Members of the American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and community outreach. Considered the first learned society in the United States, it has about 1,000 elected members, and by April 2020 had had only 5,710 members since its creation.
14 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
CultureHistoryScienceFellows of the Royal SocietyOntologistsSocial philosophersPhilosophy writersFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesPhilosophers of literaturePhilosophers of mindTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of historyWriters about activism and social changeMetaphysiciansPhilosophers of religionPhilosophers of scienceEnlightenment philosophersAphoristsRecipients of the Copley MedalWriters about religion and scienceAge of EnlightenmentAtheist philosophersBurials at Westminster AbbeyGerman male non-fiction writersPhilosophers of social science18th-century philosophers20th-century atheistsForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesJewish philosophersMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesMetaphilosophersPantheistsPhilosophers of mathematicsWriters from ParisEnglish AnglicansFrench Roman CatholicsFrench atheistsGerman LutheransHall of Fame for Great Americans inducteesHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesPhilosophy of scienceUniversity of Paris alumni20th-century French philosophersAmerican male non-fiction writersLiteracy and society theoristsMembers of the French Academy of SciencesPhilosophers of language20th-century essayistsAlumni of St John's College, CambridgeAmerican people of English descentClassical liberalismEnglish agnosticsEnglish travel writersJewish agnosticsMembers of the Académie FrançaisePhilosophers of technologyRoyal Medal winnersSimple living advocates18th-century English male writers19th-century English writers19th-century male writersAnti-nationalistsCharles DarwinEnglish Nobel laureatesFrench philosophers of educationFrench philosophers of historyFrench philosophers of scienceJewish socialistsMembers of the Bavarian Academy of SciencesMembers of the Order of MeritMembers of the Prussian Academy of SciencesMetaphysics writersPeople associated with electricityRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Rhetoric theoristsUniversity of Göttingen alumniWriters about globalization18th-century English writers19th-century American male writers19th-century British physicistsAcademic staff of the University of GöttingenAlumni of the University of EdinburghAmerican political philosophersBritish Nobel laureatesCritical theoristsCritics of JudaismDeist philosophersEnglish abolitionistsEnglish inventorsEnglish libertariansEnglish republicansEuropean democratic socialistsFrench male non-fiction writersFrench philosophers of culture, French sociologistsIndependent scientistsMembers of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesNaturalized citizens of the United StatesPhenomenologistsUtilitariansÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni18th-century American writers, Founding Fathers of the United States, People of the American Enlightenment18th-century pseudonymous writers19th-century American philosophers19th-century Anglicans20th-century American male writers20th-century English mathematiciansActivists for African-American civil rightsAlbert EinsteinAmerican autobiographersAmerican deistsAmerican humanistsAmerican male journalistsAmerican philosophers of cultureAmerican philosophers of educationAmerican philosophers of religionAmerican slave ownersCongressional Gold Medal recipientsDeaths from coronary thrombosisDiscoverers of chemical elementsEnglish emigrants to the United StatesExperimental physicistsFellows of Trinity College, CambridgeForeign members of the Royal SocietyFrench epistemologistsGerman Ashkenazi JewsGerman agnosticsGerman travel writersGrand Cross of the Legion of HonourHonorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Recipients of the Matteucci MedalHuman evolutionHumor researchersInstitute for Advanced Study visiting scholarsIntellectual historyJewish atheistsJewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United StatesKnights BachelorLycée Condorcet alumniMembers of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsMental calculatorsNobel laureates in ChemistryNobel laureates in PhysicsPhilosophers of linguisticsRecipients of Franklin MedalStateless people18th-century American male writers, American foreign policy writers18th-century American politicians, Signers of the United States Constitution, American Freemasons18th-century English people18th-century German LGBTQ people18th-century lexicographers, 18th-century writers in Latin19th-century American businesspeople19th-century American writers19th-century French chemists20th-century American engineers20th-century American inventors, Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences20th-century British scientists20th-century French male writers20th-century French memoiristsAcademic staff of ETH ZurichAcademic staff of the Collège de FranceAcademics of the Victoria