In Our Time

BBC Radio 4

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Jul 9, 2015 • 46min

Frida Kahlo

Born near Mexico City in 1907, Frida Kahlo is considered one of Mexico's greatest artists. She took up painting after a bus accident left her severely injured, was a Communist, married Diego Rivera, a celebrated muralist, became friends with Trotsky and developed an iconic series of self-portraits. Her work brings together elements such as surrealism, pop culture, Aztec and Indian mythology and commentary on Mexican culture. In 1938, artist and poet Andre Breton organised an exhibition of her work in New York, writing in the catalogue, "The Art of Frida Kahlo is a ribbon around a bomb." She was not as widely appreciated during her lifetime as she has since become, but is now one of the most recognised artists of the 20th century. WithPatience Schell Chair in Hispanic Studies at the University of AberdeenValerie Fraser Emeritus Professor of Latin American Art at the University of EssexAndAlan Knight Emeritus Professor of the History of Latin America at the University of OxfordProducer: Simon Tillotson.
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Jul 2, 2015 • 48min

Frederick the Great

Frederick the Great ruled Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. Born in 1712, he increased the power of the state, he made Prussia the leading military power in Europe and his bold campaigns had great implications for the European political landscape. An absolute monarch in the age of enlightenment, he was a prolific writer, attracted figures such as Voltaire to his court, fostered education and put Berlin firmly on the cultural map. He was much admired by Napoleon and was often romanticised by German historians, becoming a hero for many in united Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries. Others, however, vilified him for aspects such as his militarism and the partition of Poland. With Tim Blanning Emeritus Professor of Modern European History at the University of CambridgeKatrin Kohl Professor of German Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Jesus CollegeAnd Thomas Biskup Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of HullProducer: Simon Tillotson.
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Jun 25, 2015 • 46min

Extremophiles

In 1977, scientists in the submersible "Alvin" were exploring the deep ocean bed off the Galapagos Islands. In the dark, they discovered hydrothermal vents, like chimneys, from which superheated water flowed. Around the vents there was an extraordinary variety of life, feeding on microbes which were thriving in the acidity and extreme temperature of the vents. While it was already known that some microbes are extremophiles, thriving in extreme conditions, such as the springs and geysers of Yellowstone Park (pictured), that had not prepared scientists for what they now found. Since the "Alvin" discovery, the increased study of extremophile microbes has revealed much about what is and is not needed to sustain life on Earth and given rise to new theories about how and where life began. It has also suggested forms and places in which life might be found elsewhere in the Universe. With Monica Grady Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at the Open UniversityIan Crawford Professor of Planetary Science and Astrobiology at Birkbeck University of LondonAndNick Lane Reader in Evolutionary Biochemistry at University College LondonProducer: Simon Tillotson.
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Jun 18, 2015 • 46min

Jane Eyre

The story of Jane Eyre is one of the best-known in English fiction. Jane is the orphan who survives a miserable early life, first with her aunt at Gateshead Hall and then at Lowood School. She leaves the school for Thornfield Hall, to become governess to the French ward of Mr Rochester. She and Rochester fall in love but, at their wedding, it is revealed he is married already and his wife, insane, is kept in Thornfield's attic. When Jane Eyre was published in 1847, it was a great success and brought fame to Charlotte Bronte. Combined with Gothic mystery and horror, the book explores many themes, including the treatment of children, relations between men and women, religious faith and hypocrisy, individuality, morality, equality and the nature of true love. WithDinah Birch Professor of English Literature and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of LiverpoolKaren O'Brien Vice Principal and Professor of English Literature at King's College LondonAndSara Lyons Lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of KentProducer: Simon Tillotson.
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16 snips
Jun 11, 2015 • 44min

Utilitarianism

A moral theory that emphasises ends over means, Utilitarianism holds that a good act is one that increases pleasure in the world and decreases pain. The tradition flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, and has antecedents in ancient philosophy. According to Bentham, happiness is the means for assessing the utility of an act, declaring "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong." Mill and others went on to refine and challenge Bentham's views and to defend them from critics such as Thomas Carlyle, who termed Utilitarianism a "doctrine worthy only of swine."WithMelissa Lane The Class of 1943 Professor of Politics at Princeton UniversityJanet Radcliffe Richards Professor of Practical Philosophy at the University of OxfordandBrad Hooker A Professor of Philosophy at the University of ReadingProducer: Simon Tillotson.
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Jun 4, 2015 • 45min

