The Forum

A century ago a deadly flu virus swept the planet, uniting the world in a disaster on a par with World War One. Over 50 million people died. Social distancing was put in place but drugs were ineffective, there was no vaccine, and in many places medicine could not cope. The world recovered but was never the same again. What can the last great pandemic teach us about how to combat Covid-19 today? Three world experts join Bridget Kendall: Laura Spinney, science journalist and author of Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World;. Svenn Erik Mamelund, historical demographer and research professor at Oslo Metropolitan University; Siddharth Chandra, director of the Asian Studies Centre and professor at James Madison College, Michigan State University.(Photo: Japanese school girls wear protective masks to guard against the influenza outbreak. Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)

It’s the map of the world we all recognise today, but until Gerard Mercator came up with his elegant solution in 1569, the question of how to turn the earth’s three dimensional sphere into a flat image had long flummoxed mapmakers. Nearly 500 years later, Mercator’s model is still the standard for modern mapmaking. What makes it so enduring?Joining Rajan Datar to discuss the man who defined the way we see the world are geographer and explorer Nicholas Crane, philosopher Emily Thomas and professor of cartography Philippe De Maeyer.Illustration: Portrait of Gerard Mercator, Flemish cartographer (born Gerard de Kremer, 1512 - 1594). Image credit: Stock Montage/Getty Images

How many people can lay claim to playing a key role in three different 20th century protest movements across the world, each of which largely succeeded in their aims? Margaret ‘Gretta’ Cousins, the daughter of a minor court official from Boyle in Ireland and a musician by profession certainly can. The common thread in all of these battles for this driven, feisty activist was the demand for equality for women: Gretta Cousins spent time in jails in Ireland, England and India for her beliefs and remained a catalyst for change throughout her life. As a suffragette she was involved in high-profile direct action in London and Dublin, while in India she not only contributed to the improvement of women’s lives but also became the country’s first female magistrate.Rajan Datar is joined by historians Dr. Margaret Ward from Queen's University in Belfast, Dr. Jyoti Atwal from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and University of Limerick and Dr. Emily Rook-Koepsel from the University of Pittsburgh.(Photo: Margaret Cousins, c.1931)

Natsume Soseki is one of the greatest writers in the history of Japan. The backdrop to his work is the disorientation and social anxiety of the early 20th Century as Japan undertook rapid modernization after centuries of being closed to the world. Soseki has had a huge influence on generations of Japanese authors and has obsessed some international artists. His work is taught to generations of school children in Japan and greatly admired by scholars but remains obscure to much of the rest of the world. Why? Joining Bridget Kendall to discuss the life and work of Japanese writer Natsume Soseki: The author and critic Damian Flanagan; Michael Bourdaghs, Professor of East Asian Languages at the University of Chicago; and Reiko Abe Auestad, Professor of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages at the University of Oslo.(Photo: Natsume Soseki on a 1000 Yen note, series D. Credit: A Dagli Orti/DEA/Getty Images)

The popular view of an Epicurean is that of somebody who focuses on pleasure as our guiding principle, indulging in the finer things of life to achieve happiness. And yet what the Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus understood by pleasure was far more nuanced. In fact, Epicurus and his followers advocated a simple lifestyle, withdrawn from society, where we are content with little. What is perhaps less known is how Epicurean writings on physics foreshadowed some of the most significant developments in early modern science – including Darwin’s theory of evolution and even Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. Joining Bridget Kendall is Catherine Wilson, visiting Professor at the Graduate Centre of the City University of New York, and the author of various works on Epicureanism, including How to Be an Epicurean: The Ancient Art of Living Well; Dr Sonya Wurster, Honorary Fellow at La Trobe University in Australia who’s working on a book about the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus; and philosopher and historian David Sedley, Emeritus Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, and the author of numerous publications on Greek and Roman thought.(Image: Bust of Epicurus. Photo: DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini via Getty Images)