University of ManchesterAlumni of Christ's College, CambridgeAmerican electrical engineers, People from ManhattanAmerican people of Dutch descentAmerican religious skeptics, American nationalistsAnti-monarchistsBotanical nomenclatureBritish deistsCavendish Professors of PhysicsCircumnavigators of the globeCommanding Generals of the United States Army, Presidents of the United StatesCorresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925)Corresponding fellows of the British AcademyCreators of writing systemsDeputies to the French National ConventionEnglish scepticsFellows of the Royal Geographical Society, 19th-century British biologists, 19th-century English naturalists, British evolutionary biologists, Fellows of the Zoological Society of London, Fellows of the Linnean Society of LondonForeign members of the USSR Academy of SciencesFrench essayistsFrench scientists with disabilitiesGay scientistsGerman Zionists, American Ashkenazi Jews, American agnostics, American ZionistsHonorary Fellows of the Royal Society of EdinburghHuman geographersIndependent scholarsJewish German physicists, Jewish scientistsJewish historiansLinguists from FranceMasonic grand mastersMathematical physicists, British theoretical physicistsMembers of the Lincean AcademyMembers of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, 20th-century British physicistsNaturalised citizens of AustriaNaturalized citizens of FrancePeople of the Six Years' War, 19th-century American memoiristsPersons of National Historic Significance (Canada)Philosophers from MassachusettsPolitical activists from PennsylvaniaRadicalsRadio pioneersRecipients of the Dalton MedalTaxon authorities of Hypericum speciesThe New School facultyTheoretical biologistsUnited States Military Academy alumniUniversal basic income writersUniversity of Jena alumniWinners of the Max Planck MedalWriters about communismWriters from Philadelphia, Recreational cryptographers, Writers from Boston
Albert Einstein
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Einstein's impact on the world of physics after his 'miraculous year' in 1905 and why he went on to become so very famous after World War One.
14 September 2023
Featuring: Richard Staley, Diana Kormos Buchwald, John Heilbron
SciencePhilosophers of scienceMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyGerman male non-fiction writersPantheistsPhilosophers of mathematicsMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesPhilosophy of scienceAmerican male non-fiction writersJewish agnosticsAnti-nationalistsJewish socialistsNaturalized citizens of the United StatesEuropean democratic socialistsAlbert EinsteinAmerican humanists20th-century American male writersGerman agnosticsGerman Ashkenazi JewsJewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United StatesNobel laureates in PhysicsRecipients of Franklin MedalStateless peopleNaturalised citizens of Austria20th-century American engineersAcademic staff of ETH ZurichWinners of the Max Planck Medal20th-century American inventors, Members of the United States National Academy of SciencesGerman Zionists, American Ashkenazi Jews, American agnostics, American ZionistsJewish German physicists, Jewish scientistsBenjamin Franklin
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of the scientist, writer, printer, diplomat and American founding father Benjamin Franklin.
1 March 2012
Featuring: Simon Middleton, Simon Newman, Patricia Fara
CultureFellows of the Royal SocietySocial philosophersPhilosophy writersFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesPhilosophers of literatureTheorists on Western civilizationWriters about activism and social changePhilosophers of historyPhilosophers of scienceMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyWriters about religion and scienceRecipients of the Copley MedalAphoristsAge of EnlightenmentHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesHall of Fame for Great Americans inducteesAmerican male non-fiction writersAmerican people of English descentSimple living advocatesPhilosophers of technologyPeople associated with electricityRhetoric theoristsAmerican political philosophersIndependent scientistsAmerican male journalistsHumor researchers18th-century pseudonymous writersActivists for African-American civil rightsAmerican slave ownersAmerican autobiographersAmerican philosophers of educationAmerican deistsAmerican philosophers of cultureAmerican philosophers of religionIndependent scholarsMasonic grand mastersPolitical activists from PennsylvaniaCreators of writing systemsPhilosophers from Massachusetts18th-century American writers, Founding Fathers of the United States, People of the American EnlightenmentWriters from Philadelphia, Recreational cryptographers, Writers from Boston18th-century American politicians, Signers of the United States Constitution, American FreemasonsDarwin: On the Origins of Charles Darwin
Melvyn Bragg presents a series about the life and work of Charles Darwin. Darwin's early life and time at Cambridge, where his interests shifted from religion to natural science.
