How Ada Lovelace Constructed Her Wings
When Annabella Millbanke had a daughter with her husband, Lord Byron, she was terrified that their child might inherit his poetical madness. And so she steered the girl, Ada, toward…
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss George Orwell's (1903-1950) final novel, published in 1949, set in a dystopian London which is now found in Airstrip One, part of the totalitarian superstate…
The Creativity Fallacy
What does it mean to be a creator at a time when creativity is completely commodified? In this episode, we talk about the status of the author, and how audiences…
Class of ‘84: Turtles, Transformers and Toys Takeover TV
In the final episode of our mini-series Class of '84, we look at two iconic franchises that launched in 1984: Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They came from opposite…
Plague, leprosy & murder: unlocking the secrets of medieval bones
What secrets can medieval human remains unlock? With exciting new developments in the science of palaeopathology, researchers are able to glean much more from human bones than ever before. Speaking…
Class of ‘84: When Cyber Was Punk
In the second episode of our mini-series on groundbreaking works from 1984, we jack into the system and upload our minds into Neuromancer. William Gibson’s novel became a seminal work…
Your River’s Keeper
Water is essential for life, but how much do you know about the health of your local water supply? In this special episode, we speak with two Riverkeepers who explain…
Easing into multilingualism
Mastering six languages sounds like a slog, right? But in some corners of Europe, it happens—maybe not effortlessly, but more easily than in, say, Ohio. Gaston Dorren grew up speaking…
Class of ‘84: Rise of The Villains
This year marks the 40th anniversary of a lot of landmarks in pop culture, especially sci-fi and fantasy. So many franchises were born in 1984. Some came to define the…
Chivalry: everything you wanted to know
Where does the word "chivalry" come from? How should an honourable knight treat his vanquished foes? And do chivalric ideals underlie modern-day misogyny? In our latest Everything you wanted to…