War
31 episodes
Agincourt
Melvyn Bragg discusses the events leading up to the unlikely English defeat of the French at Agincourt in 1415, and explores the cultural legacy of this emblematic victory.
16 September 2004
Featuring: Anne Curry, Michael Jones, John Watts
Bismarck
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the original Iron Chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck, one of 19th Century Europe’s most influential statesmen and the founder of modern Germany.
22 March 2007
Featuring: Richard J. Evans, Christopher Clark, Katharine Lerman
CulturePeople from the Province of SaxonyIndependent politicians in Germany, Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class, Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)University of Göttingen alumniGrand Cross of the Legion of HonourHumboldt University of Berlin alumniGerman LutheransGrand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary, Knights of the Golden Fleece of SpainMilitary personnel from Saxony-AnhaltGerman monarchistsGerman nationalists19th centuryWarBolivar
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and times of Simon Bolivar, hero of the revolutionary wars that liberated Spanish America from Spain.
30 October 2008
Featuring: Anthony McFarlane, John Fisher, Catherine Davies
Clausewitz and On War
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss On War, the 19th-century treatise on the theory of warfare by the Prussian soldier Carl von Clausewitz.
17 May 2012
Featuring: Saul David, Hew Strachan, Beatrice Heuser
PhilosophyDeaths from choleraMilitary theorists19th-century German writersGerman untitled nobility19th-century German male writersMilitary personnel from Saxony-AnhaltPhilosophers of warGerman military writersPolitical realistsTheoretical historiansGerman male non-fiction writers19th centuryGermanyWarConstantinople Siege and Fall
Melvyn Bragg discusses the 1453 siege of Constantinople. A bitter and bloody 53 days that ended a thousand years of the Byzantine Empire.
28 December 2006
Featuring: Roger Crowley, Judith Herrin, Colin Imber
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Eleanor of Aquitaine (c1122-1204), who was a ruler in her own right as well as married to the king of France and then to the king of England.
28 January 2016
Featuring: Lindy Grant, Nicholas Vincent, Julie Barrau
Fritz Lang
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Fritz Lang, the director behind films such as Metropolis, Mabuse the Gambler and M in Weimar Germany and Fury and The Big Heat in Hollywood.
30 December 2021
Featuring: Stella Bruzzi, Joe McElhaney, Iris Luppa
Culture20th-century American male writersCommanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of GermanyAustrian people of Jewish descentAustrian atheistsEyepatch wearersNaturalized citizens of the United StatesAustro-Hungarian military personnel of World War IAustrian emigrants to Germany20th centuryWarJoseph Roth
Misha Glenny and guests discuss the life and works of the author of Radetzky March who wrote of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after WW1 and the rise of nationalism.
7 May 2026
Featuring: Helen Chambers, Deborah Holmes, Jon Hughes
Josephus
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Flavius Josephus, author of The Jewish War.
21 May 2015
Featuring: Tessa Rajak, Philip Alexander, Martin Goodman
Judas Maccabeus
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the revolutionary Jewish leader Judas Maccabeus, who in the second century BC led a successful revolt for religious freedom.
24 November 2011
Featuring: Helen Bond, Tessa Rajak, Philip Alexander
Lawrence of Arabia
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Lawrence of Arabia, the legend and its context, an idea drawn from over 1200 suggested by listeners this autumn
5 December 2019
Featuring: Hussein Omar, Catriona Pennell, Neil Faulkner
Margaret of Anjou
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how the Queen of England fought to hold on to power for the sake of her son, when her husband's mental illness made him unable to rule.
24 May 2018
Featuring: Katherine Lewis, James Ross, Joanna Laynesmith
Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the most powerful queen in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in C12th, after the First Crusade, ruling with her husband Fulk and then their son Baldwin III
21 November 2019
Featuring: Natasha Hodgson, Katherine Lewis, Danielle Park
Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morality
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Nietzsche's influential ideas about what it means to be moral.