5 January 2009
Featuring: Jim Moore, Steve Jones, David Norman, Colin Higgins
ScienceFellows of the Royal SocietyMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyRecipients of the Copley MedalBurials at Westminster AbbeyMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesEnglish AnglicansMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesEnglish agnosticsRoyal Medal winnersEnglish travel writers19th-century English writersRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Charles DarwinAlumni of the University of EdinburghUtilitariansEnglish abolitionistsIndependent scientists19th-century AnglicansDeaths from coronary thrombosisHuman evolutionTheoretical biologistsMembers of the Lincean AcademyCircumnavigators of the globeEnglish scepticsAlumni of Christ's College, CambridgeFellows of the Royal Geographical Society, 19th-century British biologists, 19th-century English naturalists, British evolutionary biologists, Fellows of the Zoological Society of London, Fellows of the Linnean Society of LondonHumboldt
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Prussian naturalist and explorer, Alexander Von Humboldt. A hero in South America; Charles Darwin described him as ‘the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived’.
28 September 2006
Featuring: Jason Wilson, Patricia Fara, Jim Secord
ScienceFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyRecipients of the Copley MedalMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesGerman LutheransMembers of the French Academy of SciencesMembers of the Prussian Academy of SciencesUniversity of Göttingen alumniMembers of the Bavarian Academy of SciencesRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesIndependent scientistsForeign members of the Royal SocietyGerman travel writersHuman geographersGay scientists18th-century German LGBTQ peopleUniversity of Jena alumniLinnaeus
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the pioneering 18th century Swedish botanist, who devised a method of naming species and a new system for classifying plants and animals.
20 April 2023
Featuring: Staffan Müller-Wille, Stella Sandford, Steve Jones
ScienceFellows of the Royal SocietyMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesMembers of the French Academy of SciencesMembers of the Prussian Academy of SciencesBotanical nomenclatureTaxon authorities of Hypericum species18th-century lexicographers, 18th-century writers in LatinLouis Pasteur
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of Louis Pasteur, microbiologist, developer of vaccines, saviour of the French beer and wine industries and preserver of milk.
18 May 2017
Featuring: Andrew Mendelsohn, Anne Hardy, Michael Worboys
ScienceMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyRecipients of the Copley MedalForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesFrench Roman CatholicsMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesMembers of the French Academy of SciencesMembers of the Académie FrançaiseÉcole Normale Supérieure alumniMembers of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsForeign members of the Royal SocietyGrand Cross of the Legion of Honour19th-century French chemistsFrench scientists with disabilitiesLévi-Strauss
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work of French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss.
23 May 2013
Featuring: Adam Kuper, Christina Howells, Vincent Debaene
CultureOntologistsTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of mindWriters about activism and social changePhilosophers of religionMetaphysiciansMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyWriters about religion and scienceAtheist philosophersPhilosophers of social scienceForeign associates of the National Academy of Sciences20th-century atheistsJewish philosophersMetaphilosophersWriters from ParisFrench atheistsUniversity of Paris alumniMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesLiteracy and society theorists20th-century French philosophersPhilosophers of languageMembers of the Académie Française20th-century essayistsFrench philosophers of educationFrench philosophers of historyFrench philosophers of scienceMetaphysics writersWriters about globalizationFrench male non-fiction writersPhenomenologistsCritical theoristsJewish atheistsLycée Condorcet alumniFrench epistemologistsGrand Cross of the Legion of HonourIntellectual historyPhilosophers of linguisticsAcademic staff of the Collège de FranceThe New School faculty20th-century French memoiristsJewish historians20th-century French male writersCorresponding fellows of the British AcademyFrench essayistsLinguists from FranceWriters about communismFrench philosophers of culture, French sociologistsNikola Tesla
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the inventor who helped the advance of electrification in America at the end of the 19th century and cultivated his reputation as a visionary genius
04 April 2024
Featuring: Simon Schaffer, Jill Jonnes, Iwan Morus
ScienceMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyPeople associated with electricityNaturalized citizens of the United StatesAmerican humanistsDeaths from coronary thrombosisMembers of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsMental calculators20th-century American engineersRadio pioneersAmerican electrical engineers, People from ManhattanPaul Dirac
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Bristolian theoretical physicist, ranked alongside Einstein by his peers, who won a Nobel for his work on quantum mechanics.
