Links
Genres
Artwork or description wrong?
Request an update »
Updates may take a few minutes.
Do you host a podcast?
Track your ranks and reviews from Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more.
See hourly chart positions and more than 30 days of history.
Get Chartable Analytics »
See hourly chart positions and more than 30 days of history.
