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
☆
☆
☆
☆
☆
“A programme for anyone with a general interest in things historical. Melvyn Bragg brings together three experts on a particular subject and lets them talk about it. On the whole the input of the experts is concise, informative and accessible. It is a format that could run and run and I hope it does.”
WillTee via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
07/10/06
☆
☆
☆
☆
☆
“I am immensely impressed with this podcast. It is extremely informational, interesting, and covers such a diversity of topics.”Read full review »
tomof12 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
03/14/07
☆
☆
☆
☆
☆
“I always save my IOT pod-cast for the longer, more pastoral expeditions with my dog in the country: it’s truly enlightening stuff to ponder on while my faithful companion forages in the undergrowth. Listen and learn!”
rightonpierre via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
07/06/06
Do you host a podcast?
Track your ranks and reviews from Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more.
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.
