France
39 episodes
Bergson and Time
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas of Henri Bergson on how our experience of time as a duration differs from the scientific measurement of time, and why that matters.
9 May 2019
Featuring: Keith Ansell-Pearson, Emily Thomas, Mark Sinclair
PhilosophyWriters from ParisFrench Nobel laureatesAcademic staff of the Collège de FrancePhilosophers of languageLycée Condorcet alumniMetaphysicians19th-century French writers19th-century French philosophersPhilosophers of mindÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni20th-century French philosophersPhenomenologistsNobel laureates in LiteratureFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesFrench epistemologistsJewish philosophers19th century20th centuryFranceLanguageMedicineBerthe Morisot
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the daring and innovative work of the French woman at the heart of the impressionist movement, capturing the domestic world and life in the open air
13 October 2022
Featuring: Tamar Garb, Lois Oliver, Claire Moran
Camus
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Nobel Prize winning Algerian-French writer and existentialist philosopher Albert Camus.
3 January 2008
Featuring: Peter Dunwoodie, David Walker, Christina Howells
Culture20th-century French dramatists and playwrightsFrench socialistsPhilosophers of pessimismFrench male essayistsLegion of Honour refusals20th-century atheistsFrench anarchists, French anti-capitalists, French anti-fascists20th-century French philosophersAnti-Stalinist leftModernist writers20th-century French male writers20th-century French novelistsAbsurdist writersFrench humanistsNobel laureates in LiteratureFrench Nobel laureatesAtheist philosophersLibertarian socialistsPhilosophers of death20th-century French essayists, 20th-century French short story writersExistentialistsFrench atheists20th centuryFranceColette
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the novels and life of one of the most remarkable writers of the last century, whose Claudine series was first published under her husband's name.
27 January 2022
Featuring: Diana Holmes, Michèle Roberts, Belinda Jack
CultureFrench bisexual women, French bisexual writersBisexual memoirists19th-century French women writersGrand Officers of the Legion of HonourBisexual journalistsFrench women novelistsBurials at Père Lachaise Cemetery19th-century French LGBTQ people, 20th-century French LGBTQ people20th-century French novelists20th-century French women writersBisexual novelists19th-century French novelistsBisexual women writersFrench LGBTQ novelists19th century20th centuryFranceCondorcet
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the influential French philosopher and mathematician who tried to apply his Enlightenment ideas on the benefit of education to the French Revolution.
11 January 2024
Featuring: Rachel Hammersley, Richard Whatmore, Tom Hopkins
PhilosophyFrench sociologistsFrench philosophers of education18th-century French writers18th-century French mathematiciansFrench biographers, French ethicistsVoting theoristsPhilosophers of religionUniversity of Paris alumniFrench male non-fiction writersFrench feministsFrench philosophers of scienceScholars of feminist philosophy18th-century philosophersBurials at the Panthéon, ParisPeople killed in the French RevolutionFrench abolitionists18th-century French male writersMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesMembers of the Académie FrançaiseHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesProto-feministsFrench philosophers of historyTheoretical historiansFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesRationalistsAtheist philosophersEnlightenment philosophersMembers of the French Academy of SciencesDeputies to the French National ConventionAge of EnlightenmentFrench political scientistsFrench philosophers of cultureFrench atheists18th centuryFranceMathematicsEdmund Burke
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the work of the philosopher, politician and writer Edmund Burke, whose views on revolution in America and France were hugely influential.
