Kathleen Burk
Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary History at University College London
11 episodes
Appears in multiple episodes with: Frank Cogliano, Nicholas Guyatt
Covers topics in categories such as:
The Federalist Papers
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the essays written in 1787/8 by some of the authors of the US Constitution which offer insight into the interpretation of the Constitution.
12 October 2023
Also featuring: Frank Cogliano, Nicholas Guyatt
The Franco-American Alliance 1778
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why France supported the USA in its revolutionary war against Britain and how that related to the French Revolution a few years later.
22 April 2021
Also featuring: Frank Cogliano, Michael Rapport
The Congress of Vienna
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the peace plan for Europe after the Napoleonic Wars, with the redrawing of borders and balancing of the great powers so that none would be dominant.
19 October 2017
Also featuring: Tim Blanning, John Bew
Thomas 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
Also featuring: Nicholas Guyatt, Peter Thompson
HistoryHall of Fame for Great Americans inducteesAmerican philosophers of educationRadicalsAmerican philosophers of culture19th-century male writersUniversal basic income writersEnglish libertariansAmerican male non-fiction writersAmerican deistsAnti-monarchists18th-century philosophersWriters about activism and social changeAmerican political philosophersNaturalized citizens of France19th-century American writers18th-century English male writers19th-century American philosophersEnglish inventorsAmerican philosophers of religionClassical liberalismDeist philosophers18th-century American male writers, American foreign policy writers18th-century English peopleTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of history18th-century English writersCritics of JudaismPolitical activists from PennsylvaniaAmerican nationalists, American religious skeptics18th-century American writers, Founding Fathers of the United States, People of the American Enlightenment19th-century English writersEnlightenment philosophersSocial philosophersMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyDeputies to the French National ConventionEnglish republicansBritish deists18th century19th centuryAmericaThe California Gold Rush
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, when a chance discovery of gold led to massive demographic changes to parts of America.
2 April 2015
Also featuring: Jacqueline Fear-Segal, Frank Cogliano
The War of 1812
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the War of 1812, the conflict between America and Great Britain which is sometimes referred to as the second American War of Independence.
31 January 2013
Also featuring: Lawrence Goldman, Frank Cogliano
Custer's Last Stand
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand, the bloody 1876 battle between Native Americans and the US Cavalry.
19 May 2011
Also featuring: Adam Smith, Saul David
Thomas 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
Also featuring: Simon Schaffer, Iwan Morus
ScienceHall of Fame for Great Americans inducteesMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesPeople associated with electricityAmerican people of Dutch descentAmerican electrical engineers, People from ManhattanAmerican people of English descentAmerican deistsCongressional Gold Medal recipientsHonorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Recipients of the Matteucci Medal19th-century American businesspeopleMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyRecipients of Franklin Medal20th-century American inventors, Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences19th century20th centuryThoreau and the American Idyll
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the American 19th century writer and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau
15 January 2009
Also featuring: Tim Morris, Stephen Fender
PhilosophyHall of Fame for Great Americans inducteesAmerican philosophers of cultureAmerican male essayists, American male poetsAmerican lecturersUnderground Railroad peoplePhilosophers of loveAnarchist writersAmerican male non-fiction writersCritics of work and the work ethicAmerican spiritual writersSimple living advocatesAmerican political philosophers19th-century American poets19th-century American philosophersAnti-consumerists19th-century American non-fiction writersAmerican philosophers of mind, American philosophers of sciencePhilosophers of historyPhilosophers from Massachusetts19th-century deaths from tuberculosis19th-century American essayistsPantheists19th centuryAmericaThe Statue of Liberty
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Statue of Liberty, given by France to America as a token of revolutionary kinship.
14 February 2008
Also featuring: Robert Gildea, John Keane
The Pilgrim Fathers
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Pilgrim Fathers and why their 1620 voyage on the Mayflower has become iconic in the American imagination.
5 July 2007
Also featuring: Harry Bennett, Tim Lockley