Prester John

In the Middle Ages, Prester John was seen as the great hope for Crusaders struggling to hold on to, then regain, Jerusalem. He was thought to rule a lost Christian kingdom somewhere in the East and was ready to attack Muslim opponents with his enormous armies. There was apparent proof of Prester John's existence, in letters purportedly from him and in stories from travelers who claimed they had met, if not him, then people who had news of him. Most pointed to a home in the earthly paradise in the Indies, outside Eden, with fantastical animals and unimaginable riches. Later, Portuguese explorers thought they had found him in Ethiopia, despite the mystified denials of people there. Melvyn Bragg asks why the legend was so strongly believed for so long, and what facts helped sustain the myths.WithMarianne O'Doherty Associate Professor in English at the University of SouthamptonMartin Palmer Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education, and CultureAndAmanda Power Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Sheffield.Producer: Simon Tillotson.
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May 28, 2015 • 46min

The Science of Glass

While glass items have been made for at least 5,000 years, scientists are yet to explain, conclusively, what happens when the substance it's made from moves from a molten state to its hard, transparent phase. It is said to be one of the great unsolved problems in physics. While apparently solid, the glass retains certain properties of a liquid. At times, ways of making glass have been highly confidential; in Venice in the Middle Ages, disclosure of manufacturing techniques was a capital offence. Despite the complexity and mystery of the science of glass, glass technology has continued to advance from sheet glass to crystal glass, optical glass and prisms, to float glasses, chemical glassware, fibre optics and metal glasses.With:Dame Athene Donald Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge and Master of Churchill College, CambridgeJim Bennett Former Director of the Museum of the History of Science at the University of Oxford and Keeper Emeritus at the Science MuseumPaul McMillan Professor of Chemistry at University College LondonProducer: Simon Tillotson.
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May 21, 2015 • 46min

Josephus

It is said that, in Britain from the 18th Century, copies of Josephus' works were as widespread and as well read as The Bible. Christians valued "The Antiquities of the Jews" in particular, for the retelling of parts of the Old Testament and apparently corroborating the historical existence of Jesus. Born Joseph son of Matthias, in Jerusalem, in 37AD, he fought the Romans in Galilee in the First Jewish-Roman War. He was captured by Vespasian's troops and became a Roman citizen, later describing the siege and fall of Jerusalem. His actions and writings made him a controversial figure, from his lifetime to the present day.WithTessa Rajak Professor Emeritus of Ancient History, University of ReadingPhilip Alexander Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies, University of ManchesterAndMartin Goodman Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Oxford and President of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish StudiesProducer: Simon Tillotson.
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May 14, 2015 • 45min

The Lancashire Cotton Famine

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Cotton Famine in Lancashire from 1861-65. The Famine followed the blockade of Confederate Southern ports during the American Civil War which stopped the flow of cotton into mills in Britain and Europe. Reports at the time told of starvation, mass unemployment and migration. Abraham Lincoln wrote, "I know and deeply deplore the sufferings which the working-men of Manchester, and in all Europe, are called to endure in this crisis." While the full cause and extent of the Famine in Lancashire are disputed, the consequences of this and the cotton blockade were far reaching.WithLawrence Goldman Director of the Institute of Historical Research at the University of LondonEmma Griffin Professor of History at the University of East AngliaAndDavid Brown Senior Lecturer in American Studies at University of ManchesterProducer: Simon Tillotson.
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May 7, 2015 • 47min

Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize for Literature. He has been called one of the outstanding thinkers of the 20th century and the greatest poet India has ever produced. His Nobel followed publication of Gitanjali, his English version of some of his Bengali poems. WB Yeats and Ezra Pound were great supporters. Tagore was born in Calcutta in 1861 and educated partly in Britain; King George V knighted him, but Tagore renounced this in 1919 following the Amritsar Massacre. A key figure in Indian nationalism, Tagore became a friend of Gandhi, offering criticism as well as support. A polymath and progressive, Tagore painted, wrote plays, novels, short stories and many songs. The national anthems of India and Bangladesh are based on his poems. WithChandrika Kaul Lecturer in Modern History at the University of St AndrewsBashabi Fraser Professor of English Literature and Creative Writing at Edinburgh Napier UniversityAndJohn Stevens Leverhulme Postdoctoral Fellow at SOAS, University of LondonProducer: Simon Tillotson.

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