3 June 2010
Featuring: Karen O'Brien, Richard Bourke, John Keane
Philosophy18th-century Irish philosophers18th-century Irish writersPhilosophers of cultureIrish Freemasons, Irish libertarians, Irish people of English descentBritish MPs 1774–1780Rectors of the University of GlasgowBritish MPs 1784–1790, British MPs 1790–1796Virtue ethicistsPhilosophers of religionCritics of deismEnglish libertariansHistorians of the French RevolutionAlumni of Trinity College Dublin18th-century philosophersEnglish people of Irish descentPhilosophers of education18th-century English philosophersPhilosophers of art18th-century English male writersStreathamitesPolitical philosophersClassical liberalismPhilosophers of historyBritish MPs 1780–1784, Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituenciesWriters from Dublin (city)18th-century English writersBritish political philosophersIrish AnglicansConservatismPhilosophers of economicsSocial philosophersNatural law ethicists18th-century Anglo-Irish people, 18th-century Irish male writersAnglican philosophers18th centuryEconomicsFranceIrelandEmilie du Châtelet
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 18th-century mathematical genius whose insights into Newton and Leibniz were part of the great advance in science in the Enlightenment.
4 February 2021
Featuring: Patricia Fara, David Wootton, Judith Zinsser
ScienceFrench physicists18th-century French women writers18th-century French writers18th-century French mathematicians18th-century philosophers18th-century French philosophersContributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772)French women physicistsFrench women philosophersDeaths in childbirth18th-century French scientistsDeaths from pulmonary embolism18th centuryFranceMathematicsGeorge Sand
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the work and life of Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin who in C19th France wrote many extremely successful novels, under the name George Sand
6 February 2020
Featuring: Belinda Jack, Angela Ryan, Nigel Harkness
CultureWriters from Paris19th-century French letter writersFrench bisexual women, French bisexual writers19th-century French women writersLegion of Honour refusalsFrench socialistsPseudonymous women writersFrench women novelists19th-century pseudonymous writers19th-century French novelistsFrench LGBTQ novelists19th centuryFranceGermaine de Staël
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas, works and life of Germaine de Stael (1766-1817), a literary critic, author, opponent of Napoleon and developer of Romanticism.
16 November 2017
Featuring: Catriona Seth, Alison Finch, Katherine Astbury
CultureFrench literary criticsConversationalistsPeople of the First French Empire19th-century French novelistsFrench travel writers19th-century French women writers18th-century French women writersFrench feminists18th-century philosophersConverts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism, Romantic philosophers18th-century French letter writersFrench salon-holders19th-century French philosophersWomen in the French RevolutionWriters from ParisFrench Roman Catholics19th-century French letter writersFrench women novelistsFrench women philosophers18th century19th centuryFranceLamarck and Natural Selection
Melvyn Bragg discusses Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the 18th century French scientist, and his theory of Natural Selection. Who was he and how far did he pave the way for Darwin?
26 December 2003
Featuring: Sandy Knapp, Steve Jones, Simon Conway Morris
ScienceLamarckism18th-century French writers19th-century French male writers19th-century French writersProto-evolutionary biologistsFrench male writers18th-century French male writersMembers of the French Academy of Sciences18th-century French scientistsTaxon authorities of Hypericum species18th century19th centuryFranceLouis 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
ScienceRecipients of the Copley MedalFrench Roman CatholicsMembers of the Académie FrançaiseGrand Cross of the Legion of HonourForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesFrench scientists with disabilitiesHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesForeign members of the Royal SocietyMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni19th-century French chemistsMembers of the French Academy of SciencesMembers of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsRecipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 1st class19th centuryFranceLévi-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
CultureAcademic staff of the Collège de FranceFrench sociologistsLycée Condorcet alumniFrench philosophers of educationThe New School facultyJewish atheistsPhilosophers of mindWriters about globalizationWriters about religion and scienceFrench essayistsMetaphilosophersPhilosophers of religionLiteracy and society theoristsUniversity of Paris alumniCorresponding fellows of the British AcademyPhilosophers of languageFrench male non-fiction writersMetaphysics writersGrand Cross of the Legion of HonourPhilosophers of linguisticsFrench philosophers of scienceMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesWriters about activism and social change20th-century atheists20th-century French philosophersIntellectual historyMembers of the Académie FrançaiseJewish historiansCritical theoristsMetaphysicians20th-century French male writersFrench philosophers of historyWriters about communismTheorists on Western civilizationJewish philosophersWriters from ParisFrench epistemologistsAtheist philosophersPhilosophers of social scienceForeign associates of the National Academy of Sciences20th-century French memoiristsMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyPhenomenologistsLinguists from France20th-century essayistsFrench atheistsOntologistsFrench philosophers of culture20th centuryFranceLanguageMedicineMarie Antoinette
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Austrian princess who, while still a child, married the future Louis XVI of France only to face hostility and death under the French Revolution.
