In Our Time

A brief preview of the new series of In Our Time, hosted by Misha Glenny, which will explore a wide range of historical, scientific, philosophical, and cultural topics with leading academics. The episode also highlights the archive of classic discussions and the upcoming schedule.

Misha Glenny selects this 2024 episode from the In Our Time archive, in which Yangwen Zheng, Rana Mitter, and Ronald Po discuss Empress Dowager Cixi. Cixi rose from low-ranking concubine to the most powerful figure in the late Qing court, ruling for nearly fifty years first through her young son and then through another child emperor. Her reign coincided with repeated humiliations of China by Western powers and Japan, and she faced the challenge of modernizing the empire. While she had opportunities to drive reforms, Cixi often obstructed or delayed them when they threatened the Qing dynasty or her own interests. She has been personally blamed for many of China’s setbacks, though historians debate how much responsibility was truly hers.

In this archive edition of In Our Time, Misha Glenny revisits a January 2008 discussion on plate tectonics, the revolutionary theory that the Earth's outer shell is divided into moving plates. Richard Corfield, Joe Cann, and Lynne Frostick explain how this idea solved long-standing geological puzzles—from the matching shapes of Africa and South America to the distribution of fossils across oceans—and revealed a planet in constant, slow motion where continents drift, mountains rise, and ocean basins widen. The conversation highlights how plate tectonics reshaped our understanding of earthquakes, volcanoes, and the dynamic relationship between the Earth's interior and its surface.

In this archive episode of In Our Time, Misha Glenny discusses the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut with Egyptologists Elizabeth Frood, Kate Spence, and Campbell Price. First broadcast in November 2014, the conversation examines her reign from about 1479 to 1458 BC, a period when Egypt was recovering from the Second Intermediate Period. The guests explore how Hatshepsut rebuilt Egyptian power through international trade and commissioned buildings regarded as masterpieces of Egyptian architecture. They also consider her significant changes to the ideology surrounding the pharaoh and the gods. The episode addresses the puzzling erasure of her name from records and ancient king lists after her death.

Misha Glenny revisits an In Our Time programme first released in December 2019 on the history and social impact of coffee. With Judith Hawley, Markman Ellis, and Jonathan Morris, the discussion traces coffee from its origins in Ethiopia through the Ottoman Empire to Western Europe. It examines how 17th-century coffee houses kept patrons awake and animated, helped spread ideas and influenced culture, and how coffee became a colonial product grown by slaves or indentured labour. The programme also covers the shift from arabica to robusta, Dutch and French trade, and Brazil's rise as a major producer serving the United States in the 19th century.

Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson of 'Here For The History' join to trace the social and sartorial history of women’s pockets. They explore how a once-capacious, practical garment became rare in women’s clothing as fashion silhouettes shifted, and how suffragettes later campaigned for pockets as symbols of independence. The discussion reveals how societal expectations, not technical limitations, created a stubborn pocket gap between men’s and women’s clothing that persists today.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Aphra Behn, the first professional woman writer in English. They explore how she made her living as a playwright, poet and novelist in Restoration England, her probable time in Surinam which inspired her novel Oroonoko, her undercover work as a spy for Charles II, and her loyalty to the Stuart kings. The conversation also examines why her reputation collapsed for two centuries after her death when her work was judged too bawdy, until writers like Virginia Woolf celebrated her as the woman who earned others the right to speak their minds.

In this episode of In Our Time, Melvyn Bragg and guests Suzanne Williams, Liz Harper, and Helen Scales explore the world of seashells, from their evolution and ecology to their cultural significance. They discuss how the astonishing shapes of shells reveal the history of Earth's oceans, and how humans have treasured them as art, currency, and instruments across millennia.

Misha Glenny and three art historians examine the life and work of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842), one of the most successful portrait painters of the 18th century. A prodigy who became Marie Antoinette's favored portraitist, Vigée Le Brun faced relentless sexism from critics who refused to believe a woman could paint so skillfully. When the French Revolution forced her to flee France, she rebuilt her career across Europe—Naples, Vienna, St. Petersburg, London—before eventually returning home. Her legacy spans royal courts and major galleries worldwide.

After the defeat of the second Persian invasion in 478 BCE, Greek city-states formed an alliance known as the Delian League, led by Athens and based on the island of Delos. Initially a cooperative pact to resist Persia, the League gradually became a tool for Athens to build its wealth and naval power. Cities that tried to leave were violently suppressed and their lands confiscated, transforming the alliance into what many consider an Athenian Empire. Melvyn Bragg and guests explore how this shift reshaped the geopolitics of the classical world.

