Historical eras
Periodized human history is commonly divided into three main eras – Ancient, Post-classical, and Modern. == Ancient History (6,000 BCE – 655 CE) == Ancient history refers to the time period since the introduction of writing systems c.
5 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Modern Culture
Melvyn Bragg discusses whether contemporary culture is evidence of a moral and aesthetic decline in our civilisation in the 20th century or if it shows a society richer and more diverse than ever.
21 January 1999
Featuring: Will Self, Roger Scruton
The Enlightenment in Britain
Melvyn Bragg examines the part British thinkers played in the Enlightenment in the 18th century, and examines whether the shifts of thought in those years provided the platform for the modern world.
18 January 2001
Featuring: Roy Porter, Linda Colley, Jeremy Black
The Interregnum
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the unstable rule in England between the execution of Charles I and restoration of Charles II and the impact in Scotland and, infamously, Ireland
27 May 2021
Featuring: Clare Jackson, Micheál Ó Siochrú, Laura Stewart
The Iron Age
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the dawn of the European Iron Age, a period of great upheaval when technology and societies were changed forever.
24 March 2011
Featuring: Barry Cunliffe, Sue Hamilton, Timothy Champion
The Renaissance
Melvyn Bragg explores the veracity of modern claims about the Renaissance and whether our current perceptions about its role in cultural history stem from a 19th century historian.
8 June 2000
Featuring: Francis Ames-Lewis, Peter Burke, Evelyn Welch