8 November 2018
Featuring: Catriona Seth, Katherine Astbury, David McCallam
HistoryFrench Roman CatholicsBurials at the Basilica of Saint-DenisPeople of the War of the First CoalitionRoyal reburialsQueens consort of FranceNobility from ViennaNavarrese royal consortsDaughters of kingsDauphines of France, Dauphines of ViennoisExecuted French women, French people executed by guillotine during the French RevolutionDaughters of queens regnantAustrian Roman Catholics, Austrian princesses, Daughters of emperorsWomen in the French RevolutionFranceMary Wollstonecraft
Melvyn Bragg and guests John Mullan, Karen O'Brien and Barbara Taylor discuss the life and ideas of the pioneering British Enlightenment thinker Mary Wollstonecraft.
31 December 2009
Featuring: Karen O'Brien, John Mullan, Barbara Taylor
PhilosophyFrench–English translators18th-century British essayistsPeople from Somers Town, LondonEnglish philosophersEnglish essayistsEnglish women novelistsHistorians of the French RevolutionScholars of feminist philosophyBritish women essayistsEnglish women philosophersBritish philosophers of education18th-century British philosophersEnglish feminist writers, English feminists18th-century English historiansDeaths in childbirthEnglish UnitariansFeminist theorists18th-century English novelistsFounders of English schools and collegesGerman–English translatorsEnlightenment philosophersBurials at St Pancras Old ChurchEnglish educational theoristsEnglish travel writersWriters of Gothic fictionEnglish republicansGodwin family18th centuryFranceMaurice Merleau-Ponty
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the insights of this French philosopher into the relationship between mind and body, the role of language in thought and the value of habits
27 March 2025
Featuring: Komarine Romdenh-Romluc, Thomas Baldwin, Timothy Mooney
PhilosophyAcademic staff of the Collège de FranceFrench magazine foundersFrench philosophers of educationFrench socialistsUniversity of Paris alumniFrench male non-fiction writersFrench philosophers of scienceFormer Roman CatholicsMarxist theoristsÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni20th-century French philosophersFrench political philosophersPhilosophers of psychologyAcademic staff of the University of ParisBurials at Père Lachaise CemeteryFrench philosophers of artFrench humanistsLycée Louis-le-Grand alumniEnactive cognitionOntologistsAction theoristsPhenomenologistsExistentialistsFrench epistemologistsFrench philosophers of culture20th centuryFrancePsychologyMonet in England
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why the French impressionist Claude Monet painted the foggy Thames in central London more often than water lilies, haystacks or Rouen Cathedral.
27 June 2024
Featuring: Karen Serres, Frances Fowle, Jackie Wullschläger
Montaigne
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of Michel de Montaigne. Best known for his influential Essays, Montaigne is regarded as the father of modern sceptical thought.
25 April 2013
Featuring: David Wootton, Terence Cave, Felicity Green
Montesquieu
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas of the French political philosopher (1689-1755) whose work on liberty and republicanism, banned at home, influenced the US constitution.
14 June 2018
Featuring: Richard Bourke, Rachel Hammersley, Richard Whatmore
HistoryFrench Roman CatholicsMembers of the Académie FrançaisePhilosophers of lawEnlightenment philosophersMembers of the Prussian Academy of Sciences18th-century French philosophersFrench philosophers of historyContributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772)18th-century French male writersFrench political writersFrench political philosophersFellows of the Royal Society17th century18th centuryFranceNapoleon's Retreat from Moscow
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, thought he was victorious yet had to retreat, losing most of his army and, soon after, his empire.
