Marguerite de Navarre

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact of the eruption of Mt Tambora, in 1815, on the Indonesian island of Sambawa. This was the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history and it had the highest death toll, devastating people living in the immediate area. Tambora has been linked with drastic weather changes in North America and Europe the following year, with frosts in June and heavy rains throughout the summer in many areas. This led to food shortages, which may have prompted westward migration in America and, in a Europe barely recovered from the Napoleonic Wars, led to widespread famine. With Clive Oppenheimer Professor of Volcanology at the University of CambridgeJane Stabler Professor in Romantic Literature at the University of St AndrewsAndLawrence Goldman Director of the Institute of Historical Research at the University of LondonProducer: Simon Tillotson.

21 Apr 201645min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the neutron, one of the particles found in an atom's nucleus. Building on the work of Ernest Rutherford, the British physicist James Chadwick won the Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of the neutron in 1932. Neutrons play a fundamental role in the universe and their discovery was at the heart of developments in nuclear physics in the first half of the 20th century. With Val Gibson Professor of High Energy Physics at the University of Cambridge and fellow of Trinity CollegeAndrew Harrison Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Light Source and Professor in Chemistry at the University of EdinburghAndFrank Close Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Oxford.

14 Apr 201645min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise of the Sikh Empire at the end of the 18th Century under Ranjit Singh, pictured above, who unified most of the Sikh kingdoms following the decline of the Mughal Empire. He became Maharaja of the Punjab at Lahore in 1801, capturing Amritsar the following year. His empire flourished until 1839, after which a decade of unrest ended with the British annexation. At its peak, the Empire covered the Punjab and stretched from the Khyber Pass in the west to the edge of Tibet in the east, up to Kashmir and down to Mithankot on the Indus River. Ranjit Singh is still remembered as "The Lion of the Punjab."With Gurharpal Singh Professor in Inter-Religious Relations and Development at SOAS, University of LondonChandrika Kaul Lecturer in Modern History at the University of St AndrewsAndSusan Stronge Senior Curator in the Asian Department of the Victoria and Albert MuseumProducer: Simon Tillotson.

7 Apr 201644min

Agrippina the Younger was one of the most notorious and influential of the Roman empresses in the 1st century AD. She was the sister of the Emperor Caligula, a wife of the Emperor Claudius and mother of the Emperor Nero. Through careful political manoeuvres, she acquired a dominant position for herself in Rome. In 39 AD she was exiled for allegedly participating in a plot against Caligula and later it was widely thought that she killed Claudius with poison. When Nero came to the throne, he was only 16 so Agrippina took on the role of regent until he began to exert his authority. After relations between Agrippina and Nero soured, he had her murdered.With:Catharine Edwards Professor of Classics and Ancient History at Birkbeck, University of LondonAlice König Lecturer in Latin and Classical Studies at the University of St AndrewsMatthew Nicholls Associate Professor of Classics at the University of ReadingProducer: Victoria Brignell.

31 Mars 201646min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Elizabeth Barrett Browning's epic "Aurora Leigh" which was published in 1856. It is the story of an orphan, Aurora, born in Italy to an English father and Tuscan mother, who is brought up by an aunt in rural Shropshire. She has a successful career as a poet in London and, when living in Florence, is reunited with her cousin, Romney Leigh, whose proposal she turned down a decade before. The poem was celebrated by other poets and was Elizabeth Barrett Browning's most commercially successful. Over 11,000 lines, she addressed many Victorian social issues, including reform, illegitimacy, the pressure to marry and what women must overcome to be independent, successful writers, in a world dominated by men. With Margaret Reynolds Professor of English at Queen Mary, University of LondonDaniel Karlin Winterstoke Professor of English Literature at the University of BristolAndKaren O'Brien Professor of English Literature at King's College LondonProducer: Simon Tillotson.

24 Mars 201646min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the early years of Bedlam, the name commonly used for the London hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem outside Bishopsgate, described in 1450 by the Lord Mayor of London as a place where may "be found many men that be fallen out of their wit. And full honestly they be kept in that place; and some be restored onto their wit and health again. And some be abiding therein for ever." As Bethlem, or Bedlam, it became a tourist attraction in the 17th Century at its new site in Moorfields and, for its relatively small size, made a significant impression on public attitudes to mental illness. The illustration, above, is from the eighth and final part of Hogarth's 'A Rake's Progress' (1732-3), where Bedlam is the last stage in the decline and fall of a young spendthrift,Tom Rakewell.With Hilary Marland Professor of History at the University of WarwickJustin Champion Professor of the History of Early Modern Ideas at Royal Holloway, University of London and President of the Historical AssociationAndJonathan Andrews Reader in the History of Psychiatry at Newcastle UniversityProducer: Simon Tillotson.

17 Mars 201646min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Maya Civilization, developed by the Maya people, which flourished in central America from around 250 AD in great cities such as Chichen Itza and Uxmal with advances in mathematics, architecture and astronomy. Long before the Spanish Conquest in the 16th Century, major cities had been abandoned for reasons unknown, although there are many theories including overpopulation and changing climate. The hundreds of Maya sites across Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico raise intriguing questions about one of the world's great pre-industrial civilizations.WithElizabeth Graham Professor of Mesoamerican Archaeology at University College LondonMatthew Restall Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Latin American History and Anthropology at Pennsylvania State UniversityAndBenjamin Vis Eastern ARC Research Fellow in Digital Humanities at the University of KentProducer: Simon Tillotson.

10 Mars 201646min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC, known in English as the Dutch East India Company. The VOC dominated the spice trade between Asia and Europe for two hundred years, with the British East India Company a distant second. At its peak, the VOC had a virtual monopoly on nutmeg, mace, cloves and cinnamon, displacing the Portuguese and excluding the British, and were the only European traders allowed access to Japan.With Anne Goldgar Reader in Early Modern European History at King's College LondonChris Nierstrasz Lecturer in Global History at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, formerly at the University of WarwickAndHelen Paul Lecturer in Economics and Economic History at the University of SouthamptonProducer: Simon Tillotson.

3 Mars 201646min