12 January 2017
Featuring: Stephen Mulhall, Fiona Hughes, Keith Ansell-Pearson
PhilosophyCritics of the Catholic Church19th-century German male musicians19th-century German journalistsPhilosophers of timeUniversity of Bonn alumni19th-century German non-fiction writersPhilosophers of sexualityWriters about religion and scienceMetaphilosophersGerman philosophers of historyGerman male non-fiction writersCritics of work and the work ethicGerman critics of Christianity19th-century Prussian peopleGerman music criticsWriters about activism and social changeStateless peoplePhilosophy writersIrony theoristsDeterministsPhilosophers of psychology19th-century German novelistsPeople from the Province of SaxonyCritics of religionsCritical theoristsAnti-consumeristsMetaphysiciansGerman philosophers of culturePeople associated with the University of BaselGerman military personnel of the Franco-Prussian WarGerman ethicists, German philosophers of education19th-century German philosophersTheorists on Western civilizationDeaths from pneumonia in GermanyGerman philosophers of mind, German philosophers of religionGerman epistemologistsPhilosophers of nihilismLeipzig University alumniPhilosophers of social science19th-century German male writersGerman male essayistsOntologistsAphoristsExistentialistsAnti-nationalistsPhilosophers of literatureGerman philosophers of art19th centuryGermanyMedicineMusicPsychologyWarPaul von Hindenburg
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise of a retired German officer recalled to duty who became an idealised, heroic figure and, as president, appointed Hitler as chancellor.
22 May 2025
Featuring: Anna von der Goltz, Christopher Clark, Colin Storer
HistoryIndependent politicians in Germany, Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class, Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)German untitled nobility20th-century presidents of Germany, German anti-communists, Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st classGerman LutheransGrand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary, Knights of the Golden Fleece of SpainGerman military personnel of the Franco-Prussian WarGerman monarchistsRecipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 1st class20th centuryWarSiegfried Sassoon
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the war poet Siegfried Sassoon; a homosexual war hero who became a bitter opponent of the First World War and a devout Catholic.
7 June 2007
Featuring: Jean Moorcroft Wilson, Fran Brearton, Max Egremont
Bisexual poetsRecipients of the Military CrossEnglish Catholic poetsEnglish World War I poets20th-century English memoirists20th-century English male writersPeople with post-traumatic stress disorderEnglish LGBTQ poetsJames Tait Black Memorial Prize recipientsEnglish bisexual men, English bisexual writers, Royal Welch Fusiliers officersEnglish Roman CatholicsPeople educated at Marlborough CollegeWar writersRoman Catholic writersBisexual military personnelDeaths from stomach cancer in EnglandBisexual male writers20th-century English novelistsBritish Army personnel of World War I20th-century English poetsLGBTQ Roman Catholics20th-century English LGBTQ people20th centuryWarThe Augustan Age
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the political regime and cultural influence of the Roman Emperor Augustus.
11 June 2009
Featuring: Mary Beard, Catharine Edwards, Duncan Kennedy
CulturePeople in the canonical gospelsAncient Roman adopteesJulii CaesaresDeified Roman emperors1st-century BC Roman augurs, 1st-century BC Roman consuls1st-century RomansPeople of the War of MutinaFounding monarchsAugustusAncient Roman military personnel, Burials at the Mausoleum of AugustusShipwreck survivorsCharacters in Book VI of the AeneidRoman pharaohs1st-century Roman emperorsJulio-Claudian dynasty1st century BCRomeWarThe Battle of Bannockburn
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Bannockburn of 1314, an important victory for Scotland in its fight to win independence from England.
3 February 2011
Featuring: Matthew Strickland, Fiona Watson, Michael Brown
The Battle of Clontarf
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Brian Boru's victory over Sigtrygg Silkbeard and his Viking allies outside Dublin in 1014, one of the best known events in Irish history.
10 April 2025
Featuring: Seán Duffy, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Alex Woolf
The Battle of Crécy
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the brutal 1346 conflict between the French army, led by Philip VI, and the English, under Edward III, after years of simmering tension.