19 September 2019
Featuring: Janet Hartley, Michael Rowe, Michael Rapport
Olympe de Gouges
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life, ideas and works of the Frenchwoman who wrote The Declaration of the Rights of Woman in 1791 during the French Revolution
21 April 2022
Featuring: Catriona Seth, Katherine Astbury, Sanja Perovic
Culture18th-century French women writers18th-century philosophersFrench deistsWomen in the French Revolution18th-century French philosophersFrench abolitionistsWomen religious writersFrench women philosophersDeist philosophersExecuted French women, French people executed by guillotine during the French RevolutionExecuted writersExecuted philosophersFrench political philosophersFrench women dramatists and playwrights18th centuryFrancePascal
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of the French polymath Blaise Pascal.
19 September 2013
Featuring: David Wootton, Michael Moriarty, Michela Massimi
CultureChristian humanistsFrench physicistsPeople with hypochondriasisCritics of atheismRoman Catholic mysticsChristian apologistsCatholic philosophersFrench fluid dynamicists, French mathematicians, French probability theoristsAphoristsFrench Roman Catholic writersCartesianism17th-century Christian mysticsConverts to Roman Catholicism17th centuryFranceMathematicsPeter Kropotkin
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and ideas of the Russian prince who became an anarchist and who argued that mutual aid was the key to evolution not survival of the fittest
24 February 2022
Featuring: Ruth Kinna, Lee Dugatkin, Simon Dixon
History19th-century essayistsHistorians of the French RevolutionAnti-consumeristsMembers of the International Workingmen's AssociationHuman geographers19th-century non-fiction writers from the Russian EmpireRussian anarchists20th-century atheistsSocial philosophers19th-century philosophers from the Russian Empire, 20th-century Russian philosophers, Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Switzerland, Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom, Russian communists, Russian revolutionaries20th-century essayists19th-century atheistsPhilosophy writersRussian atheistsBurials at Novodevichy CemeteryAnarchist writers19th century20th centuryFranceRussiaPierre-Simon Laplace
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great French mathematician who tackled questions on the stability of the Solar System and planet rotation and devised the basis for metrication
8 April 2021
Featuring: Marcus du Sautoy, Timothy Gowers, Colva Roney-Dougal
HistoryMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesMembers of the Académie FrançaiseFrench physicistsGrand Officers of the Legion of HonourDeterministsLinear algebraists18th-century French mathematiciansMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesFrench fluid dynamicists, French mathematicians, French probability theoristsMembers of the French Academy of SciencesFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesFrench deistsFellows of the Royal SocietyFrench agnostics18th centuryFranceMathematicsProust
Melvyn Bragg discusses the life and achievements of the 19th century French novelist Marcel Proust whose 3000 page work À La Recherche du Temps Perdu has been called the definitive modern novel.
17 April 2003
Featuring: Jacqueline Rose, Malcolm Bowie, Robert Fraser
Lycée Condorcet alumniDeaths from pneumonia in France, Prix Goncourt winnersFrench literary criticsConversationalistsFrench essayistsFrench male non-fiction writersFormer Roman Catholics20th-century mystics20th-century atheistsFrench short story writers20th-century French philosophers19th-century atheistsPeople with hypochondriasisModernist writersBurials at Père Lachaise Cemetery19th-century French philosophersFrench philosophers of art20th-century French novelistsFrench Roman Catholic writersFrench LGBTQ novelistsWriters from Paris19th-century French LGBTQ people, 20th-century French LGBTQ people20th-century French essayists, 20th-century French short story writersLGBTQ Roman CatholicsAphorists19th-century mysticsFrench atheistsPhilosophers of literature19th century20th centuryFranceRousseau on Education
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Rousseau's ideas on how to educate children so they retain their natural selves and are not corrupted by society.