One of the most celebrated female painters of the 17th century, Artemisia Gentileschi was the first woman to become a member of the Academy of the Arts of Drawing in Florence. Through her talent and determination - and despite massive obstacles - she forged a 40-year career, and was collected by the likes of Charles I of England and Philip IV of Spain. But after her death, it wasn’t until the 20th century that people began to reinterpret her work in the light of her remarkable life story, including the well-documented fact that she was raped at the age of 17 by fellow painter, Agostino Tassi.Joining Bridget Kendall to discuss the life and work of Italian Baroque artist, Artemisia Gentileschi are four experts: Letizia Treves is curator of the 2020 Artemisia exhibition at London’s National Gallery; Mary Garrard is Professor Emerita of Art History at American University in Washington DC; Jesse Locker is Assistant Professor of Italian Renaissance & Baroque Art at Portland State University; and Patrizia Cavazzini is Research Fellow at the British School at Rome, Italy.Produced by Jo Impey for BBC World ServiceImage: Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Artemisia Gentileschi Credit: National Gallery, London

We are now familiar with dogs helping people with sight loss but where did the idea come from? And how have the ways of selecting, training and using guide dogs changed over time? Bridget Kendall explores the history of guide dogs with Pieter van Niekerk, Head of Public Relations for the South African Guide-Dogs Association and with Karin Floesser, one of the guide dog leaders of the German Federation for the Blind and Partially Sighted. Bridget is also joined by journalist and educator Miriam Ascarelli, biographer of Dorothy Harrison Eustis, the philanthropist who in the 1920s co-founded the American Seeing Eye school, and she hears from Michael Hingson, a blind survivor of the 9/11 attacks.(Image: A guide dog in Shanghai, China. Credit: Wang He/Getty Images)

Best known for his curvaceous buildings and his design of Brasilia, Oscar Niemeyer was one of Brazil’s greatest architects and a leading pioneer of modernism. During his seven- decade career, Niemeyer designed hundreds of remarkable buildings not just in his native Brazil but also in Europe and as far afield as Algeria. His experimentation with reinforced concrete produced organic curved shapes that were a significant departure from the austere style of European modernism. An ardent communist, Niemeyer hoped his beautiful buildings would be for all sections of society to enjoy, but how does his vision and influence endure today, and are his striking creations still functional and sustainable?Joining Rajan Datar to discuss Oscar Niemeyer and his work are Professor Richard Williams from the University of Edinburgh and the author of “Brazil: Modern Architectures in History”; the Brazilian architect and lecturer at the University of Bath, Dr Juliana Calabria Holley, and Maria Paz Gutierrez, Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. (Image: a view of the Contemporary Art Museum (MAC) in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro state, with the Sugar Loaf mountain in the background. Credit: REUTERS/Pilar Olivares)

Emperor Haile Selassie was the last in the line of Ethiopia’s ancient monarchy. During his long rule he was revered as an international statesman and reformer, demonised as a dictator, and even worshipped as a God incarnate by the Rastafarians of Jamaica. He was without doubt a controversial figure, but achieved a status in the global arena previously unheard of for an African ruler.Bridget Kendall discusses Haile Selassie’s life and legacy with Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate, political analyst and author of ‘King of Kings: The Triumph and Tragedy of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia’, who is also the great-nephew of Haile Selassie; Gerard Prunier, Independent Consultant on Eastern and Central African affairs, and former Director of the French Centre for Ethiopian Studies in Addis -Ababa; and Laura Hammond, an anthropologist specialising in Ethiopia at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.Image: Haile Selassie Credit: Henry Guttmann/Getty Images

Emilie du Chatelet was esteemed in 18th-century France as a brilliant physicist, mathematician, thinker and linguist whose pioneering ideas and formidable translations were known all across Europe. And yet, after her death in childbirth in her mid-40s she was nearly forgotten, and if she was remembered at all, then as a companion and collaborator of the famous writer Voltaire. Du Chatelet’s insights into kinetic energy foreshadowed Einstein’s famous equation and her suggestions for experiments with the different colours of light would only be carried out half-a-century after she’d written about them. Plus she was a remarkable personality, determined to live a life of an independent woman, often pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable even in the liberal social circles of her day.Bridget Kendall discusses du Chatelet’s life and work with history professor Judith Zinsser, Chatelet’s biographer David Bodanis and philosophy professor Ruth Hagengruber.Painting: Gabrielle Emilie de Breteuil (1706 -1749), marchioness of Le Chatelet by Marianne Loir. (Photo by Raphael Gaillarde/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images)