Monet in England

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Nietzsche's On The Genealogy of Morality - A Polemic, which he published in 1887 towards the end of his working life and in which he considered the price humans have paid, and were still paying, to become civilised. In three essays, he argued that having a guilty conscience was the price of living in society with other humans. He suggested that Christian morality, with its consideration for others, grew as an act of revenge by the weak against their masters, 'the blond beasts of prey', as he calls them, and the price for that slaves' revolt was endless self-loathing. These and other ideas were picked up by later thinkers, perhaps most significantly by Sigmund Freud who further explored the tensions between civilisation and the individual.WithStephen Mulhall Professor of Philosophy and a Fellow and Tutor at New College, University of OxfordFiona Hughes Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of EssexAndKeith Ansell-Pearson Professor of Philosophy at the University of WarwickProducer: Simon Tillotson.

12 Jan 201748min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630). Although he is overshadowed today by Isaac Newton and Galileo, he is considered by many to be one of the greatest scientists in history. The three laws of planetary motion Kepler developed transformed people's understanding of the Solar System and laid the foundations for the revolutionary ideas Isaac Newton produced later. Kepler is also thought to have written one of the first works of science fiction. However, he faced a number of challenges. He had to defend his mother from charges of witchcraft, he had few financial resources and his career suffered as a result of his Lutheran faith. With David Wootton Professor of History at the University of YorkUlinka Rublack Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of St John's CollegeAdam Mosley Associate Professor in the Department of History at Swansea University Producer: Victoria Brignell.

29 Dec 201648min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Four Quartets, TS Eliot's last great work which he composed, against a background of imminent and actual world war, as meditations on the relationship between time and humanity. With David Moody Emeritus Professor of English and American Literature at the University of YorkFran Brearton Professor of Modern Poetry at Queen's University, BelfastAndMark Ford Professor of English and American Literature at University College LondonProducer: Simon TillotsonJeremy Irons will be reading TS Eliot's greatest poems, from Prufrock to The Waste Land to Four Quartets, across New Year's Day here on Radio 4.

22 Dec 201648min

In a programme first broadcast in December 2016, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the craze for gin in Britain in the mid-18th century and the attempts to control it. With the arrival of William of Orange, it became an act of loyalty to drink Protestant, Dutch gin rather than Catholic brandy, and changes in tariffs made everyday beer less affordable. Within a short time, production increased and large sections of the population that had rarely or never drunk spirits before were consuming two pints of gin a week. As Hogarth indicated in his print 'Beer Street and Gin Lane' (1751) in support of the Gin Act, the damage was severe, and addiction to gin was blamed for much of the crime in cities such as London. With Angela McShane Research Fellow in History at the Victoria and Albert Museum and University of SheffieldJudith Hawley Professor of 18th century literature at Royal Holloway, University of LondonEmma Major Senior Lecturer in English at the University of YorkProducer: Simon Tillotson

15 Dec 201652min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Harriet Martineau who, from a non-conformist background in Norwich, became one of the best known writers in the C19th. She had a wide range of interests and used a new, sociological method to observe the world around her, from religion in Egypt to slavery in America and the rights of women everywhere. She popularised writing about economics for those outside the elite and, for her own popularity, was invited to the coronation of Queen Victoria, one of her readers. WithValerie Sanders Professor of English at the University of HullKaren O'Brien Professor of English Literature at the University of OxfordAndElla Dzelzainis Lecturer in 19th Century Literature at Newcastle UniversityProducer: Simon Tillotson.

8 Dec 201651min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Italian Risorgimento. According to the historian AJP Taylor, Garibaldi was the only wholly admirable figure in modern history. Born in Nice in 1807, one of Garibaldi's aims in life was the unification of Italy and, in large part thanks to him, Italy was indeed united substantially in 1861 and entirely in 1870. With his distinctive red shirt and poncho, he was a hero of Romantic revolutionaries around the world. His fame was secured when, with a thousand soldiers, he invaded Sicily and toppled the monarchy in the Italian south. The Risorgimento was soon almost complete.This topic is the one chosen from over 750 different ideas suggested by listeners in October, for our yearly Listener Week.WithLucy Riall Professor of Comparative History of Europe at the European University Institute and Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of LondonEugenio Biagini Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of CambridgeandDavid Laven Associate Professor of History at the University of NottinghamProducer: Simon Tillotson.

1 Dec 201649min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Baltic Crusades, the name given to a series of overlapping attempts to convert the pagans of North East Europe to Christianity at the point of the sword. From the 12th Century, Papal Bulls endorsed those who fought on the side of the Church, the best known now being the Teutonic Order which, thwarted in Jerusalem, founded a state on the edge of the Baltic, in Prussia. Some of the peoples in the region disappeared, either killed or assimilated, and the consequences for European history were profound. With Aleks Pluskowski Associate Professor of Archaeology at the University of ReadingNora Berend Fellow of St Catharine's College and Reader in European History at the Faculty of History at the University of Cambridgeand Martin Palmer Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education, and CultureProducer: Simon Tillotson.

24 Nov 201646min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas brought together under Justinian I, Byzantine emperor in the 6th century AD, which were rediscovered in Western Europe in the Middle Ages and became very influential in the development of laws in many European nations and elsewhere.WithCaroline Humfress Professor of Medieval History at the University of St AndrewsSimon Corcoran Lecturer in Ancient History at Newcastle Universityand Paul du Plessis Senior Lecturer in Civil law and European legal history at the School of Law, University of EdinburghProducer: Simon Tillotson.

17 Nov 201647min