Misha Glenny explores the life and work of Machado de Assis (1839–1908), one of the towering figures of Brazilian and world literature. Born the descendant of enslaved people, Machado built his literary career during slavery's final decades in Brazil, writing for an audience largely composed of slave-owning elites who saw themselves represented in his work. What delighted 19th-century readers as faithful portraiture was, in fact, subtle and devastating satire—a irony lost on his contemporaries but recovered by 20th-century critics. His novels and stories transcend their historical moment with remarkable immediacy, seeming to have been written yesterday rather than more than a century ago.

Roman Mars, host of 99% Invisible and BBC's A History of the United States in 100 Objects, explores how the US shaped the modern world through design and soft power. The episode examines the hidden mechanisms behind American cultural influence, positioning design as a deliberate tool of geopolitical strategy rather than mere aesthetic choice.

Misha Glenny and three botanists and paleobotanists explore the deep history of trees, from their emergence around 400 million years ago when low-lying plants developed stronger stems and grew upright. The discussion covers how trees transformed the planet by creating ecosystems, altering atmospheric composition, and reshaping the conditions for all life that followed. The episode reveals that even modern plants we cultivate as vegetables or houseplants can evolve into trees under the right conditions.

Misha Glenny and a panel of historians discuss the Welsh Marches—the militarized Norman borderlands between England and Wales. Even before the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror empowered Norman warlords to carve out private lordships such as Hay. These Marcher lords built castles and towns where separate legal systems applied to English settlers and Welsh natives. The lordships also served as springboards for the Norman invasion of Ireland. The distinct identity of the Marches persisted long after the Tudor Acts of Union dismantled the lords' powers.

A deep dive into the Levellers, the radical political movement that emerged during the English Civil War and fought for legal equality, extended voting rights, and religious toleration. Using pamphlets, petitions, and mass demonstrations in their signature sea-green ribbons, the Levellers challenged both the monarchy and Parliament, leaving a legacy that would inspire democratic movements for centuries to come.

An exploration of the Garamantes, an ancient civilization that thrived in the Sahara Desert over 2,000 years ago. Contrary to centuries of European dismissal as nomadic barbarians, archaeological evidence reveals a sophisticated society with flourishing cities, complex underground irrigation systems, and control of crucial trans-Saharan trade routes. The episode challenges how Roman and Greek texts shaped European understanding of African history and demonstrates the Garamantes' central role in ancient Mediterranean commerce.

Misha Glenny and three literary scholars examine Joseph Roth (1894–1939), one of the great chroniclers of Central Europe after World War I and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A German-speaking Jew from Galicia, Roth spent his life in transit—Lviv, Vienna, Berlin, Paris—never finding settled ground. Through novels like Radetzky March and Job, he explored the trauma of lost homelands and presciently warned of the dangers of rising nationalism. His work was among the first burned by the Nazis.

In this episode of In Our Time, Misha Glenny and guests explore the origins and legacy of cybernetics, the mid-20th-century field that sought a universal language for communication and control in machines and living beings. Defined by Norbert Wiener in 1948, cybernetics placed feedback loops at the heart of understanding regulation, from simple thermostats to the complex human brain. The panel traces the term back to the Greek for 'steersman' and examines how these ideas helped lay the conceptual foundations for the information age. Historians Jacob Ward, Jon Agar, and Orit Halpern discuss the field's interdisciplinary ambitions and its enduring influence on digital culture.

After the abolition of slavery in 1833, British sugar planters recruited over a million indentured workers from India across 90 years, shipping them to colonies from Guyana to Fiji under five-year contracts. The system, marked by early deception and abuse, faced mounting opposition from Gandhi and Indian nationalists who recognized it as slavery by another name. Though the British stopped the practice in 1917, many indentured labourers chose to stay in their new homes, creating a lasting Indian diaspora that negotiated identity alongside formerly enslaved populations and planter culture.

Misha Glenny and three experts explore the life and work of M.C. Escher (1898–1972), the Dutch graphic artist who revolutionized visual mathematics through impossible buildings, tessellations, and paradoxical perspectives. His visit to the Alhambra in Granada catalyzed a lifelong exploration of repeating geometric patterns inspired by Islamic art. Though Escher never considered himself mathematically trained, his intuitive precision attracted the attention of mathematicians in the 1950s, creating a productive exchange between art and mathematics that elevated his work from commercial graphics to one-man art movement.

Misha Glenny explores George Frideric Handel's Messiah with three leading scholars. The discussion traces the oratorio's creation in 1742, Charles Jennens's libretto drawn from Old and New Testament prophecies about Christ's coming and redemption, and how Handel continuously adapted the work for different choirs and singers. Messiah became one of Handel's most enduring works, eventually adopted by massed choirs worldwide far beyond Handel's original conception.

Misha Glenny and guests discuss the 1898 Spanish-American War, a pivotal conflict that ended Spanish imperial power and marked the United States' emergence as a global power. The US intervened in Cuba's long-running independence struggle after decades of interest, quickly defeating Spain with a superior navy and acquiring territories like the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The war's aftermath saw Spain plunged into national introspection, while Filipinos soon launched a bloody independence fight against their new colonial ruler.