10 October 2019
Featuring: Richard Whatmore, Caroline Warman, Denis McManus
PhilosophyPhilosophers of culturePhilosophers of mind18th-century classical composers18th-century philosophersWriters about activism and social changeSimple living advocatesBurials at the Panthéon, ParisContributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772)Proto-evolutionary biologistsPhilosophers of educationFrench political philosophersPhilosophers of artConverts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism, Romantic philosophersPeople with hypochondriasisClassical-period composersDeist philosophersPhilosophers of scienceAutobiographersPhilosophers of economicsEnlightenment philosophersCatholic philosophers18th-century male musiciansSocial philosophersAge of EnlightenmentPhilosophers of literature18th centuryEconomicsFranceMusicSartre
Melvyn Bragg discusses the life and works of French novelist, playwright and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
7 October 2004
Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Benedict O'Donohoe, Christina Howells
PhilosophyScholars of antisemitismFrench sociologists20th-century French dramatists and playwrightsFrench magazine foundersFrench philosophers of educationFrench literary criticsFrench socialistsFrench biographers, French ethicistsPhilosophers of mindPhilosophers of sexualityLegion of Honour refusalsFrench philosophers of scienceLycée Henri-IV alumni20th-century atheistsÉcole Normale Supérieure alumniFrench anarchists, French anti-capitalists, French anti-fascists20th-century French philosophersPhilosophy writersFrench political philosophersCritical theoristsMetaphysiciansBurials at Montparnasse CemeteryFrench communistsBlind writersFree love advocatesFrench philosophers of art20th-century French novelistsFrench philosophers of historyFrench Resistance membersContinental philosophersNobel laureates in LiteratureFrench humanistsFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesFrench Nobel laureatesFrench scientists with disabilitiesTheorists on Western civilizationFrench Marxists, French anti-war activistsLycée Louis-le-Grand alumniWriters from ParisPhilosophers of nihilismFrench epistemologistsAtheist philosophersPhilosophers of social scienceLibertarian socialistsPhilosophers of deathOntologistsPhenomenologistsAphoristsExistentialistsPhilosophers of literatureFrench philosophers of cultureFrench atheists20th centuryFranceMedicineSimone Weil
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the French philosopher and social activist Simone Weil. Admired by Albert Camus and Iris Murdoch, she achieved a great deal in her short life.
15 November 2012
Featuring: Beatrice Han-Pile, Stephen Plant, David Levy
PhilosophyChristian humanistsTuberculosis deaths in EnglandFrench socialistsConverts to Christianity from JudaismPhilosophers of religionCritics of work and the work ethicFrench feministsFrench philosophers of scienceDominican mysticsPlatonistsLycée Henri-IV alumniMarxist theoristsÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni20th-century deaths from tuberculosisFrench anarchists, French anti-capitalists, French anti-fascists20th-century French philosophers20th-century French women writersChristian radicalsFrench political philosophersAnti-Stalinist leftFrench communistsFrench Resistance membersJewish philosophersWriters from ParisChristian anarchists, Nonviolence advocatesFrench women philosophersWomen mysticsCritics of Marxism20th centuryFranceSimone de Beauvoir
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Simone de Beauvoir - her work on existentialist ethics, philosophy and literature and her influence on feminism.
22 October 2015
Featuring: Christina Howells, Margaret Atack, Ursula Tidd
PhilosophyDeaths from pneumonia in France, Prix Goncourt winnersFrench philosophers of educationFrench literary criticsFrench women memoiristsPhilosophers of sexualityFeminist studies scholarsBisexual novelistsCommunist women writersSocialist feministsUniversity of Paris alumniBisexual memoiristsFrench feministsScholars of feminist philosophyFormer Roman Catholics20th-century French philosophers20th-century French women writersFrench political philosophersBisexual women writersJerusalem Prize recipientsFrench bisexual women, French bisexual writersBurials at Montparnasse CemeteryFrench communistsFrench philosophers of art20th-century French novelistsFrench Marxists, French anti-war activistsFeminist theoristsFrench LGBTQ novelistsWriters from ParisAtheist philosophersFrench women novelists20th-century French memoiristsFrench women philosophersExistentialistsFrench atheists20th centuryFranceThe Boxer Rebellion
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Boxer Rebellion, when the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists purged China of foreign influences in the summer of 1900.