5 March 2020
Featuring: Graham Farmelo, Valerie Gibson, David Berman
ScienceFellows of the Royal SocietyMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyRecipients of the Copley MedalForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesAlumni of St John's College, CambridgeEnglish agnosticsRoyal Medal winnersMembers of the Order of MeritEnglish Nobel laureatesAcademic staff of the University of GöttingenBritish Nobel laureatesNobel laureates in PhysicsInstitute for Advanced Study visiting scholars20th-century English mathematiciansEnglish emigrants to the United StatesWinners of the Max Planck MedalForeign members of the USSR Academy of SciencesMembers of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, 20th-century British physicistsMathematical physicists, British theoretical physicistsPresident Ulysses S Grant
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Grant's role in rebuilding America in the decade after the Civil War and his impact on African-Americans and Native Americans.
30 May 2019
Featuring: Erik Mathisen, Susan-Mary Grant, Robert Cook
HistoryMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyHall of Fame for Great Americans inducteesAmerican people of English descent19th-century American male writersActivists for African-American civil rightsAmerican slave ownersCongressional Gold Medal recipientsUnited States Military Academy alumniPeople of the Six Years' War, 19th-century American memoiristsCommanding Generals of the United States Army, Presidents of the United StatesRutherford
Melvyn Bragg discusses Ernest Rutherford. He is seen as the father of nuclear science, a great charismatic figure who mapped the landscape of the sub-atomic world.
19 February 2004
Featuring: Simon Schaffer, Jim Al-Khalili, Patricia Fara
ScienceMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyRecipients of the Copley MedalBurials at Westminster AbbeyForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesEnglish Nobel laureatesBritish Nobel laureates19th-century British physicistsRecipients of Franklin MedalNobel laureates in ChemistryExperimental physicistsKnights BachelorDiscoverers of chemical elementsFellows of Trinity College, CambridgeRadio pioneersAcademics of the Victoria University of ManchesterRecipients of the Dalton MedalPersons of National Historic Significance (Canada)Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925)20th-century British scientistsHonorary Fellows of the Royal Society of EdinburghCavendish Professors of PhysicsHonorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Recipients of the Matteucci MedalMembers of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, 20th-century British physicistsThomas Edison
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work of Thomas Edison, one of the great inventors and cultural figures of modern America.
9 December 2010
Featuring: Simon Schaffer, Kathleen Burk, Iwan Morus
ScienceMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesHall of Fame for Great Americans inducteesAmerican people of English descentPeople associated with electricityRecipients of Franklin MedalCongressional Gold Medal recipientsAmerican deistsAmerican people of Dutch descent19th-century American businesspeopleHonorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Recipients of the Matteucci MedalAmerican electrical engineers, People from Manhattan20th-century American inventors, Members of the United States National Academy of SciencesThomas Paine's Common Sense
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense, which was published in 1776 and bolstered support for American independence.
21 January 2016
Featuring: Kathleen Burk, Nicholas Guyatt, Peter Thompson
HistorySocial philosophersTheorists on Western civilizationWriters about activism and social changePhilosophers of historyMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyEnlightenment philosophers18th-century philosophersHall of Fame for Great Americans inducteesAmerican male non-fiction writersClassical liberalism19th-century male writers18th-century English male writers19th-century English writersDeist philosophers18th-century English writersEnglish inventorsEnglish libertariansAmerican political philosophersCritics of JudaismEnglish republicansAmerican philosophers of education19th-century American philosophersAmerican deistsAmerican philosophers of cultureAmerican philosophers of religionDeputies to the French National Convention18th-century English people19th-century American writersAnti-monarchistsBritish deistsNaturalized citizens of FranceRadicalsPolitical activists from PennsylvaniaUniversal basic income writers18th-century American writers, Founding Fathers of the United States, People of the American EnlightenmentAmerican religious skeptics, American nationalists18th-century American male writers, American foreign policy writersWashington and the American Revolution
Melvyn Bragg discusses the first President of the United States, George Washington, and the people and ideas that saw the American Revolution overthrow British rule in 1775.
24 June 2004
Featuring: Carol Berkin, Simon Middleton, Colin Bonwick
CultureFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyHall of Fame for Great Americans inducteesAmerican male non-fiction writersAmerican people of English descentAmerican slave ownersCongressional Gold Medal recipients18th-century American writers, Founding Fathers of the United States, People of the American EnlightenmentCommanding Generals of the United States Army, Presidents of the United States18th-century American male writers, American foreign policy writers18th-century American politicians, Signers of the United States Constitution, American Freemasons