13 April 2023
Featuring: Anne Curry, Andrew Ayton, Erika Graham-Goering
The Battle of Stamford Bridge
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Stamford Bridge, a decisive English victory over Viking forces which took place in September 1066.
2 June 2011
Featuring: John Hines, Elizabeth Ashman Rowe, Stephen Baxter
The Gordon Riots
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why a Westminster protest against 'Popery' in June 1780 led to widespread rioting across London, lethally suppressed.
2 May 2019
Featuring: Ian Haywood, Catriona Kennedy, Mark Knights
The Peasants' Revolt
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 - “When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the Gentleman?"
16 November 2006
Featuring: Miri Rubin, Caroline Barron, Alastair Dunn
The Sack of Rome 1527
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the slaughter and chaos as a hungry army of the Holy Roman Emperor swarmed through Rome, holding the pope hostage and weakening the Papal States.
22 February 2024
Featuring: Stephen Bowd, Jessica Goethals, Catherine Fletcher
The Siege of Malta, 1565
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the fierce contest for Malta, which the Ottomans tried to prise from the Knights Hospitaller who they they had already driven from Rhodes in 1522.
11 January 2018
Featuring: Helen Nicholson, Diarmaid MacCulloch, Kate Fleet
The Siege of Orléans
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Siege of Orléans, when Joan of Arc came to the rescue of France and routed the English army with the help of God.
24 May 2007
Featuring: Anne Curry, Malcolm Vale, Matthew Bennett
The Siege of Paris (1870-71)
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Prussian siege of Paris from 1870 and the Commune which emerged, until that was violently suppressed by French forces in 1871
16 January 2020
Featuring: Karine Varley, Robert Gildea, Julia Nicholls
The Siege of Tenochtitlan
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Siege of Tenochtitlan, the event which precipitated the fall of the Aztec Empire in 1521.
27 October 2011
Featuring: Alan Knight, Elizabeth Graham, Caroline Dodds Pennock
The Siege of Vienna
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1683 siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Army. The ensuing tale of blood and drama helped define the boundaries of Europe.
14 May 2009
Featuring: Jeremy Black, Andrew Wheatcroft, Claire Norton
Tiberius
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the means by which Tiberius became the first Roman to succeed an Emperor and his reputation for financial prudence, cruelty and breeding paranoia.
14 December 2023
Featuring: Matthew Nicholls, Shushma Malik, Catherine Steel
History1st-century BC RomansPeople in the canonical gospelsAncient Roman adopteesJulii CaesaresRoman quaestorsAncient Roman triumphatorsClaudii Nerones, Roman-era Olympic competitorsAncient Roman military personnel, Burials at the Mausoleum of AugustusRoman pharaohs1st-century Roman emperorsJulio-Claudian dynasty1st century BCRomeWarWittgenstein
Melvyn Bragg discusses how Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the greatest philosophers of the modern age has influenced contemporary culture with his ideas on language.
4 December 2003
Featuring: Ray Monk, Barry Smith, Marie McGinn
PhilosophyPhilosophers of cultureOrdinary language philosophyPhilosophers of mindMetaphilosophersFellows of Trinity College, CambridgeBritish male essayistsPhilosophers of logicPhilosophers of languageAnalytic philosophersPeople with post-traumatic stress disorder20th-century British essayists20th-century Austrian philosophers, Austrian agnostics, Austrian essayists, Austrian logicians, British agnostics, British logicians, British people of Austrian-Jewish descent, Naturalised citizens of the United KingdomBertrand Russell Professors of PhilosophyAlumni of Trinity College, Cambridge20th-century British non-fiction writersEpistemologistsPhilosophy writersPhilosophers of artMetaphysiciansWriters from ViennaPhilosophers of mathematicsAustro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I20th-century British philosophersTheorists on Western civilizationJewish philosophersBisexual military personnelBisexual male writersAustrian people of Jewish descentLGBTQ mathematicians, LGBTQ philosophersPhilosophers of social scienceWittgensteinian philosophersJewish agnosticsSocial philosophersCambridge University Moral Sciences ClubOntologistsLinguistic turn20th centuryLanguageMathematicsMedicineWar