19 March 2009
Featuring: Frances Wood, Rana Mitter, R. G. Tiedemann
HistoryWars involving the United KingdomWars involving JapanPersecution of ChristiansWars involving the Habsburg monarchyUnited States Marine Corps in the 18th and 19th centuriesWars involving the United StatesEight Banners, Rebellions in the Qing dynastyWars involving FranceWars involving the Russian Empire19th centuryChinaFranceRussiaThe Curies
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the scientific achievements of the Curie family, Marie and Pierre and their daughter Irene Joliot-Curie, all three of whom won Nobel Prizes.
26 March 2015
Featuring: Patricia Fara, Robert Fox, Steven T Bramwell
HistoryWomen Nobel laureatesUniversity of Paris alumniLegion of Honour refusalsFormer Roman CatholicsDiscoverers of chemical elementsHonorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Recipients of the Matteucci MedalBurials at the Panthéon, ParisNaturalized citizens of FranceCorresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesCorresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925)Nobel laureates in PhysicsWomen nuclear physicistsExperimental physicistsAcademic staff of the University of Paris19th-century French chemistsFrench Nobel laureatesWomen inventorsFrench agnosticsFrench women physicistsFrench atheistsNobel laureates in Chemistry19th centuryFranceThe French Revolution's Legacy
Melvyn Bragg discusses the legacy of the French Revolution. What kind of a watershed did the French Revolution mark in the tide of history?
14 June 2001
Featuring: Stefan Collini, Anne Janowitz, Andrew Roberts
The French Revolution's Reign of Terror
Melvyn Bragg discusses the reign of terror during the French Revolution and whether it was an aberration of the revolutionary cause or its natural culmination.
26 May 2005
Featuring: Mike Broers, Rebecca Spang, Tim Blanning
The Haitian Revolution
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804.
23 October 2014
Featuring: Kate Hodgson, Tim Lockley, Karen Salt
The Irish Rebellion of 1798
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the uprising in 1798 led by the United Irishmen, who were inspired by American and French revolutions, and the impact this had across Ireland.
8 December 2022
Featuring: Ian McBride, Catriona Kennedy, Liam Chambers
The Taiping Rebellion
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Taiping Rebellion, a Chinese civil war which claimed around 20 million lives in the 19th century.
24 February 2011
Featuring: Rana Mitter, Frances Wood, Julia Lovell
The Thirty Years War
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss a topic suggested by listeners: the war which was centred on the Holy Roman Empire from 1618 and was unequalled in scale until C20th
6 December 2018
Featuring: Peter Wilson, Ulinka Rublack, Toby Osborne
Third Crusade
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Third Crusade, from death of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, to the famous encounter between Richard I and Saladin.
29 November 2001
Featuring: Jonathan Riley-Smith, Carole Hillenbrand, Tariq Ali
Tocqueville: Democracy in America
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Alexis de Tocqueville and his study of the American democratic system, written as an example to France of how democracy might develop there.
22 March 2018
Featuring: Robert Gildea, Susan-Mary Grant, Jeremy Jennings
HistoryWriters from ParisFrench Roman CatholicsMembers of the Académie FrançaiseFrench sociologistsFrench male non-fiction writersPhilosophers of lawHistorians of the French Revolution19th-century French male writersKnights of the Legion of Honour19th-century French philosophersEconomic sociologistsNatural law ethicistsFrench philosophers of historyFrench political writersFrench political scientistsFrench political philosophersFrench philosophers of cultureUniversity of Paris alumni19th centuryAmericaFranceVigée Le Brun
Misha Glenny and guests discuss the woman who painted Marie Antoinette around 30 times and became arguably the most successful portraitist of her age throughout Europe
25 June 2026
Featuring: Rosalind Polly Blakesley, Robert Wenley, Francesca Whitlum-Cooper