Misha Glenny and three expert guests explore silicon—the element at the heart of modern electronics, glass, and life itself. The episode traces silicon's cosmic origins in dying stars billions of years ago, its role in human technology from ancient glass-making to contemporary semiconductors, and its often-overlooked but critical function in Earth's biogeochemistry, atmospheric regulation, and the cycling of elements that sustains all life.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Homer's Iliad, its depiction of the Trojan War, the nature of heroic culture, and how the poem has shaped Western conceptions of glory, honor, and the tragedy of war for nearly three millennia.

The 1215 agreement between King John and his rebellious barons. The panel examines how a failed peace treaty between medieval elites became the foundation of constitutional liberty — a transformation its authors never intended.

The ancient trade routes connecting China to the Mediterranean. The panel examines how silk, spices, religions, technologies, and diseases traveled the Silk Road, creating the first intercontinental network of exchange.

Bragg and mathematicians discuss Fermat's Last Theorem, the 358-year quest to prove it, and Andrew Wiles' dramatic proof in 1995. The episode explores how a margin note became the most famous unsolved problem in mathematics.

Confucius and the philosophical tradition that shaped East Asian civilization for 2,500 years. The panel examines the Analects, the five relationships, the concept of ren (benevolence), and li (ritual propriety).

Bragg and historians discuss the Black Death of 1347-1351, which killed 30-60% of Europe's population. The panel examines the social, economic, and psychological consequences of the worst pandemic in recorded history.

The golden age of Islamic mathematics. The panel examines how scholars in Baghdad, Cairo, and Cordoba preserved Greek mathematics, invented algebra, developed the decimal system, and created the mathematical foundations that Europe later inherited.

The 500th edition of In Our Time tackles one of philosophy's most enduring problems. The panel examines arguments from determinism to libertarian free will to compatibilism, and why the question matters for morality, law, and everyday life.

Plato's most famous dialogue. The panel examines the Republic's arguments about justice, the ideal state, the philosopher-king, the allegory of the cave, and the divided line — and whether Plato was describing a utopia or a totalitarian nightmare.

Darwin's masterwork and the theory of evolution by natural selection. The panel examines the book's argument, its reception, and its status as arguably the most important scientific work ever published.

The physics of gravity from Newton to Einstein. The panel traces how our understanding of the most familiar force in nature evolved from Newton's mathematical description to Einstein's radical reconceptualization as the curvature of spacetime.

Nietzsche's most provocative work. The panel examines his critique of morality, the will to power, master and slave moralities, and the call for a 'revaluation of all values' — asking whether Nietzsche was a dangerous nihilist or a profound psychologist.

The Industrial Revolution — the most important transformation in human history since agriculture. The panel examines why it happened in Britain, why in the 18th century, and how it transformed human civilization more profoundly than any political revolution.

The Italian Renaissance in Florence. The panel examines how a single city produced Michelangelo, Leonardo, Machiavelli, and Brunelleschi — and asks what conditions created this extraordinary concentration of genius.

The Black Death of 1348-1350. The panel examines the plague's origins, spread, mortality, and long-term consequences — the transformation of labor markets, religious authority, and social structures across Europe.

Karl Marx — voted the greatest philosopher in history by In Our Time listeners. The panel examines Marx's ideas about class, capitalism, alienation, and historical materialism, and assesses their relevance two decades after the fall of Soviet communism.

The French Revolution's descent into state-sponsored mass killing. The panel examines how revolutionary idealism became revolutionary violence, and whether the Terror was an aberration or a logical consequence of revolutionary logic.

Bragg and philosophers discuss Stoic philosophy from Zeno through Marcus Aurelius, examining how the Stoic framework of distinguishing between what we can and cannot control became one of the most enduring practical philosophies in Western history.

The hard problem of consciousness. The panel examines why subjective experience exists at all, why physical processes in the brain produce the felt quality of experience, and whether science can ever explain consciousness.

The Crusades from the First Crusade (1096) to the fall of Acre (1291). The panel examines the military, religious, economic, and cultural dimensions of two centuries of warfare between Christendom and Islam.

Bragg and historians discuss the 480 BCE battle where 300 Spartans and their Greek allies held the pass at Thermopylae against the Persian Empire. The episode examines the historical reality versus the myth and why the story endures.

The European Enlightenment: reason, liberty, and progress. The panel examines the 18th-century intellectual revolution that produced modern democracy, human rights, scientific method, and the belief in progress — and asks whether the Enlightenment project has succeeded or failed.

The biology of the cell — the fundamental unit of life. The panel traces the discovery of cells from Hooke through Schwann to modern molecular biology, examining how our understanding of this basic unit has transformed medicine and our concept of life itself.